Waiting for Lightning

---

I said,

"Are you crazy?

What do you think

you're doing?"

I didn't see it

as being a positive.

I saw it as Danny

gettin' killed.

Anyone can learn

anything they want.

It's all in your head.

You've just got

to spend time on it.

I don't know that a

lot of people really get Danny Way.

There's

a lot of guys that...

that'll do whatever it

takes to win.

Then there's guys that do whatever

it takes to push themselves,

guys that do whatever it takes

to progress their sport.

Danny's doing what he was meant

to do, and you can see that.

And very few people get to

experience that in their life.

When we first got

to the Great Wall,

We were just like,

"Oh, my god.

This guy

is gonna kill himself".

They would never let anyone

build something like that here.

There was a mountain biker

that jumped the wall

and careened

to the bottom, dead.

His ramp wasn't

built properly.

It was

gut-wrenching for me.

The outcome

of the end of it

was what I was

always afraid to face.

I'd heard

about China for years.

Danny was on a flight

and actually saw

the Great Wall from the plane.

And I remember

him joking like,

"Yeah, I'm gonna jump

over that thing".

I don't remember hearing

how it all came together.

I just kind of remember

hearing it was going to happen.

The role of a manager

is to make your visions

and your dreams real.

Danny wanted to jump

the Great Wall of China,

and Ray and I felt

that we could help do that.

This is

what the next chapter

of Danny's life

was all about,

and we were the guys

selected to make that happen.

So we go

to China fueled by a dream

and ambition

and nothing much else.

We pull up

to Juyoungguan Gate...

and it's impressive.

The wall,

in some spots is...

I guess it's just not as big

as I envisioned in some spots.

I wouldn't want

to cheat on this one,

so I'm trying to find

some section on...

We're trying to find

a section here

that would actually be

a legitimate jump for me.

There's definitely spots

on the wall that are enormous,

but there are some

that aren't, and I just...

you know,

I wouldn't feel right

unless I found a spot

that was really magnif...

magnisi... nificent.

Sorry, it's freezing out.

I can barely talk.

So, I think right here...

jumping from there

over to here

is the widest spot

of the wall,

which I feel does the most

justice for skateboarding

and the possibility of breaking

the world record.

We come

back from China,

and Danny's on the phone

with me at midnight

going, "Dude,

is this real?"

And I'm like,

"I don't know.

"But here's your job:

"Prepare,

have your bag packed,

and you're jumping until I'm

telling you you're not jumping".

I think

the story really started

before my brother

and I were even born.

It started out with my mom

and my father getting together,

and then taking off

and going up the coast

in their VW van

and following the hippie trail.

Everything

that Dennis

ever told me

about life happened.

Within 45 minutes

of me first meeting him,

he told me that I was

gonna have two sons with him,

and that he was put

on this earth

to teach me

how to be a survivor.

From that moment on,

we were connected.

Dennis and I

were on an adventure.

We went up to Oregon,

and all the pieces

of the puzzle

started being

put together.

Damon was so mellow,

and Danny wore me down.

That first year,

I thought I was gonna lose

my mind with him.

Little did I know

years down the road

I would go through

a lot more

than what I went through

the first year of life with him.

We got tired

of the rain in Oregon,

so we ended up moving

back to Carlsbad.

Dennis's ex-wife worked

for the gas

and electric company.

When we went to get

our electricity hooked up,

that's when she found out

Dennis was back in town,

and she had him

put in jail

for 90 days

for a $50 child-support payment.

And nine days

after he was in there,

he got hung

in jail.

That day was

the worst day of my life.

And that's where the kids

and I began our journey

as the three musketeers,

I call it.

I don't really remember

my father dying.

I don't really remember

the period of time

before him

and our stepdad, Tim,

but I clearly remember

us living with Tim

after my mom and him

got married.

Tim was like

a kid himself,

so when he met Damon

and Danny, it was on.

Tim came into

my brother and mine's life

and took on

that father-figure role.

He surfed every day,

and lived that

surfer/bohemian lifestyle.

We started tuning in

to that piece of culture

that was really free.

He gave my kids

exactly what they needed

at that point

in their lives.

He was really good

with his hands and wood,

and he would build

us skateboards.

He wouldn't go buy us a skateboard,

he'd actually build it,

and the thing would have

its shape and everything.

It was amazing.

We really little, and we'd ride

them around out front.

Danny was a three-year-old,

and he mastered how to make

that skateboard work for him.

He figured out that

if he put a knee on the board

and pushed

with his other foot,

he could keep up with Damon

trying to get

away from him on his bike.

Danny rode

it fearlessly.

Tim gave them an opportunity

to experience that,

wasn't overprotective,

wasn't afraid

of them getting hurt.

Everywhere we went,

we had to take the skateboard.

So, the skateboard was...

the beginning

of Danny Way.

There has

to be some sort of visual

that captivates you

in such a way

that you just

fall in love with it

so that nothing will get

in the way of you

wanting to get on your board

and create,

play, and have fun

and outdo your own limitations,

and I think that moment

that captivated Danny Way

was that Del Mar moment.

I remember

my brother and I, like,

seeing it from the freeway

and seeing guys

flying out of pools and stuff,

and we were freaking out.

My dad turned around

and took us straight there

and got us memberships.

I was too young,

so we had to lie about my age.

When the park started

in 1978,

it was the full-on boom

of skateboarding.

We had, like, six people

working at a time.

You know,

I think of those days...

I'd wake up

at 8:
00 in the morning

and go to Denny's,

get breakfast,

come to the park, be the

first one in there skating.

It was sheer passion.

Soon as I hit

that park, padded up,

paid my money,

and, like, skated in there,

I just knew I wanted

to be part of that scene.

I still remember

my initial experience

at the park.

To hear the sound

of the wheels

and the bearings

on the concrete,

just, like,

that was it.

There was no turning back,

completely hooked.

All the best skateboarders

skated at Del Mar.

If you want to get better

and make a name

for yourself, it's there.

Del Mar definitely

defined my personality.

It gave me

a sense of identity.

It gave me a community,

a group that I really

enjoyed hanging out with,

and it set me apart

from the normal high school kid.

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