Burberry Erry's Liberty Spikes Changed His Life
The latest HYPEBEAST Diaries follows the punk skater through a day in his life.
Punk skater Burberry Erry is instantly recognized for his distinctive liberty spikes, but his legacy extends far beyond the confines of his daring hairstyle. Nicknamed Bam Margiela, referencing his childhood skateboarding icon Bam Mergera, Erry has not only conquered the skate park with his idiosyncratic tricks, but also the fashion world, with modeling gigs for high-end labels like Balenciaga, and the music sphere, with a recent appearance at Kanye West‘s DONDA 2 listening party alongside his longtime friend Playboi Carti. For the latest installment of HYPEBEAST Diaries, we took an inside look at the multi-hyphenate’s day-to-day across skating, fashion, music and more.
Growing up, the burgeoning creative lived a rather independent life — his father left at an early age, and his mother was constantly working, so he spent the majority of his free time frequenting his neighborhood skate park. “I didn’t have a role model,” he told HYPEBEAST. “The only thing I had was literally my skateboard.”
Reflecting on tough times, Erry recalls an overwhelming sensation of failure, claiming that he had felt like he was wasting his life on skating; it’s clear now, though, that he was fortunately mistaken. “Little did I know that every little decision, and just everything I did, was worth it.”
“I was like 11 when I started skating,” he added. “I used to skate at my local called Upland Skate Park, and I just remember going with my friends and just having fun. In reality, there’s no rules in skateboarding, so I literally got obsessed.”
In the latest HYPEBEAST Diaries, Erry begins his day playing Activision’s Tony Hawk Skateboarding title on his Nintendo 64, wearing a Balenciaga scarf tied snugly around his head. After almost winning a round in career mode, the skater-gamer ganders upon the wall behind his television, where he’s hung a legion of images featuring his biggest inspirations, including Bauhaus, Blondie’s Debbie Harry and controversial figure Marilyn Manson, among several others.
Following a slew of shots at the skate park, Erry explores his sneaker collection, specifically pulling out a pair that Virgil Abloh had gifted him years before his passing. “Virgil told me that I’ve got to use skateboarding as a tool,” he said. “He was like, ‘I’m going to send you this. You do you, and I’m going to post it.’”
In the final sequences of the video, Erry contemplates his success, crediting his commitment to originality for how far he has come. “I always knew that different was going to be more rewarding, and it’ll just take me to the next level. And then I started doing the liberty spikes, and I told myself— bro, I will never forget this s***, I told myself, ‘My hair will change my life.’”
Watch the latest installment of HYPEBEAST Diaries above.
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