It’s crazy to imagine Shawn Barron passed away a year ago now. No doubt, the man was an icon. And while there’s no one way to memorialize a person it’s definitely most appropriate to do so through the eyes of the people he was closest to. For a guy that we saw on cover after cover, and in feature after feature in surf magazines, there were a few things that were always apparent about Shawn “Barney” Barron: he was the life of the party, he made people smile, and he was given the name Barney for a reason. Volcom recently produced a half hour documentary about the Westsider/aerialist/artist/big wave surfer/barney, and they did so with the voices of his closest friends. A lot of those friends were the same guys we saw rise to surfer rock star status a little more than 15 years ago right alongside Barney.
You can argue guys like Flea, Skindog, Ratboy and Peter Mel all did it together – taking over Westcliff Drive and stealing the spotlight at Mavericks in bright wetsuits. So rather than try to write what I knew of the guy myself as a preview to Volcom’s film, I think it’s best to hear what they remember about Barney. From jumping off the cliff at Steamer Lane to how his surfing mirrored his spirit. It’s worth the 30 minute watch.
Skindog
“He was born an old soul, because he just smiled all the time. You go to the Lane and it’s such a pressure cooker. Every person that jumped off that cliff you were just going ‘God, this is getting more and more crowded and more and more gnarly. And all of the sudden you’d see Barney. It didn’t matter how crowded it was, if you saw Barney you’d just smile. He had such a good personality and such a aura around him.”
Ratboy
“Barney’s surfing was loud and extreme, kinda like Barney, you know? No two waves were ridden alike. He would just try to pull everything, no matter what. You’d see other guys just fall and Barney would just into his Barney layback.”
Peter Mel
“We were scared surfing there (Mavericks) together. But we all did it together. We all challenged each other, we all had to one up each other. And Barney would be out there just chuckling and making jokes, doing his funny voices, and it would bring this level of comfort.”
Flea
“Whatever he was doing he was always having fun. He was super limber and I just remember him doing cartwheels all over the place.”
