Key Takeaways
- Travis Barker said he hid ham and chicken in his pockets at 13 before telling his father, “I don’t eat meat anymore,” after connecting meat with the animals it came from.
- The Blink-182 drummer now promotes cruelty-free products, invests in vegan restaurants and is partnering with Humane World for Animals to encourage animal-friendly choices.
- Barker raises 2-year-old Rocky on vegan food but says his son can choose his own diet later, emphasizing that he prefers “leading by example” over preaching.
Travis Barker's path to veganism apparently started with pockets full of contraband ham and chicken.
Long before the Blink-182 drummer built businesses around wellness or became an outspoken animal advocate, Barker was a 13-year-old trying to avoid eating meat without getting caught. Speaking to People about his new campaign with Humane World for Animals, Barker recalled sitting at the dinner table for hours because he wasn't allowed to leave until he'd cleaned his plate.
Eventually, he developed a workaround. “I figured out I could hide all of the meat in my pockets,” Barker said.
The plan worked—until his mother noticed a pattern. “I got caught eventually. My mom was like, ‘Why is there always ham in your pocket? Why is there always chicken in your pocket?’”
The hiding stopped once Barker understood exactly what was on his plate. He said that as a child, he hadn't connected meat with the animals it came from. Once he did, he decided immediately. “I remember clearly sitting at Thanksgiving dinner and telling my dad I don’t eat meat anymore,” he said. “That was the beginning of me making plant-based meals in my house.”
More than three decades later, Barker's childhood rebellion has become part of his lifestyle and business portfolio. The 50-year-old promotes cruelty-free products through Barker Wellness and Barker Canna, has invested in vegan restaurants including Crossroads Kitchen, and is now partnering with Humane World for Animals on a campaign encouraging people to make changes ranging from adopting pets through shelters to avoiding fur and leather.
That philosophy has also reached the family Barker shares with Kourtney Kardashian. Their 2-year-old son, Rocky Thirteen, eats vegan with his father, while Barker said Kardashian and several of their older children aren't vegan but regularly eat plant-based meals with him.
“There are so many good substitutes,” Barker said, adding that Rocky eats vegan egg whites, vegan sushi, edamame and gluten-free vegan bread with vegan butter.
Barker isn't insisting that Rocky stay vegan once he's old enough to decide for himself. “Whatever his choice is when he’s old enough to make it will be his,” he said. “I don’t like to be preachy, and I don’t like extremists on any side of anything.”
Instead, Barker said his approach is about “leading by example.”
That outlook fits with the more personal territory Barker has been exploring recently. His Hulu documentary, Travis Barker: Louder Than Fear, examines everything from sobriety and fatherhood to his recovery from the catastrophic 2008 plane crash that killed four people and left him severely burned.
