Overview
- In a recent Anderson Cooper podcast appearance, Barker described hearing his mother tell him to “pursue music” the last time he saw her and said the memory still guides him.
- Barker said his mother, Gloria, died of complications from the autoimmune disease Sjögren’s syndrome the day before he started high school.
- He recounted that grief drove him to focus on playing drums immediately after her death and helped shape the choices that led to his music career.
- Barker also discussed surviving a 2008 small plane crash that caused severe burns, years of PTSD and survivor guilt, and how therapy and family support — including his wife Kourtney Kardashian and their children — aided his recovery.
- His interview dovetails with the Hulu documentary Travis Barker: Louder Than Fear, which brings these private losses and his coping work back into public view and may prompt wider conversation about trauma and healing.