RIP Tiki Diablo (aka. Danny Gallardo) - June 14th, 1971 - February 5th, 2026 - General Tiki

H heylownine Grand Member (1 year) Agoura Hills, CA Joined: Oct 05, 2008 Posts: 979	H heylownine Posted posted on Mon, Feb 9, 2026 7:01 PM I wrote a lot of flowery words in a first draft. That's now saved for a longer blog post about the community. Instead I want this to be about Danny. Danny who was so kind, so talented, and oh did I mention what a great PERSON he was? I'm happy we have, in our house, reminders of his incredible talent. Like, everywhere. No one gets to take those artifacts away. But even better are the memories I have of Tiki Diablo. We knew each other from events, but we didn't really hang out. No claims to a close friendship. And yet, in 2016 as we boarded our plane for the Hukilau, who sat down in the row across from us and said, in the nicest way..."what's up, losers?". Danny. When did I last feel that seen and welcomed? And a few years later, when we were at LAX on some non-tiki vacation, who comes up to use to say hi and give us a hug? Danny, who I believe was commuting at the time while working on the new Don's on the east coast. Any that's what Danny was to me - an incredible artist, but an even better human who didn't shy away from making connections no matter who you are. Rest easy, and thank you for being you. Kevin / heylownine / 5 Minutes of Rum [ Edited by heylownine on 2026-02-09 19:02:56 ] [ Edited by heylownine on 2026-02-09 19:04:00 ]

I wrote a lot of flowery words in a first draft. That's now saved for a longer blog post about the community.

Instead I want this to be about Danny. Danny who was so kind, so talented, and oh did I mention what a great PERSON he was? I'm happy we have, in our house, reminders of his incredible talent. Like, everywhere. No one gets to take those artifacts away. But even better are the memories I have of Tiki Diablo. We knew each other from events, but we didn't really hang out. No claims to a close friendship. And yet, in 2016 as we boarded our plane for the Hukilau, who sat down in the row across from us and said, in the nicest way..."what's up, losers?". Danny. When did I last feel that seen and welcomed?

And a few years later, when we were at LAX on some non-tiki vacation, who comes up to use to say hi and give us a hug? Danny, who I believe was commuting at the time while working on the new Don's on the east coast.

Any that's what Danny was to me - an incredible artist, but an even better human who didn't shy away from making connections no matter who you are.

Rest easy, and thank you for being you.

Kevin / heylownine / 5 Minutes of Rum

[ Edited by heylownine on 2026-02-09 19:02:56 ]

[ Edited by heylownine on 2026-02-09 19:04:00 ]

Post #817915 by heylownine on Mon, Feb 9, 2026 7:01 PM