David Labrava

Labrava was born in Miami, Florida, and spent time in Amsterdam, where he worked as a tattoo artist and bouncer at a club.^[1] He grew up riding dirt bikes and got his first Harley Davidson when he was 17. At 14, he was cooking chicharrón with Cubans in Hialeah, Florida.^[1][3]

Labrava was initially hired as a technical advisor for Sons of Anarchy before being cast in the role of Happy Lowman. He remained with the show from its inception in 2008 until its finale in 2014.^[5] He also co-wrote season 4, episode 10, titled "Hands," which was the only episode in seven seasons that ever won an award, an honorable mention from Time magazine.^[1]

Labrava has authored a best-selling autobiography entitled Becoming A Son.^[6]

Labrava wrote, produced, directed, and starred in his first feature film, Street Level (2015),^[7] which is available on digital platforms.

Additionally, he writes the "Burnin' Rubber with Jimmy Carbone" column in the national hot rod magazine, Ol' Skool Rodz. He is credited as Dave "D.L." Labrava.^[8] Previously, he used to write for The Horse motorcycle magazine and built a bike that made the cover in March 2001.^[9]

Labrava resides in Oakland, California, with his dogs and practices Buddhism.^[10]

His son, Tycho, died by suicide on May 5, 2018, at the age of 16. There had been no previous outward signs of depression or any other mental health issues. Labrava wrote on Instagram, "I am broken," and encouraged his followers to communicate with their loved ones, because "there may not be any signs."^[11]

In 2008, Labrava was arrested in Missoula County, Montana, on two felony counts of possession of marijuana and two misdemeanor counts for possession of paraphernalia. A search warrant was obtained for his hotel room after a woman reported he had held her there against her will. After the search warrant was executed, 1.5 grams of hashish and a pipe were discovered.^[4]