Born May 11th, 1978...DLW was born with an artistic and musical expression. Even as early as pre-school, Donnie showed an exceptional love for art and music, and always seemed to stand out with his artistic abilities. Coming up through school, Donnie was always a part of the school's “Special Arts” Program, where he excelled in his self-expression, and ability to take a project to the next level. Believe it or not, DLW did not always get the best of grades in the art room. Losing control of this ability for his self-expression, often led to him doing his own thing, and not completing assigned projects. Donnie applied to the Ringling School of Art and Design in Florida, but was denied due to his “less than acceptable” grade point average. “Looking back, I could have paid a lot more attention to school and doing well, but like everyone else, I just wanted out...High school was a tough gig for me,” he says.

Many of Donnie's classmates still have original artwork from him while they attended school together.“Every time the yearbooks came out, so did the sharpies and all the cartoon characters. A lot of people, friends and even just acquaintances of mine would be like 'Here, hook me up!' It was very flattering. I have recently been in touch with a girl I went all through school with who still has pictures from middle school I drew for her. I had a huge crush on her, so that was really rad."

A lot of DLW's artistic vision comes from his love of music. Donnie says, “When I was in middle school, l started making my own band posters. I was real heavy into punk, so I would make my own Sex Pistols and Black Flag posters out of old cardboard boxes and hang them all over my bedroom. At Christmas one year, I took lights and hung them all around this huge Sex Pistols banner I made. I was like...‘Wow, Merry Christmas!’"

Eventually, his love for heavy music led him into the direction of heavy metal, and listening to bands like L.A. Guns, Guns N Roses, Motley Crue and Metallica.“I think it was during this time, 5th grade, when I really started drawing allot of skulls. It was all over my favorite bands album covers, so I was like, 'Hey, Ill draw that’...And it was all down hill from there.”

Countless hours were spent behind the drawing desk sharpening his skills, while the radio played in the background.“I was late to dinner a lot. I would be in the middle of drawing something and really be into it and my parents would be yellin' for me to come eat. There's a spot when I'm drawing when it’s cool to stop and take a breather, but those times are never choreographed and can't be. I ate allot of cold meals, how's that.”

The radio and his favorite bands were never far away. It only made sense that one-day his ability to be creative, would lead to him becoming a musician.“I remember in middle and high school always beatin' on the desks, or playing air drums to certain tunes on the radio. My friends would be like ‘Dude, it actually looks like your playin’.”After graduation, and loading beer trucks for the money, DLW bought his first drum set, which he still owns and plays.“A buddy of mine had a guitar rig, and me and him would sit on the phone and talk about music all night. We both agreed I should get a drum kit and we would start a band...So, I saved up the money, and BOOM, I had a kit”.Teaching himself how to play, he quickly began to learn his favorite songs."I got really heavy into Van Halen. I could always turn off all the other sounds and just hear drums. I would figure out what Alex V. would be hitting based off the sound it made. From there I plugged that method into all my other fav's, and before I knew it, I was rockin."

Feeling confident it was time to get into a band, he hung an add in a local music store seeking a band to jam with and do shows." I lied my ass off to get the gig. I put something like 5 years experience on the ad, when in fact I had only been playing for like maybe one and a half. After about a year of jammin' with then 'Hung Jury', I told them...'You know I've only been playing for like two and half years...right?' They were like, 'What?' I explained I knew I wouldn't have had a chance if anyone really knew. They took it well. The rest is 'history in the making' I like to call it.

Following in the footsteps of his Grandfather, Father and Brother, DLW became a fireman, joining the Hartwood Vol. Fire Dept. at 15 years old. His artistic abilities were quickly noticed and almost immediately put to work. "Actually, the patch for Hartwood Vol. Fire Dept. was the first patch I ever did for any fire department. I guess that was the start to my career, in more ways than one."Another fire department artist, George Hood, became a main focus in Donnie developing his skills when drawing fire apparatus."I saw his stuff, and was like, ' I need to draw like that guy'. His stuff is amazing. I learned how to draw fire trucks from him, even though he never gave me lesson. How crazy is that?"

Over the years, DLW has done countless patches, fire truck drawings and sketches for fire departments all over the country. He was recently recognized in the local paper, and on Firehouse.com for his work on several fire department murals, which adorn the walls of several Virginia Firehouses."It’s always cool to be able to paint or draw something, or see someone walking down the street with a t-shirt on or a tattoo you drew on them. Those moments are priceless; and I couldn't put a price tag on the feeling of accomplishment I get. It’s like "FUCK YEAH, That's cool..."