What you need to know about Kourtney Kardashian’s fiance, Travis Barker: from the Blink-182 drummer’s multimillion-dollar net worth to that 2008 plane crash

HONG KONG — Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and Keeping Up With the Kardashians star Kourtney Kardashian — known together as “Kravis” — are officially engaged! The two were long-time friends and neighbours who only recently went Instagram official with their relationship, posting romantic — and often steamy — PDA photos on their accounts.

Their engagement confirmation post was captioned “forever”, and showed the couple hugging while surrounded by roses.

But before he enamoured us with his blossoming love life, the 45-year-old star made headlines with his impressive career milestones as a pop-punk rock icon of the new millennium, alongside other crazy, messy and near-death encounters that changed his life.

HE’S A GOAT IN HIS FIELD

Barker is considered one of the greatest of all time drummers. He gained popularity at the turn of the millennium, after joining Blink-182 in 1998 and releasing the album “Enema of the State” in 1999, which sold up to 15 million copies worldwide. The tracks All The Small Things and What’s My Age Again? turned Barker and his bandmates Tom DeLonge and Mark Hoppus into pop-punk superstars of the MTV generation.

Having played the drums since he was four, Barker is easily distinguishable for his non-stop beats and energetic playing — the kind that hooks you into a trance just by watching — as well as his edgy fashion, piercings and tattoo-covered torso.

“He’s an animalistic artist who performs fiercely and is unafraid to go theatrical,” said a 2016 Rolling Stone report titled 100 Greatest Drummers of All Time.

HE HAS A STAGGERING NET WORTH

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Barker’s average wealth is estimated to be about US$50 million (S$67 million). Other than the money he’s made in the years playing as Blink-182’s drummer, and his subsequent collaborations with other bands and artists, the drummer is quite the entrepreneur too.

Way back in 1999, he launched Famous Stars and Straps, a clothing line inspired by music, tattoo and car culture. In his Instagram bio, Barker also promotes a host of other moneymaking ventures: his record label, a plant-based Mediterranean restaurant in LA, and his recently launched brand of cannabinol-infused wellness products under Barker Wellness.

HE HAD A VERY MESSY DIVORCE

Barker and former Miss USA runner-up Shanna Moakler wed in 2004. They have a son, Landon Asher, and a daughter, Alabama Luella. They went public with their family life in the MTV reality show Meet The Barkers, which ran for two seasons.

The couple split up in 2006, according to People, and the two often publicly complained about each other using their MySpace accounts. The couple’s divorce was finalised in 2008.

In 2014, Barker and Moakler they were both arrested following death threats made against each other, as detailed in a 2015 TMZ report.

Earlier this year, however, a source told US Magazine that the exes now have a “very good” co-parenting dynamic.

A 2008 PLANE CRASH CHANGED HIS LIFE

Thirteen years ago, Barker survived a deadly plane crash that killed his four other companions. The crash left him with third-degree burns on 65 per cent of his body, which led him to undergo more than 16 surgeries and skin grafts, and spend months in hospitals, according to The Independent. The only other survivor of the crash, Adam Goldstein, known as DJ AM, passed away later on from a drug overdose.

In 2015, Barker recalled his near-death experience and opened up about his suicidal thoughts, PTSD and survivor’s guilt in a memoir called Can I Say: Living Large, Cheating Death, and Drums, Drums, Drums.

Barker hasn’t travelled by air since — until recently, on a holiday trip to Cabo, with his now-fiance. SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST