From Storms to Success: Duke Riley’s Love Letter to Louisiana
Nineteen years after Hurricane Katrina devastated his hometown, Miami Dolphins player Duke Dennis reflects on how the tragedy shaped his identity as an athlete, musician, and businessman.
By Pretty HonoreFeb. 11 2025, Published 3:00 p.m. ET
For citizens of Louisiana, Katrina wasn’t just a hurricane—it was a force that ripped families from their roots and shattered communities. NFL player Duke Riley was only a child when the eye of the storm hit his hometown of Buras, La.
The small town was flooded with more than 20 feet of water, leaving his home destroyed and his family displaced. When the rain stopped, Duke’s long and challenging road to success began. Nineteen years later, he regards the tragedy as one of the most “critical moments” of his life.
“It taught me so much about life, just having to transition,” Duke told Bleu Magazine.
Duke continued: “I was able to get away from where I was—where I grew up—and be around different people and go to different schools and be around different mindsets and see different things and have more resources. It wasn't a lot of resources where I was from.”
Now a pro athlete, musician, and businessman, Duke says his challenges were the catalyst to his success. “Having to pick up and go, having to pick up and go [to] this hotel, this city, this hotel, my mama's family, this place with my daddy's family—it actually helped my career.”
“With the circumstances that I was given through all my life and the challenges that I had to go through, a lot of people didn't think I would be here,” the Miami Dolphins player said, adding, “But I always knew I would be.”
No matter how far Duke is from home, his love for Louisiana remains unwavering, and he puts on for his city every chance he gets. “Everything is influenced by where I'm from—my tattoos, the way I look, I dress, how I talk, how I walk, it's all of that,” the ball player told Bleu. “Louisiana got the most influence in music, fashion, style, swag—even sports.”
Although the football star has achieved massive success throughout his career, Duke said he will always remember where he came from. In fact, his love for Louisiana runs so deep that he said he’ll “never leave.”
“I love everything about [Louisiana] because I've been all over the world, and there's no better people. You know, this is just my opinion,” he said with pride. “I love that real, organic, genuine southern hospitality that the people where I'm from have, you know. You don't get that everywhere.”
After nearly a decade of dedication to football, Duke is determined to define his identity outside of the NFL, including building his resume in fashion and music. “I don't even think there are enough hours in a day for me,” the multi-faceted creative enthused.
Now that Duke has secured his spot in the league, he’s channeled his creative energy into his music and his own clothing brand, Down the Road Apparel (DTR).
Influenced by OG NOLA rappers like Lil Wayne and Juvenile, he dropped his debut album, We All Have Bad Habits, in 2024, featuring tracks like “Learning Lessons Still” and “Tom Brady.”
But Duke isn’t new to the rap game—he’s true to it. “I’ve been making music since high school; I just had to give it a break because I had to focus on football and get to a point where my football took care of my music career, to where I didn't have to get taken advantage of [by record executives].”
“I had to wait until seven years to drop my first song because I didn't want [the NFL] to say that anything that I do is a distraction,” he added. Given his keen eye for fashion, Duke’s dream of becoming a designer comes as no surprise.
“I've always wanted to be in the fashion [world]. People always told me to get into it. [But] I felt like, at the end of the day, there's a time and a place [for that],” he shared. And for Duke, that time and place is now.
Both literally and figuratively, Duke has put the city on his back. Heavy is the head that wears the crown, and this hometown hero doesn’t take that responsibility lightly.
“Right now, I can't make a mistake— I know that I gotta show up every single day at a different level than anybody else.”
Duke’s career is a testament to the Bayou state’s resilience. He turned storms into stepping stones on his path to success. As the NOLA native steps into the next chapter of his career, he does so with love in his heart and Louisiana on his mind.
