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» Christian Hosoi
» Lance Mountain
» Richard Mulder
» Brian Sumner
» Ray Barbee
To witness Ray Barbee's smooth and buttery frontside flips or heelflip varials is a true blessing. Ever since his formative years as an amateur on Alva, Ray has possessed a keen sense of flow and style. His talent on the board coupled with his strong Christian beliefs keeps him at peace in a world of discord.
His skate beginnings stem from some key backyard ramp sessions with his friends in San Jose, California. He didn't really begin to skate the streets until some time later. But when he decided to move forward in the direction of street skating his collective arsenal of tricks grew at an alarming rate of speed. His flat ground stunts caused onlookers and fellow competitors to stare in awe as he busted them out in rapid succession.
Ray climbed through the amateur ranks for several years before he was picked up by Powell and featured in Ban This. To this day, to watch his creative skate style and flow of tricks in that video still makes you want to go out and skate. Ray then turned pro through his hard work and dedicated efforts. He toured, filmed and competed with the Powell team through 1991.
As Lance Mountain was in the process of staring up his own company, The Firm, Ray left Powell to join him in building a team and moving forward in his own career. But it wasn't easy for either of them through those years. "I knew Lance was a believer and when I rode for Powell he shared some stuff with me" Ray says "there was incident where a lady had called some things out and had really freaked me, she basically told me that in 3 years I would be serving the Lord."
Skating's popularity had dropped off considerably and board royalty checks and endorsements could barely pay the rent. Still they carried on and stuck it out together with other riders on the team roster coming and going over the years.
Today, The Firm has passed and Ray is enjoying himself both on and off the board. Like other skaters, Ray also has another creative outlet - playing guitar, creating and mixing music. He has produced a few songs for an EP titled "Triumphant Procession" and some of his recent musical work was included in the recent Firm video.
Whether he is busy noodling (playing) on his guitars or raising his new son Nolan, Ray is most likely gleaming with his infectious smile.
"I called on the name of the Lord when I was 22 and I'm 34 now" he says "when I grew up my grandmother lived with us and she had a strong faith in Jesus, she was my model for the love of God, I'm always thankful for my grandmothers prayers"
Ray says that he is thankful for God's presence in this life on a daily basis. "You know the Lord brought me out of the darkness and into His wonderful life, He uses so many things in your life" he says "it started with me being frustrated with my life and seeking truth, it was really exciting when I first called on His name, there was only a handful of guys that had skate ministries and now with the Uprising it's just amazing."
He says that he's thankful for the vision and the heart that the lord has given event organizer Jay Haizlip. "When the harvest is plentiful and the workers are few then to pray for the harvest" he says.
Of the entire Uprising experience he says "I'm really excited about breaking stereotypes and meeting people where they are, I just want to be out there and able to build relationships with skaters who would never pick up a tract or walk into a church."
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