Ray Barbee Interview | A present day legend
Ray Barbee might be more of a legend now than even when he was in his prime. Everything he does is with style and integrity and he may just be the happiest may in skateboarding. Genesis Evans sat down with Ray for Quartersnacks and talked race, trends, music, and more.
Did you face challenges in the skate world because you were black?
Yeah, I did. But never from skaters, or not from whites, if you will. I got it way more from other brothers and sisters…other blacks who thought I was trying to be white. They would always make fun of me for riding a skateboard because they thought it was a white thing. In the 80s, it was so close to punk rock and surfing, so I can see why they thought that, but at the same time, it motivated me. I always felt like, “I love what I’m doing, hopefully you guys are digging what you’re doing.”
Did you get that same response from family members?
No, not at all, thankfully. I’m sure they were probably scratching their heads — I know my parents were like, “what is this skateboard thing?” But for them it was more like, a financial thing. Skateboarding’s not cheap, man! But no, my family was encouraging.
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