Ray Barbee Is the Happiest Man in Skateboarding | “Skaters have issues, but color’s not one of them. Ever.”

Since 1988 Ray Barbee has had some of the best style on a skateboard as well as one of the best attitudes. As most skaters struggled to transfer their tranny style to the streets, Ray just smoothing glided around with one of the best pushes in the business. Now almost 30-years later he’s still loving it as Chris Nieratko found out:

“Fast-forward 27 years and today Ray Barbee is revered as one of the kindest, most beloved figures in skateboarding history. In the years since turning pro for Powell, there have been few documented instances where he has been seen without a smile on his face. There are more known photos of sasquatches than of an unhappy Ray Ray, and yet life hasn’t always been easy for Barbee. Being black in the white world of Orange County, California, brought its share of racist run-ins, both from Nazi skinheads and his own African American community, who interpreted his love for skateboarding as him “trying to be white.” Yet through all the ups and downs, despite all the ugliness that plagues our world, he has always maintained a positive attitude.”

 

Head over to VICE to read Ray Barbee Is the Happiest Man in Skateboarding