Big Bike BMX podcast interviews Large Ray (in 2022). While I never really talked to Large Ray back in the day, he's one of those characters from 1980's BMX freestyle that, much like me, stumbled into the national scene, and got to know all the top pros and industry people of the day. I remember Bob Morales, of the AFA, telling me about Ray's smoke bomb flatland run and how the crowd went crazy. He was around a lot of the freestyle hijinks of that era, and has a ton of great stories to tell. If you were an 80's BMX freestyler, this is a great podcast to watch.
I'm currently doing one of my Sharpie drawings of a top 80's freestyle pro, for another Old School BMXer. Since my drawings take 40-45 hours each to draw, I like to listen to any content about whomever I'm drawing when I'm working. Well, I couldn't find a podcast of the guy I'm drawing yesterday, but this Big Bike BMX podcast with Large Ray popped up in the YouTube results, and I had to check it out.
It's freakin' hilarious. It also totally reminded me of how I somehow stumbled into the BMX industry. One year I was a kid in Idaho totally into this weird, new sport that nobody had heard of, and two years later I was working at a couple of magazines, and met all the top riders and industry people of that era. It still blows my mind that all that happened. That kind of thing doesn't happen in mainstream pro sports. You don't go from being a basketball fan to hanging out with Lebron, and Steph Curry, and a bunch of other top pros. It just doesn't happen. But it can happen in BMX and skateboarding, and the action sports world. That's part of what makes these sports so fun to be a part of, at any age.
This interview with Ray brings back all that crazy, goofy enthusiasm we had back in the day. And I love the part about the "Amish" kids. I was laughing my ass off. Anyhow, just watch the podcast when you can.
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