Ray is def in the elite group of skateboarding luminaries, legends of all time. Natas was a pioneer of his time for innovation and exploration of what you can do on a skateboard, Ray was the first (and still the best) at bringing smooth to the game, effortless, graceful smoothness…a pleasure to watch…his style and this music make this clip legendary and almost mesmeric. Bless you Ray Barbee.
Good point about Natas. He was amazing too but when Ray did it he was so graceful and he also took his time. My second favortie under Natas for sure and I'd say my third favorite would be Frankie Hill. Frankie was the first skater I ever seen go freaking bigger than anyone else.
such a mesmerizing part i love how personal these older parts feel, it's like you get to see this person just exactly as they are, flaws and greatness alike you miss out on a bit of that when you get to the parts that are just one trick, cut, one trick, cut, etc. all skating is sick but this just oozes that natural style
My first time learning about this dude was some guy at my local library introducing me to this video back in 2011 and I’ve been in love every since. Ray Barbee rocks !
Going to the store to get my dads newspaper I WAS Ray! Hitting every curb cut, trying all the no comply and 43 variations. Trying to emulate that waterlike flow. Stoked at hitting up a trick in the evening sunshine with the only person to appreciate it being me. Getting home all sweaty to hear the old man saying 'might as well have got tomorrow's paper you've been that long😂. Back in my room watching endless skate footage. Buzzing for the next time on board. I'm 48 now knees are shot and back is too. But I'll still look at a spot old and new as I drive by them. And I'll always be a skater.
After seeing this video for the first time way back then me and all my friends HAD to learn No Complys right away. But nobody could pull them off as smoothly as Ray B! The guy made everything look so effortless.
I remember when the tape dropped , 89 maybe early 90 - 91 whanna say , street skate was definitely starting to bloom , but Vert was still strong in our area , some serious throw back memories here after 93 into like the 90s before Xtreme Games ,, Vert was done , the boards were changing , the wheels were getting way smaller , from vert wheels , which were massive compared to what the new ones . The decks were revolutionized. But I still love all my vert decks , Hasoi was my go too , my first deck was Powell , good stuff , thanks for sharing , i officially feel old .
I'm really glad I started skating when iwas young because I realize now that it helped me to enjoy things in my life; moments and people and not be in competition with them or myself. Thank you skateboarding. Thank you all the ams and pros that would look out with gear and decks who took us to comps and skateparks or would just come skate for a min and chill. I'm just one of many old youngster knuckleheads that appreciates that if you peep it long enough you see the movement.
Camera man did an amazing job. Some of these shots are really great, like the one of Barbee riding along the graffiti when the car passes by, and the shot of him riding past the people on the sidewalk. It looks so effortlessly high-budget like it’s out of a TV show. As we get further in to the future it must feel increasingly “cool” to have this footage of yourself in such a raw era.
There is such a diffrence with this era. True everything today is better. Yes H-Steet came out with better tricks later on but Powell showed the way. This was a period of exploring what was possible on a skateboard and doing it with style. Today there are no limits , but back then no one knew that so everything was fresh. Love this Barbee part. Good times!!
I wouldn't say everything is better, perhaps progressed into bigger and crazier tricks, sure, but skating is art and expression. These tricks are still as relevant as they day they were shot. I would also add that watching skate videos these days don't make me want to skate nearly as much as the 80s and early 90s ones do. Barbee is the king of smooth, and how could you not want to go skate after watching this. Ultimate inspiration.
Dude doing manual to kickflip way back then. Buttery smooth style. My wife just bought an original Ray Barbee board and a few others for 30 bucks. Didn't even realize what she bought lol.Its been skated and definitely not perfect but it will go perfectly with my little retro collection I have going.
I love how skate vids were at the time. Just cruising. Also the music and slow mo tgrough the entire video was sick. Not everythings gotta be hd and filmed perfectly, add some character
Bones Brigade was the SEAL Team Six of Skateboarding back in the 80s. They set the benchmark. I don't think anyone back then could imagine the meteoric evolution that skateboarding would undergo.
Skating like water moving down a hill, smooth ground or obstacle, just flowing and looking like a part of nature About as natural as a fish swimming. You can't teach effortless style and creativity. This man added some tributaries to the river, very pleasing to view
Those boards were heavy af back then too. Consider that when watching this, that makes it even more phenomenal.. get hit in the shin, or chin, with that bad boy- it feels like a 4x4 in the hands of Hacksaw Jim Duggin when it connects with your face, or shin.
Perhaps it will seem silly to you... But since I saw this video in my childhood, I have never seen a better way to go to do the necessary shopping for mother than how Mr Ray goes to the bakery. It's still amazing the way to flow
@1:17 is that called backside bigspin 360 body varial? I never really caught that when I first saw this back in the day..weird. I thought it looked sick but I guess I didn't understand what he was doing then.
It would've been called a gazelle spin back then, but nowadays people would call it a nollie gazelle spin. It's one of Mullen's freestyle tricks that got adapted to street in this era. This part is one of my favorites, almost like a snapshot of when street skating was evolving the fastest
