"I Flew All the Way Down the REM Hill." | Alex Ray Check-In

Alex Ray has been a beloved privateer racing Supercross and motocross for a number of years. Fans have grown to love watching and commenting on social media about the Tennessee native's on-track exploits. Anytime he was on the track you knew things could get exciting. His personality and riding style are made of fun energy laced with humor, self-deprecation, and sketchiness. ARay is also very talented. Alex consistently made Monster Energy Supercross main events and had a career best 12th at High Point in the nationals in 2018. ARay decided to hang up the boots professionally this year and go to work full-time at O'Neal U.S.A. We called him up for a check-in to see how he was feeling with a new Supercross season fast approaching and to congratulate him on getting married to his lovely wife, Sam. 

For the full interview, check out the Vital MX podcast right here. If you're interested in the condensed written version, scroll down just a bit further.

Jamie Guida – Vital MX: It's time for another rider check-in. This time, it's Alex Ray. What's going on ARay?

Alex Ray: Well, you got that wrong. It's not a rider check-in because I'm not a rider anymore. OK, I am a rider, but I'm not a racer.

Vital MX: You were a pro racer. You still count.

ARay: 'Were'. I'm a vet guy now.

Vital MX: A fat, slow vet rider.

ARay: I am gaining weight by the day and just swelling up.

Vital MX: We'll get into that, but as we get closer to the start of the 2024 Supercross series, A1 is right around the corner. What are your emotions?

ARay: I don't really have any. Usually around this time, and I just did this. I'm scrolling through Instagram, and all these dudes are 'flying at the test track.' I always list how many factory guys will be at Anaheim 1 and "Where do I slot in?" There's usually about 20 guys and two spots left for me. Then, the stress keeps me fueled to do the off-season training through boot camp because this is crunch time. You're testing the bike, trying to make it better, but at the same time, you want to do your motos and training. You're supposed to be eating right, and there are no breaks. Most of the guys are wearing themselves down, and then around Christmas time, they will take a couple of days off to rebuild themselves. Right now, it would be train, train, train, and ride, ride, ride. It's just tiring, and right now, I'm not doing shit. It's awesome.

Vital MX: So, I guess that's a positive thing?

ARay: It's definitely life-changing. These last six months have been go, go, go, and staying busy with the move to Thousand Oaks from Murrieta and the wedding. Sorry, you didn't get the invite. It must have gotten lost in the mail. (Yeah, OK, ARay) It's been a lot, but it's all for the better for me. I raced professionally for 12 years or so. I try not to count the first couple of years because I sucked so bad. It was awesome, but I'm super glad to be done and that I found a home at O'Neal. I'm sitting at my desk right now, and things are booming, and I'm excited.

Vital MX: I feel that when Saturday night gets here, and Opening Ceremonies are going on at A1, you'll wish you were there.

ARay: No.

Vital MX: You're over it.

ARay: Yeah, I'm done. During this last outdoor series, I was so miserable. At the beginning of Supercross, things were good. Then I broke my thumb, fixed it, and tried to rush back. Two weeks later, I'm racing again after surgery on my thumb. Then, I broke another finger a couple of weeks after that. It was super small stuff that made me question, "What the F am I doing?" So, no, I'm done. I'm 30 years old and have nothing to show for it other than a few great results and a bunch of badass stories with my friends. This past year was going to be my last anyway. I was able to go out on my terms, which was nice. I made the right decision because I went to race Day in the Dirt this past weekend and wadded up down the hill. I'm over it. I'm skinned up from my head to my toes. I flew all the way down the R.E.M. hill.

Vital MX: Before we get to that, if I ask you what you'll miss about racing, I'm starting to think you'll say nothing. Is there anything? 

ARay: Yeah. I will miss the interaction with the fans because meeting new people every week was so awesome. They would tell me, "We watch you every weekend. We like the underdog story." I'm going to miss that and traveling. The main thing I'll miss about racing is waking up on a Monday or Tuesday, going to the track, and hitting the track in those first couple of laps during the warm-up when it's brand new. When it's fully prepped, the whoops are nice, and I'm flowing through a freshly prepped supercross track. I was riding Supercross this year and at the Yamaha test track, and it was early. The track was brand new and prepped, and it was so good. I was just riding and flowing. Not hanging up on any of the jumps and just hitting the downside. I was doing my warm-up, and I almost had tears in my eyes because I thought, "This is what I'm going to miss." You know, hitting a three-in out of a turn and icing it. That type of thing. 

Vital MX: Looking back, did you accomplish more than you dreamed of as an amateur?

ARay: Are you kidding me? (Here ARay makes an audible sound of exasperation) I grew up in a small town in Tennessee. My parents have a night track that is pretty well known, and we only had a couple of races a year. That's what I grew up on. Little night tracks like that. I always wanted to turn pro, but my dad would say, "We're just going to race on the weekends and have fun." Then a guy named Brian McDonald came along, and he still works with a lot of top pros with video and mental conditioning. He said, "Do you want to give this supercross thing a shot?" That's when I went to the Supercross Academy around 2009. I was about 16, just a kid. My dad drove me to California and just dropped me off. That's when I fell in love with riding supercross. 

Vital MX: It's cool that you weren't expecting that dream to come true, but it did. You may not have been a podium guy, but it was successful. You rode for a factory team at one point. 

ARay: I rode for a lot of good teams, including H.E.P. That's a team that is pretty much-considered factory Suzuki now. I rode for Cycle Trader/Rock River Yamaha for a couple of years. That was an amazing team.

Vital MX: Christina Denney is the best.

ARay: Yes, she was. Christina Denney on that team was more organized than the factory Yamaha team. Everything was on spreadsheets, and she'd say, "You have to be here at this time." It was great.

Vital MX: Let's talk about Day In the Dirt. You had the Kawasaki KX500 you built. Is that what you wadded on?

ARay: No. We were doing this Stunt GP class, and I had a teammate. I got the teammate within five minutes of the racing starting because I didn't already have one. It was David Rhine who used to drive the Factory Husky truck. He has an off-road Husky 500 that is badass. During the race, a rock hit my rotor and bent it. I had no front brake, and I did a couple of sketchy laps. I ended up hitting a guy because I couldn't stop, crashed again, and then my front wheel started sticking. On the last lap, David said, "Ride my bike." I said, "Alright." So, I hop on his bike, and I'm almost to the checkered flag, and right before we're coming down the R.E.M. hill, the rear wheel slides out at the top, and I'm jumping down the hill, and I high-side all the way down. If anyone has ever seen the movie Hot Rod where he's dancing in the woods, and all of a sudden, he trips, eats shit, and he can't stop flipping down the hill, that was me. I flew all the way down, and my whole right side is skinned to the bone. I'm sticking to the sheets. I put my new O'Neal 10 Series Carbon helmet to the test, and it was good. I was spitting up blood and thinking, "What the Hell?"

Vital MX: You did have the KX500 there. How was that?

ARay: I bought it, and it was rough. I built it up into this amazing motorcycle. Everything was good. I put the thing together, and on practice day, it was leaking anti-freeze because I didn't tighten a hose, and there were a bunch of things I didn't do right. It ended up making a lap. It didn't blow up, but a small part broke, and I couldn't finish, but my whole kit was good. I still have my half-face helmet in the van and made some custom gear. We had some white sample stuff, and I tried to emulate some old Jeff Ward stuff. I saw Jeff at the race, and he commented on one of Don's (Maeda) photos. That was a lot of pressure. I got some good content from it, and the bike turned out great. I'm so sore the bikes are still loaded (This was recorded four days after the event). I have to somehow get them out of the van today and get them washed. I will take it to T.R.E. (The Racer's Edge) in Simi Valley. They helped me a lot with the build. Jason (Aeck) does good work, so I will let him do a full prep to ensure it's all good. There's another guy with a Honda CR500 who wears O'Neal, and I think we're going to do something cool out at LACR. We may do a 500 video or something.

Vital MX: You mentioned working at O'Neal. What are your day-to-day roles there?

ARay: I'm an inside sales rep for the East Coast. I'm on the phone almost all day with dealers. Our outside sales reps are pushing the brand, trying to get it into dealerships that aren't carrying it, and keeping it stocked with those who do. It's moving good. O'Neal is great on the West Coast, and we want to get more eyes on it out East. I'm also doing some rider support. 

Vital MX: You're also still doing stuff with Swap Moto Live, such as testing and interviews, correct?

ARay: Yeah. We do the podcast every week. It's growing, and we just did our '24 450 shootout, which I was a part of. We also did the 250 shootouts, and I love the 250Fs. That's why I posted my 450 for sale because I kind of want a 250, but I'm gaining weight like a son of a bitch. I might need to keep the 450. I have to reel it in. I'm at the stage where I'm letting myself go. 

Vital MX: Let's close this out by congratulating you on the marriage. It's been a few weeks now, so how's it going?

ARay: It's going good. It's been a crazy transition. Everything happens so fast. A few people told me, "Try to soak it all in." The wedding day went by so fast. It was an amazing day, and I wish we could have put it in slow motion. It just went so fast. I had fun. I had too much fun. She's great, and she loves the dirt bike side of things. We were watching Bar to Bar on YouTube, and she was stoked on it. She's super cool. 

Vital MX: Anything else you want to say?

ARay: I do want to say something else about the transition. The best thing I could have done was go straight into a job after racing. I did take a month off, and we had a pre-honeymoon in Mexico. Then I was able to jump right into racing, and many people, when they are done racing or it's ripped away, just sit there and don't know what's next. It can take a toll on you mentally. You could be asking, "What's my purpose now? I'm no longer in the spotlight or racing on the weekend in front of thousands of people. What am I supposed to do now?" You have to keep yourself busy. It's crucial for mental health because it's a huge change.