From kissing Tony Hawk on the lips to being dead broke in Portland, Oregon—Ben Raybourn bares all in his Chrome Ball interview

Ben Raybourn's got a bit of a Cinderella story these last few years. From being critics' choice pro to falling off the map—to coming back! Eric Swisher, one of the best interviewers in our world, got the low down with Ben in his latest Chrome Ball interview. Worth a read right here. 

Ben gets into what he's up to now, which is working full time on construction sites. The two go into his mentality on filming video parts, how he got hooked on watching 80s skate videos in the early 2000s, coming up in Texas and so much more. His whole skate history timeline is covered. Even the years where he fell off the map—Ben opens up for the first time about his drinking and drugs in Portland, Oregon.

"And you know how the bar scene goes, stuff gets gnarlier and gnarlier. Before I knew it, I was fucked. I had no money, hanging out with random people at a bar. Drugs got heavily involved…

Basically, what ended up happening is that my friend Jake from Texas came to my apartment and took me back home. And I’m glad he did, because I was probably gonna end up dead."

"Portland can be a dark place. And I’ve found that this sorta thing often stems from skaters being left to their own devices as that fun from the road starts carrying over into daily living…"

We're glad to have you back buddy! He's on Metal Skateboards with Fred Gall for God's sake! How rad is that?

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