This is Ray “CR” Barlow, I filmed him a year ago for Lecrae’s concert visuals (clip above).
You might recognize a shot that was used in ‘Welcome to America”.
“One thing I enjoyed while in school was sports, but the decisions and lifestyle I choose got me caught up in the streets, drug dealing, gangs, violence and it hindered me from finishing school. The year I was supposed to graduate, I was getting sentenced. While I was in prison I wasn’t trying to get worse, I was trying to become a better person. I used to get in a lot of fight for that reason of standing out and staying to myself. Not only was I fighting, I was winning and was good at it. So I decided to do some research and see if there were gyms in my area of living in Atlanta once I was released.
When I got out and started boxing, it was first a challenge of the body to me which I loved, having to learn how to breath properly while through millions of punches over hours of training. As I progressed I realized it wasn’t just a challenge of the body but also the mind. Like being able to stay calm in a tough fight.
Years before all of that, I had a major fear of what I will become in life as a man and would I ever amount to anything besides being a smalltime young street punk. The more I went through situations in life, prison at the age of 18, at the age of 15 getting in shoot out and seeing a used to be friend of mine shot right in front of me, which could have easily been me, having numerous guns aimed at me execution style around the age of 15, going through almost going mentally unstable due to weed and alcohol abuse around the age of 15-17.
Through all of that, those things showed me I am a son of God and through it all I can prevail and will be protected with prayer, belief, and a strong bond with with The Most High. Now, I fear nothing.”
You can check out his YouTube channel here.