Meet Austin L. Ray: Writer & Fundraiser

We had the good fortune of connecting with Austin L. Ray and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Austin, we’d love to hear more about your end-goal, professionally.
That’s a great question, and honestly, I don’t think about the end very often. Too much time spent thinking about the now and the near future for that. But I guess I probably don’t see myself retiring in any traditional sense. The nice thing about writing is that I can do it from anywhere and most people can do it even when they’re quite old. So in an ideal situation, I’ll probably one day be puttering around a yard that’s filled with flowers and vegetables and fruits and herbs, spending as much time as possible relaxing and enjoying the world while writing only when I truly want to.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
As far back as I can remember, I’ve always been drawn to words. When I was very young, I edited my mom’s letters before she sent them. I started dabbling in weird fiction in grade school and junior high. By college, I’d started focusing on journalism in earnest. I’ve written for places like Rolling Stone, Creative Loafing (RIP), First We Feast, GQ, Oxford American, Atlanta Magazine, and a bunch of other publications I’ve forgotten. About 10 years ago, I made my way into the marketing world. I’ve worked full-time for Mailchimp since, and have done branding work for small agencies and Tip Top Proper Cocktails.

I’ve learned that I need to write about lots of different things lest I get burnt out. I’ve had long runs writing about music and beer, but now those are things that I only write about when I’m moved by a particular story idea. Looking back over my career so far, that restlessness and desire for discovery has led me to profile Zach Galifianakis, investigate abusive brewery owners, eat a bunch of hamburgers, rhapsodize the many endearing qualities of Swiss chard, argue that Thursday is the best day, and ask a grammy-award-winning heavy metal drummer about the clown room in his house. Mixing it up keeps me interested and out of trouble.

Having a full-time job that takes care of my bills and fulfills me creatively is a massive luxury, by the way. Mailchimp allows me to pursue stories I want to tell, even if it takes a year to tell them. It lets me say yes even when the check isn’t as big as I’d like it to be. These are all essential parts of making sure I’m only working on things that I actually want to work on.

Lately, I’ve been writing about growing stuff. Everything from wildflowers to muscadines, chard to basil. I’d like to pursue that more in the years to come and see where it takes me. In fact, I’m working on a piece for Defector about how growing plants is a form of therapy. I’m very excited to be a small part of that amazing website.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Well, haters be damned, you gotta walk the BeltLine. It’s not without it’s problems, but it’s also special. Grab a slice at Glide. Get some cocktails at Ticonderoga Club. See a scuzzy rock ’n’ roll band at The EARL. Sing some karaoke at Mary’s. More cocktails plus oysters at Kimball House. Burritos and beers at Tesoro. More beers as Halfway Crooks. There are too many great greenspaces in and around this town: Sweetwater Creek State Park, Cascade Springs Nature Preserve, Constitution Lakes, Blue Heron Nature Preserve, Kirkwood Urban Forest, etc. You gotta eat a comfy chicken biscuit from Home grown and a whole gang of pastries from Evergreen Butcher + Baker. Drink some more beers at Brick Store Pub. That’s a good start. If you accomplish everything on this list, hit me up on Twitter and we’ll go deeper. Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Shoutout to the tireless organizers who have worked for years to overcome voter suppression, encourage people to be become civically involved, and to turn Georgia blue. (And remember: Georgia’s been blue for a while. Voter suppression has made it so it wasn’t official until recently.) There are far too many of these kind of orgs and activists to mention here, but lately I’ve been really moved by the work of The New Georgia Project. We’ve got a long way to go, but in my heart of hearts, I know that Georgia is gonna be blue forever. We’re just getting started. There’s no stopping us now.

More generally, orgs like NGP are such an inspiration for me. This past year and a half living through a pandemic has especially motivated me to give back more. With the help of a bunch of very talented friends like David Sizemore, Lizzy Johnston, Linda McNeil, the Soft Serve Bois™ (Kyle Kastranec and Mark Spence), and loads of internet pals, I’ve helped raise more than $30,000 for organizations like Fair Fight, Color of Change, New Georgia Project, and Giving Kitchen, not to mention numerous mutual-aid donations that have helped individuals in need.

Website: http://austinlouisray.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/austinlouisray/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/austinlouisray

Image Credits:
All photos by Jason Travis except for the black hoodie photo by Blake Tyers