(Tiki With) RAY WYLAND: An Appreciation

It is coming up on a year since I first met Ray Wyland. Through his website and YouTube vlog, he is better known as Tiki With Ray. I don’t know how or why I was lucky enough to have Ray come into my life, but I am ever so amazingly glad that he did.

Ray first showed up as a message on my Instagram account on October 7, 2022. I discussed all of that—how Ray wanted to interview me on his show, etc.— in an earlier write up. I sent him a few pieces of mail art following that encounter, as a thank you. We chatted a bit via text and “liked” each others’ posts on Instagram, but that was kind of it…until the following early spring.

In March, Ray asked if I was willing to drive to Bellingham and meet him at Red Rum, a nifty little tiki bar. Sure. Ray brought some friends of his along. That pushed me a bit outside of my comfort zone, but it was fine. I wrote about that experience as well HERE.

Since then, things have kind of snowballed and Ray has been more or less a constant in my life — and an amazing one at that.  He has introduced me to many in the tiki community of the Pacific Northwest. Through Ray I have been invited to home tiki bars and events, which meant meeting other tiki people. Remember the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon thing? Forget it. Everyone I know in the tiki community up here is a One Degree of Ray.

But he’s more than just a social connection. Ray has become the publicist and champion for my “work” (my silly, little blog posts and mail art) that I didn’t know I wanted or needed. He has graciously shared blog posts of mine on his social media, giving it a wider audience. He has had me on his YouTube show several times. I have shared the first interview in these pages and the mail art interview in one of my mail art posts. But there have been others.

One time (filmed right after we finished up chatting about mail art), Ray kept the camera rolling and we had a chat about horror movies from the 50s and 60s. Another featured me as the questionnaire, interviewing him as a “Tiki Famous” person.

The Tiki Famous thing came about because Ray got me an introduction to Ken Holewczynski, owner/operator of House of Tabu and publisher of EXOTICA MODERNE, the tiki magazine at the moment (which Ray also writes for). Because of Ray, (although I am not 100% sure yet), my article on being Tiki Famous will be published in the magazine’s November issue. That could lead to a regular stream of Tiki Famous profile pieces within the magazine.

Ray found a home tiki bar here on my island…and got me invited to it. The incredible Endless Summer II tiki weekend on Camano Island was something I was also able to attend thanks to my connections to Ray and his friends.

More recently, Ray got me out of my mail art envelope rut and asked me to crate a full-fledged 11×17 poster (in my mail art style) for a Halloween he is throwing for his Tiki Goth Club members at Devil’s Reef in Tacoma, WA on October 28^th. He liked the poster so much, he had it printed and will be giving them away to attendees of the party. Wow! I am amazed by that.

And then there was the whole Something Weird Video saga that was HUGE for me. Getting to meet the current CEO of the video company, going to their yard sale and visiting the “headquarters” was amazing! I’d never have been able to go without him.

His Tiki Goth Club is open to anyone. I meant to join it for the longest time, and finally did. (I am member # 95.) Before joining, Ray was kind enough to gift me with an embroidered Tiki Goth Club button down shirt (which I have worn in several of his videos). He’s even made me an administrator on the Tiki Goth Club’s members only Facebook page (not that I have any idea of what an administrator does…) (I’ve posted a link…not that you’ll be able to open it. Ha! It’s private.)

Ray is everywhere—he has a website, a YouTube channel, a few Facebook and Instagram accounts, and probably other social media outlets I know nothing about. He has been to far more tiki bars than I have and seems to know just about everyone in the tiki community. He is constantly sharing, advising, or suggesting all manner of tiki-related things to me, things I had no idea about; new bars, events, or places just to look for tiki stuff… I’m just amazed.

He is a font of knowledge, a tiki ambassador, a cheerleader to others, and a friend to so many…myself included.

It may seem strange writing such praise in a blog for an individual. In all of my years as a tiki fanatic, I only knew one other person who liked it—my friend Eric in Costa Mesa, California. I rarely saw him, so I was mostly alone in my passion for tiki for years. Since moving here and meeting Ray, I’ve gotten a big tiki boost of adrenaline. Thanks to Ray, I am able to enjoy my last months/years of my waning mobility being able to tiki it up as I never dreamed possible.

Ray has been such a special person in the tiki world to me, that I made a little display for him to hang in my home tiki bar. It’s tucked away in a nondescript spot, but it’s there. It has meaning for me. I’m proud to have included it.

I am scheduled to see Ray next this coming October 7^th, exactly a year to the date of his first message to me. It may have only been a year, but he feels like a good, old, trusted friend.

Thanks for everything, Ray!

CHEERS!