Christian Ray

Christian Ray
Born (1969-03-15) March 15, 1969
Moscow, Russia
Nationality Chilean, Russian
Occupation Speaker, entrepreneur, artist, producer, director
Home town Austin, Texas

Christian Ray, Russian and American artist, speaker, entrepreneur, producer and director.

Early life

Christian Ray was born in Moscow, Russia on March 15, 1969 to a Chilean father and Russian mother. The family moved to Chile when Christian was 9 months old.

During the 1973 military coup of Augusto Pinochet, Christian's father Americo Flores was arrested along with thousands of others and spent time in one of the infamous concentration camps. His mother Larisa, along with two children, went into hiding under an assumed name and a fake Argentinian passport. After Americo's release, the family spent several months in a refugee camp and was granted polical asylum in Germany, moving to Munich. After some time in Germany and Russia, Americo and Larisa moved to Mozambique, at the invitation of the government, as they recruited international professionals to fill the desperate need after a mass exodus of the Portueguese upon receiving independence. Christian learned four languages by age nine: Russian, Spanish, English and Portuguese. After his parents' divorce, Christian returned to Russia with his mother and sister in 1983. Christian got a Master's degree in Economics in 1991 from the RUDN University in Moscow[1].

In 1993, Christian Ray released his first single in Russia, and became an instant success, playing to large crowds by 1994. Back to back top 10 hits culminated in his number one single "Our Generation" [2] – an anthem of freedom and change. It became the official song for Boris Yeltsin's election campaign against the communist party. Christian tirelessly campaigned for Yeltsin with the Russian version of Rock The Vote, which is credited to giving Yeltsin the youth vote and victory in the campaign. The story was featured in PRI's The World[3] and BBC Mundo,[4] where Christian discusses his experiences in the political changes in Chile, Mozambique and Russia. Christian, together with his co producers Andrey Grozny and Andrey Shlykov, produced several other musical projects including the girl band Blestyashchiye, which has had a more than 20-year run and generated several of the biggest female solo careers in Russia. Christian converted to Christianity in 1995 and started leading a group for members of the entertainment industry.

Family

Christian married his wife Deb de Flores[5] in 1999. They met during a Christian conference for entertainers in Los Angeles, where Deb was living at the time as she worked for MTV, Universal Studios and VH-I, as well as serving in Christian ministry.

Christian and Deb are raising three daughters. Diana, Violetta and Isabella.[1]

Faith

Christian and his wife Deb have been active in Christian ministry in the US, Eastern Europe and Latin America for two decades. They lead The Tribe,[6] a community of faith in Austin, TX. Christian frequently speaks to different audiences in the US and overseas. They are also active in serving the poor through a variety of charities, and help support over 4,000 orphans in Mozambique through MOZ HOPE.[7]

Career

After moving to the US in 2004, Christian dedicated several years to non-profit work with the international charity HOPE Worldwide, serving as a Country Director for Latin America, and focused on health care and education for the poorest of the poor in nine different countries. He also developed and directed the Positive Choice program. An award winning multimedia educational program for youth, Positive Choice was implemented all over the US, Mexico, Jamaica, Singapore, Indonesia, Grenada, and has served tens of thousands of underprivileged youth.[8]

Christian co-founded a production company, Hollywood World, in Los Angeles with his wife Deb de Flores. Hollywood World provides international artists the ability to work with top Hollywood producers and directors. Among other projects, Christian lends his voice to English and Spanish versions of "Masha and the Bear", one of the biggest animated TV series in the world, with over a billion views on YouTube.[1]

After moving to Austin, Texas, Third Drive, a venture development company, was co-founded by Deb de Flores, Brandon Knicely and Christian Ray to drive growth in hand-picked companies through strategic development and marketing. Third Drive works with a range of companies. From non-profits (Boys and Girls Club, HOPE worldwide), startups (WAVi, Affintus, Applicants Plus, NEXD) to established brands (Bandwidth Logic, NASA Space Grant Consortium, National Instruments).[9]

Christian Ray speaks to audiences all over the US and internationally, produces podcasts as the Third Drive Podcast[10] dedicated to business and Animate Podcast[11] dedicated to spiritual growth. His recent short film Dance With Me[12] Is being screened several film festivals and the title song is out on all major music platforms.[13]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Кристиан Рэй: биография и творчество
  2. ↑ "itunes preview Christian Ray". Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  3. ↑ "The guy who supplied the soundtrack for Boris Yeltsin's Rock the Vote". Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  4. ↑ "El chileno que ayudó a que el comunismo no regresara a Rusia con una canción". Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Deb de Flores – Bio". Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  6. ↑ "The Tribe Austin Christian". Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  7. ↑ "MOZ HOPE Lifting Children out of Poverty". Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  8. ↑ Кто есть Кристиан Рэй
  9. ↑ "Third Drive A Venture Development Organization". Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Third Drive Podcast By Third Drive Media". Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Animate – by Christian Ray". Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Dance With Me". Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Dance with Me (feat. Kat Lawson & Doejah) – Single Christian Ray". Retrieved March 19, 2017.
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