Besides helping to design and build the LED hoops they sell, Barry also works part-time as the head Climbing Guide and Trip Coordinator for High Country Outfitters, and he also works full-time for the Furniture Bank of Metro Atlanta. "It's a nonprofit agency whose goal is to help folks who are just getting back on their feet, battered women, recovering homeless, HIV patients and the like. We collect and redistribute furniture free of charge." Obviously he's an amazing guy.

So how did Barry find himself inside the hoop for the first time? He explains, "The first time I tried to hoop my only previous view point was that hooping was extremely feminine. So I tried to make the act of using the hoop as a prop as masculine as possible. It was rare that you would see me gyrating my hips with the hoop on my waist. I used my arms and hands to manipulate the hoop as much as possible using large powerful motions. Which to this day, has still held great impact on my style." He's now been hooping regularly for close to three years now and while he doesn't have a regular hooping schedule, he manages to get in three to four hours a week.

I asked him about his favorite hoop and he doesn't really have one. He explained, "There is not one particular hoop that is my favorite per say, I guess you could call me Polyhooperous. But there is one hoop that i have had since I started hooping that I am quite fond of, it is 1.5" tubing and I think its 160 psi, but I'm not sure though, with a 45" diameter. When I first taped it I gave it 2 large handle sections made out of cloth athletic tape. Those two sections, originally white and seamless, are still on the hoop, though now they are dark brown stained with oil, sweat, and earth. They are frayed and they've worn well. The other sections of the hoop have been through many phases and are about due in for a new paint job. I'm thinking about some neon green dayglow gaffers tape!"

How has hooping changed his life? Barry responds, "The biggest change came with the creation of SuperHooper.Org and the birth of a business. But also worth mentioning is the community. Hooping introduced me to the burners and a culture that promotes radical self expression and radical self reliance. Which has in turn led me to some of the most creative and talented people I have ever met."

What is he up to when he isn't working or hooping? Barry says, "One of my first loves is rock climbing and I truly enjoy the solitude of being high above the ground on a rock face testing my personal limits." He's also currently in "a wonderful relationship with a very beautiful lady. She was just a friend that I had a crush on for three years, and then about a year and half ago we began dating."

I asked him about an obstacle in his life that he's currently working on as well. He told me, "Well, I'm an extremely busy person and this has become the biggest obstacle in my life. Finding that delicate balance of time for the ones I love, my jobs, my hobbies, and my projects is constantly a huge challenge for me." It's completely understandable with everything he's taken on these days.

So what is his idea of earthly happiness? He says, "Being surrounded by people I love and constantly experiencing new positive moments." A favorite film of his is The Dark Crystal. "Its a Jim Henson puppet fantasy flick. At the height of his success he decided to make a movie, but instead of writing a script he built characters and full scale other worldly sets for them. He created a different world and then filmed it. From an artistic prospective its amazing, the creativity and thought that went into filming that movie."

Barry's favorite music to hoop to is Thievery Corporation. "They always gets me going, their influences come from many places and there is always a beat." So what is his favorite quality in a hooper? He responds, "Flow. The ability to move with the hoop in a seamless, effortless manor. There is great beauty in smooth transitions in sync with the visual and audible world around you." I asked what he believed would be his most marked hooping characteristic as well. He says, "I move pretty fluently with two hoops off the body. Some people call it double hooping, I've heard it called poi style hooping, I think I've also heard it called pooping. At any rate I have a pretty extensive poi background and I enjoy translating freestyle poi into hooping. Its very challenging and aesthetically pleasing."

If Barry could give one hoop to anyone in the world it would be Bob Marley. "If I could turn back time I would love to have a picture of him hooping. For some reason it just seems fitting."

Is there anything else he'd like Hooping.org Magazine's readers to know? Barry said, "Check out SuperHooper.Org because we offer inexpensive light up LED hoops in multiple colors. And now we have our new SuperMorph hoop which slowly phases through a full spectrum of colors. Plus SuperHooper will be performing at the Bonarroo Music and Arts Festival with The Art of Such n Such. We have something special planned, so if you are gonna be at the festival drop by such and such and say hello."

In closing I asked if he had one piece of advice for someone picking up a hoop for the first time, what would he be. He smiled and said, "Have fun with it, forget what other people think and just let loose, cause that's the spot where most folks find happiness."