News from Ray
Breaking Barriers: Ray Diaz in Humble Beginning Stories
News from Ray Diaz · November 2026
Some features tell you where someone ended up. Humble Beginning Stories wanted to know where Ray Diaz started.
In March 2025, HBS published "Ray Diaz | USA | Breaking Barriers," a feature built around one idea: it does not matter where you start. Read the full feature on Humble Beginning Stories.
Where it started
The story opens in Key West, where Diaz grew up in a family of Cuban heritage. Before acting, there was football, boxing and track. HBS put it plainly: sports gave him discipline. Everything after was built on that.
New York, then the work
After high school came five different colleges. Only then did he move to New York to start his career, training at the William Esper Studio. The jobs followed: a national Macy's commercial, then campaigns for Lexus, Subway and the U.S. Army, all on his commercials page. Then came the breakout, Nicolas Reyes on East Los High.
Fitness, before it had a lane
HBS traced how Vine let him combine his passion for fitness with a platform on the rise. That is the run that led to 1st Phorm. Nobody handed him the wave. He was already paddling.
His why
Diaz says his partner, Hannah Leworthy, and their son, Balencio, are what keep him going. In the interview with HBS, he put it simply: "They're my why." More on the three of them is in All Three of Us.
What he builds now
Today he mentors other creators, mindset first, and runs Absoletix, his consulting company. The name means Absolutely Athletic: what sport taught him, applied to business. It is built on the same idea as the feature: start where you are and outwork everyone. Brands, founders and creators can work with Absoletix.
Thank you, HBS
Diaz thanks the Humble Beginning Stories team for telling it right. Every feature is on his press page.