Our interview is barely five seconds old when we are interrupted. “Russ Bray, Russ Bray,” shouts a young boy.
“Can I have a picture please?” He’s not been on a major TV stage for more than two years now, but legendary darts caller Bray is still a star attraction. His grizzly voice and even-more grizzly look is recognised by every living generation in darts after a 30-year career at the top.
“That little lad just came up to me. What was he? Four or five years old?,” says Bray, with a beaming smile. “I’m still known by them folk.
“As long as people know me, I’ll always be able to do something I truly enjoy and that’s exactly what’s happening to me. So as long as people still want me about, I’ll be in there. The enthusiasm is there.”
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Bray never actually retired from darts. He merely took a step back from the main stage.
He is the sport’s greatest ambassador. With a scoring app which uses his voice – he receives dozens of new name call requests to be added every month – the next generation of players may also grow up listening to his growl of one-hundred-and-eighty.
Now, he’s touring the world, taking darts to places where it can only grow higher.
“My life, it’s more hectic now, believe you me,” Bray says. “In my last eight weeks I’ve been to Canada, I’ve been to Kuala Lumpur. I’ve just come back from Thailand doing the Asian Championships the week before that.
“I was in Mongolia, I’ve been in Iceland, I’m off to Spain in the morning. My schedule is unbelievable.
“I still have Philippines this summer, then six weeks in Australia for their Premier League in September. The ambassadorial things keep me nice and busy.”
The biggest revelation for Bray has been his work in the ever-growing Asian market. Soft-tip darts was the game of choice in that region for a long time, but now they’re on the PDC circuit and thriving, with interest booming even beyond the Luke Littler buzz.
“The Asian tour, which I have been involved in since 2018, is absolutely incredible,” Bray says.
“The first time I went to Mongolia, they have a population of about 3.5million and there’s 600 darts players turning up.
“The very first call I made out there was an 11-year-old kid in the boys’ final. His first throw was treble-19, treble-19, treble-19. That’s how big darts is out there.
“You don’t really associate places like that with darts, but believe you me, it’s very big and the standard is getting better and better.
“You just need one player to go a long way. I’m not saying win a tournament, but go a long way. If you have one go a long way then you will have 10 going a long way only a few years later – and it’s getting that way.”
But could one of them hit Littler-level heights as far as ability goes?
“Yeah, absolutely,” Bray says. “We know Littler is a bit of a one-off, he’s a [Phil] Taylor, a [Eric] Bristow sort of talent.
“But I can definitely see it – and I can see four or five in one go, as opposed to one superstar at a particular time.”
Until then, Bray will keep on enjoying his new life of flights, cruises and hotel rooms. If this is the work he has earned, then he’s hit the jackpot.
“I’m the luckiest man in the world,” Bray says. “I’m probably the most travelled darts person, including even the players. I travel more than anybody else.
“The Asian Darts Championships is absolutely terrific. It’s grassroots darts. They’re playing darts in shorts and a guy is walking around with a music box while they’re playing. It’s so, so basic, but so much fun.
“And for me, they’re holidays. I’m on holiday 365 days a year.
“I’m still as enthusiastic as I was when the darts started!”