BIG BOY BARRY
Alex Verrey was only 14 years old when he appeared as a contestant on Channel 4’s GamesMaster, but his Sonic skills caught the eye of TV executives and soon he was appearing regularly on Sky’s Games World as elite gamer Big Boy Barry. He went on to front his own segments alongside a pre-fame David Walliams and presented ITV’s TIGS with Gail Porter. He moved into videogame PR in the Noughties and is currently CEO of his own company, Little Big PR. When we told Alex that more readers had submitted questions for him than for any of our In The Chair interviewees since Matthew Smith a decade ago, he was genuinely surprised. “Wow, I’m truly humbled,” he grinned. “That’s lovely to hear. I suppose that I’m the right demographic for your magazine!”
Is the highlight of your career beating Dave ‘The Games Animal’ Perry at Street Fighter II on national television?
Yes. But it was just another day at work for the Big Boy [giggles].
Have you seen his show on YouTube?
He’s actually asked me to be on it and get tattooed live on camera while we chat about the old days, but I’m too scared to get a tattoo. Dave’s a good guy and I’ve got nothing against people who put themselves out there. At least they tried – better than sitting at home being ‘Joe Critic’.
Do you still get recognised as Big Boy Barry?
Yes, and it surprises me whenever it happens. I get asked for selfies, and my wife thinks it’s weird but I think it’s humbling. I haven’t changed a lot, I suppose. You see those, ‘What The kids From The Goonies Look Like Now’ [articles online], and you’d have no fucking idea if you were sat next to them on the train. But me, I’m still an overweight gamer who likes to laugh.
Well, we reckon that there are worse ways to be remembered!
Big Boy Barry is still very much a part of me. I have a
