VALDOSTA — Valdosta Superstar Ray Scollin, while flattered to have the title, considers himself more of a local musician.

“Valdosta Superstar, that’s a cool title,” he said. “But I’m definitely still a local musician. I don’t want people thinking I have a big head.”

When Scollin’s mom found out about the American Red Cross’ Valdosta Superstar contest, she signed her son up without hesitation.

“She asked me about the contest going on,” he said. “Then (she) said, ‘Well, I signed you up,’” he laughs.

While he did not go into the event thinking he was going to win, Scollin took home first place.

He also received a $5,000 demo and gets to sing the National Anthem at Wild Adventures on July 4.

The acoustic-indie-pop artist’s music ability goes back to when he was a young boy.

Scollin, a “military brat,” was born in Louisiana and moved to Valdosta when he was 11. But when asked, he says Valdosta is home.

When he was 12, Scollin’s parents bought his younger brother an electric guitar, which he never touched. At the time, Scollin laughs, the boys were into Pokemon cards, which he used to his advantage by trading a card for the guitar. That day, Scollin got his hands on a guitar for the first time.

When Scollin was 15, he got his first “spark” in recording and music when he joined his first band. Together, they recorded songs and experienced how music is recorded.

“... compared to a lot of the other music that I’ve heard, the songs we were writing were actually really advanced for our age,” he said. “The amount of people that actually got involved with the band was really cool. It was a good experience and that’s when I started getting really hooked.”

Since then, he has written and recorded 29 songs, solely and with other bands. Scollin enjoys writing his own songs and gets his inspiration from life experiences.

After he graduated high school, Scollin attended Middle Georgia College for one semester, but hated it. Soon after, he moved to Tallahassee, Fla., where he joined a band and went on tour, facing hard times.

“When I was on tour — I’m not going to hide it — I was starving,” he said. “I didn’t have a job. I was bumming around, couch to couch.”

While touring had its ups and downs, he does not regret his choice to move to Florida.

“It was definitely an experience that I will never forget,” he said. “It really made me who I am now. It wasn’t as luxurious as everyone thinks. It was starving artist stuff. It was hard, but it was unbelievable. It made me find my niche. I saw a lot. I did a lot. The most rewarding thing was just the people. It really shows how much people can help you find your way.”

At first, Scollin’s parents were concerned with him moving to Florida, wondering what he was going to be doing with his future.

“I’m going to be writing music and going on tour,” he told them.

After about one week, his parents were on board and have been by his side ever since.

“You’re right. Go do this,” they told him. “You need to just full force make this happen.”

With their support and approval, Scollin took a chance, the biggest he had taken up to that point in his life.

After touring with the band in Florida, Scollin was left trying to figure out what he wanted to do with the next stage in his life.

Ultimately, it was Scollin’s mom who pushed him to go to New York.

“Valdosta is great; Valdosta is home,” he said. “I really enjoy the area. You find some of the most amazing people, you know. You really do. The one thing about Valdosta, it’s really hard to get out there. That’s why my mom was saying, ‘Go, figure out something new, experience.’ I would not have been able to do anything without them (parents).”

He decided to move to New York to experience a new place and completed a one-year program at the Recording Engineers Institute (REI).

“I have always really, really liked the aspect of recording,” he said. “I’ve always really, really respected and had this curiosity about the technical side (of music).”

While attending REI, he was surrounded by involved teachers and a close-knit school community.

“I went to the school and I became immersed,” he said. “They even said at graduation that I was ‘a spark plug’ for the school. If I wasn’t at work, I was at school. I was recording other people or just working on my own stuff, really digging into the technical aspect. I loved it. I absolutely loved it.”

Since he moved back from New York, Scollin, now 22, has started learning new instruments, such as the saxophone, piano, ukulele and drums.

“That’s what I’ve noticed a lot after moving back ... I have really started to kind of spread out my ability on instruments,” he said. “I’ve been working on the drum set to fix my timing. I have kind of a weird timing, more of a flowy thing, which is a problem. I’ve really got to fix that.”

While he has performed on numerous occasions, Scollin still gets nervous.

“My stomach gets tensed up, I keep coughing, but once I actually get out there and I start doing it (it goes away),” he said.

He recently played at Locos Grill & Pub’s open mic night, feeling sick to his stomach when it was time to perform.

“I was like, ‘This is not me. I’ve got to get over this,’ he said. “As soon as I got up there and I started playing my first song, it just instantly evaporated. I’m just like in my zone and I really enjoy it.”

Scollin is a Locos employee and recently started the open mic night on Thursdays at 8 p.m. as a way to promote local music and musicians.

“That’s what I think a lot of the problem is ... that there’s not a place to do it (perform),” he said. “I did a lot of open mic nights up in New York and I really enjoyed it and it really helped out. I actually lost my nerves for a little bit, then I came back and I don’t have anywhere to play so I started getting nervous again.”

He wants to help people get more involved in the local music scene “because if you don’t get out there and do it, then no one will ever see you,” he said.

Sharing a close relationship with his parents, David and Megan, and two brothers, Jake and Jared, he feels he would not be where he is today without them and their support.

“Lately, he’s (dad) been so proud of everything I’ve been doing,” he said. “Opening the open mic night at Locos, he was really supportive. He was the one saying, ‘You’ve gotta do it. You’ve gotta do it.’ Finally, I did it and it was a hit.”

Scollin’s parents are his heroes and what keep him going.

“They’ve always been really supportive of my music,” he said. “I’ve always been writing my own music and they’ve always encouraged me.”

Moving back to Valdosta in August of 2009, Scollin did not know what he wanted to do next.

“I came back and, honestly, I was really kinda confused and scared on what I was going to do,” he said. “I kind of felt like I had regressed a little bit because I was in New York and the city was at my fingertips. There’s lot of opportunity up there.”

Since then, he has opened a recording studio in Valdosta.

The first band he recorded for free to gain experience. He is now charging $50 to $100 a day, covering all genres of music.

“I don’t want to low-ball people, you know what I mean,” he said. “I understand being a college student. You gotta find a good deal.”

While living with his parents, he does not see anything wrong with it.

“It used to be if you lived with your parents it was really uncool,” he said. “But if you live with your parents now, you’re smart. I’m trying to get out there and, you know, better my music, better myself.”

Scollin does what he can to help his family and make them proud.

“I always try to help out as much as I can and make them see that they’re not putting their faith into a little boy who doesn’t know what he’s doing and what he wants,” he said. “I definitely know what I want. I definitely have a good idea of what I’m doing.”

Scollin enjoys recording other artists’ music, but is currently leaning more toward being an artist himself.

“I really want to see what I can try to do with that, but it’s really good to have the knowledge to go into the recording studio,” he said.

While he enjoys being a solo artist, being in a band is the direction he is taking.

“I think I’ve decided I really like the idea of having a band behind me,” he said. “It’s easier to get more variety instead of staying straight acoustic.”

As far as Scollin’s future plans go, he just wants to be happy.

“... music and writing songs makes me happy,” he said. “You don’t have to be famous or well known to do that. I just want to be involved in music any way possible, be it technical artist or even business, to be involved in music the rest of my life. I would really, really like that.”