Carbrey grew up a white, middle class, youngest child of straight, married professionals. His early twenties brought revelations, realizations, and a resolution to claim his own identity. Carbrey is now a bi-racial, low-income, queer, transman who has never been happier. He is married to a wonderful genderqueer dyke in Milwaukee Wisconsin, living out his dreams of freedom and funemployment.  Carbrey was introduced to many different media by family members. While in high school he was very preoccupied with visual arts such as ceramics, wood carving, and sculpture, but favored charcoal drawing. For most of his high school and college career he was discouraged from writing by teachers and professors. 

"I never graded well when it came to writing.  The phrase "to wordy!' always seemed to grace my papers in red ink, even in creative writing classes.  That fact combined with my utter disregard for proper punctuation made me a nightmare for every English teacher I’ve ever met. I avoided writing for a long time because of that.  I thought that I could substitute the desire to write by throwing myself in to drawing and sculpting.  Looking back I regret that immensely. I worked so hard to give my drawing a voice. When that voice was repeatedly misunderstood and sometimes out rightly silenced "the message" became my obsession.  I would draw until the early hours of the morning, come back later that day and throw every piece away because it just couldn't capture what I was trying to convey.  What I love about writing is that it offers me thousands of different ways impel the exact same emotion."

Abstract visual art greatly influences Carbrey's writing.  This is especially evidential in his use of metaphors and symbolism.  Much of his early work focuses on queer issues, body image, and American government. More recently he writes in the realm of his personal experiences and what he considers his "gender evolution". 

"I believe that bad decisions can fuel great writing. I think that uncomfortable situations are catalysts for understanding.  And I respect anyone who risks there self-esteem to create change by creating art."