Gary Ellis

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Gary Leo Ellis Jr. (born March 21, 1966, in Tacoma, Washington, U.S.) was one of the last American "Old School" professional bicycle motocross (BMX) racer whose careers started in the 1970s to early 1980s. His prime competitive years were from 1982 to 1996. He was nicknamed "The Lumberjack".^[1]

Just like Tommy Brackens was nicknamed "The Human Dragster", "The Lumberjack" was coined for Ellis by the BMX "play by play" announcers at nationals.^[2] By the age of 16 he was 6' 2" tall and 190 lbs (ultimately growing to 6' 3"). He also had a thick beard and mustache making him look meaner and older than his years. The place of his birth was also a factor in the nickname since it was a stereotypically American lumberjack region of the United States. Plus, there was an apocryphal story that he sawed down a tree that was in the right of way of a practice track he was building in his front yard. The appellation stuck and he had it throughout the majority of his long 21-year career.