Gary Ellis

Gary Leo Ellis Jr. (born March 21, 1966 in Tacoma, Washington U.S.) was an American "Old School" professional bicycle motocross (BMX) racer. Ellis was one of the last of the "Old School" BMX racers whose careers started in the 1970s to early 1980s. His prime competitive years were from 1982-1996. Nickname: "The Lumberjack". As with Tommy Brackens being nicknamed "The Human Dragster", "The Lumberjack" was coined for Ellis by the BMX "play by play" announcers at nationals. Due in part to his size, he was already 6' 2" tall and 190 lbs at 16 years of age (he would eventually settle at 6' 3"); the thick beard and mustache he could grow even at that young age and often grew throughout his career to help intimidate his opponents by looking meaner and older; the fact that he hailed from Tacoma, Washington, a stereotypically American Lumberjack region of the United States; and the 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.