Big Hair,
Big Air
Words: Simon Makker
KELLY “MCGAZZA” MCGARRY IS
to mountain biking what cream is
to pavlova. They marry together so
perfectly it’s hard to imagine what
life would be like if the two had
never met.
The 6-foot-4-inch Kiwi has graced
the world’s biggest MTB comps
for eight years and has gained
something of a cult following. He
is known for his quirky turn of
phrase and sense of humour, his
long, blonde, curly locks (which
wouldn’t look out of place on an
80s glam-rock guitarist), his shredor-die attitude on a bike and of
course, his viral YouTube videos
from the 2013 and 2014 Red Bull
Rampage events. Back at his home
in Queenstown, NZ for the summer,
McGazza is catching his breath
after a frantic year. His travels took
him to ten different countries; riding
both slopestyle and big-mountain
comps, as well as filming a bunch
of incredible edits and generally
living every day as if it was his last.
FreestyleXtreme caught up with
the Big Friendly Giant to find out
about living through eight years of
summer, gaining 22 million YouTube
views, racing a Mercedes-Benz
down an Indian mountainside, and
most importantly, when he last had
a haircut. u