FreestyleXtreme Magazine Issue 5 | Page 93

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