Jay Maynard

Jay Maynard (born July 27, 1960) is an American computer programmer, system administrator and the volunteer project maintainer for Hercules, a free emulator of IBM mainframe hardware. He is known for his self-made electroluminescent costume based on the film Tron, which resulted in his nickname Tron Guy.

Jay Maynard
Born (1960-07-27) July 27, 1960
United States
Other namesTron Guy
Occupation(s)Computer programmer, system administrator, project maintainer
Call signK5ZC

Internet fame

Maynard created a revealing electroluminescent costume, inspired by the film Tron, that he could wear at the science fiction convention Penguicon in 2004. He has said that he "hasn't missed a Penguicon, and doesn't intend to".[1] He created a web page of photos of the costume, and of himself wearing it. His page of photos quickly gained a lot of attention on the Internet, after it was posted on Slashdot[2] and Fark.

In 2006, Maynard appeared in a music video entitled "We Are the Web", for the website of the same name. The video advocates the concept of network neutrality.[3] In it, Maynard appears alongside several other Internet celebrities, including Leslie Hall and Randy Constan. He was also parodied in the 2008 South Park episode "Canada on Strike". His likeness appeared alongside those of such other Internet celebrities as Gary Brolsma, Star Wars Kid, Chris Crocker, and Tay Zonday.

In 2010, Maynard was banned from seeing the film Tron: Legacy in his iconic Tron suit in his local movie theater because of the illuminating lights on his suit.[4]

On June 8, 2011, Maynard appeared on America's Got Talent.[5] He received a "no" vote from all of the three judges and did not make it past the audition round. Howie Mandel had him restart his introductory speech over several times, so it was left unclear what his act was going to be.

In 2011, Maynard appeared in Duck Products' "Stuck On Duck Video Project",[6][7][8] a commercial for duct tape. The ad, made by Ryactive and produced by Tongal, recreates the light-cycle race from Tron using stop-motion animation, followed by Maynard's appearance in the Tron Guy outfit.[9] The video was featured in Wired Magazine as a "genius idea"[9] and like many of Maynard's previous videos went viral, becoming the tenth most viewed video of all time on Vimeo.[8]

On August 26, 2015, Maynard was interviewed by the Scene World Podcast in a live video podcast, hosted by Olympronica for the Film & Games Interactions exhibit at the Deutsches Filminstitut in Frankfurt, Germany. The interview was presented live on Twitch, and later published as both a video interview on YouTube and audio podcast.[10]

See also

References
  1. What is Penguicon?, YouTube Video (May 4, 2013)
  2. "Another Fan-Made TRON Costume". Slashdot. April 18, 2004. Retrieved July 12, 2006.
  3. "Fighting for Net Neutrality". wearetheweb.org. Archived from the original on August 21, 2006. Retrieved August 21, 2006.
  4. "TRON Guy's Costume – Banned from Movie Theater". TMZ.com. December 12, 2010.
  5. "America's Got Talent - Jay Maynard - The Tron Guy Audition - Season 6". America's Got Talent. June 8, 2011. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021.
  6. "$5,000 Ad Contest Yields The Ultimate 'Tron' Cameo". Advertising & Marketing. Adweek. 2011. Retrieved October 27, 2011.
  7. "Duck Tron Races On Vimeo, Quickly Gets 268K Views". ClickZ Marketing News & Expert Advice. Incisive Interactive Marketing LLC. 2011. Retrieved October 27, 2011.
  8. "Tongal Timeline". tongal.com. Archived from the original on July 10, 2015. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  9. Watercutter, Angela (August 22, 2011). "Video: Genius Idea for Tron-Themed Duck Tape Ad". Wired Magazine. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  10. "Podcast Episode #10 - Jay Maynard: The Tron Guy". Scene World Magazine. August 28, 2015.
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