About
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Jay Maynard (a.k.a Tron Guy) is an American computer programmer who became internet famous for his homemade electroluminescent costume inspired by the 1982 sci-fi film Tron. Maynard first became a subject of online discussions in April 2004 after uploading pictures of his costume on his website, which quickly spread across tech news sites and humor forums like Slashdot and FARK. Since his rise to stardom as a nerd icon, Maynard has appeared on the late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live and remains a regular attendant in many tech-related conference circuits, particularly in advocacy of network neutrality.
Origin
The TRON suit was built by Jay Maynard from scratch for the annual sci-fi and fantasy convention Penguicon in 2004. The photographs of DIY Tron suit were posted on his website1 (now defunct) and re-published via Slashdot2 on April 18th, 2004, apparently inspired by another “Make Your Own TRON Costume” thread posted on Slashdot3 two weeks prior:
“When this story on making your own TRON costume was posted two weeks ago, I was deep into making my own for the masquerade at Penguicon 2.0. Its debut at the Masquerade won the Workmanship award. I kept notes and took pictures as I was going along, and the page that resulted is now available for your viewing enjoyment. No, I didn’t spend any time with straws up my nose while making it, either. I think the results were quite good, and so has everyone who’s said anything to me about it here at the con.”
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Spread
The Slashdot post eventually led to over 300 comments (as of 4/17/2011) and the buzz quickly spread across other forums and humor-related blogs like FARK4, BoingBoing5 and CG Forums6 throughout April.
In early May 2004, Maynard made his very first mainstream media debut on late night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live and turned his notorious nerd fame into a series of appearances in internet and tech-related conference circuits.
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In 2006, Maynard guest-starred in a music video entitled “We Are The Web,” along with several other internet celebrities like Lesile Hall and Randy Constan to advocate the concept of network neutrality:
On April 2nd, 2008, Maynard’s internet fame was parodied in South Park’s Episode 4 Season 12 “Canada on Strike,” along with other characters resembling microcelebrities like Gary Brolsma (Numa Numa Guy), Star Wars Kid, Chris Crocker and Tay Zonday:
On October 8th, 2009, Maynard was a special guest on the television show Tosh.0 for the Web Redemption segment.
Tron: Legacy
In December 2010, Disney released the sequel film titled Tron: Legacy, revamped in 3D feature and soundtrack composed by Daft Punk. Maynard, who had played a significant role in revitalizing the public interest in the 1982 sci-fi film, published a review of the film in Wired magazine7, mostly criticizing Disney’s lack of engagement with the original film’s fans like himself.
Disney’s marketing machine has pulled out all the stops for Tron: Legacy. I believe this one will escape being thought of as an expensive flop, the way the first one was. It deserves to. It’s enough to make me really, really disappointed Disney didn’t ask me to have anything to do with the sequel’s production or marketing.There’s already talk of a third Tron movie. Disney, could you throw me a bone for being in some part responsible for awakening the franchise from the dead in the minds of the public? Please? Maybe an official Tron: Legacy costume of my very own so people who ask me to make appearances get the new film in their heads. That would give fans a much more direct connection to the movie.
In addition, TMZ8 reported that Maynard was barred from seeing the film at his local movie theater when he insisted on wearing his iconic suit during attendance.
External References
1 TronGuy’s Homepage – All About Jay Maynard, The TRON GUY / Site defunct; as archived on 11-5-2004
2 Slashdot – Another Fan Made TRON Costume / Posted on 4-18-2004
3 Slashdot – Make Your Own TRON Costume / Posted on 4-3-2004
4 FARK Forum – Tron Guy to make second Jimmy Kimmel Live appearance tonight / Posted on 5-14-2004
5 BoingBoing – Tales of a Tron Tailor / Posted on 4-26-2004
6 CG Talk Forum – The TRON Costume Guy / Posted on 4-18-2004
7 Wired – Tron Guy Reviews Tron: Legacy, Says Sequel Almost Drove Him to Tears / Posted on 12-16-2010
8 TMZ – Tron Guy’s Costume Banned From Movie Theater / Posted on 12-21-2010