Andreas "Elle" Gillmeister
Elle is a Berlin BMX veteran. He comes from the skateboard and roller skate scene and was instrumental in bringing the sport of BMX to his hometown, which was cut off from the rest of Germany at the time. He travelled in the most adventurous way through the transit zone to the first races in Bremen-Vegesack and Remagen and stood at home behind the counter of "Instant Funk", a roller skate shop whose owner he persuaded to include BMX in his range. Instant Funk" evolved into the wholesaler "Sport Import", which is still very active in the BMX scene today.
When Aris Donzelli was looking for an editorial team for the first German BMX magazine in 1982, he came across Elle and his friend Karsten Moeller with the help of Ekkehardt Teichreber, who from then on ran the Berlin "office" of BMX Special Magazine from their childhood bedrooms together with photographer Uli Aust (RIP). With his editorial contributions, his expertise and not least his comics, Elle enriched the magazine from the very beginning. The works of "Zombie", "Duke", "El Duke" and later "Elle" are etched in the collective memory of Germany's first BMX generation, just like the Instant Funk adverts or his contributions to "American Sports" magazine.
Elle enters the Hall of Fame for his role as part of the original cast of BMX Special magazine in 1982, he could just as easily be inducted as a racer of the first hour or for his role as the driving force behind Instant Funk in the early eighties. Germany's BMX Hall of Fame also owes its entire appearance to Elle and we are honoured to call him a part of this project.
