Name: William Elliott
Year: Freshman
Major: Industrial Design
Twitter: @UnicycleGuyKU
How long have you been riding a unicycle? Since between middle school and high school.
How did you begin? The funny thing is, I was being a middle school guy. I was trying to compare who was better at everything like they always do, and one of my friends knew how to ride a unicycle, so obviously I had to learn. I got a unicycle for Christmas and it just went from there. Eventually I started getting bigger unicycles and riding further distances.
What crazy things have happened involving the unicycle? I’ve had some really crazy ones I’m not going to repeat because they’re just so weird, but I think the craziest thing is that I’ve had people coming from The Hawk chase me down the hill on 14th Street while barely being able to stand from being so drunk to get a selfie with me.
Other hobbies: I like to draw. I also really like biking. A lot of people think that’s odd because I’m unicycle guy, not bike guy. And honestly, the reason I ride a unicycle here is because I have a nice road bike that I use for distance riding and I don’t trust riding it onto campus because someone might steal it. So I thought, “Ride a unicycle. Who in their right mind is going to steal a unicycle?”
How do KU students react? I thought it was hilarious. In high school I would ride it and then I was known as that weird guy that rode a unicycle and ignored me. I come here for college and everyone is like, “Oh my gosh, you’re unicycle guy!” and I guess I’ve become this infamous unicycle guy all over YikYak now. Orientations and college visits are also hilarious because the parents get so excited.