Viva Las Vegas

Elvis, Johnny Cash, the ‘Rat Pack’ and everything Vegas; Tracy Child has huge love for the city and her scooter has got it all!

The background to the choice of the theme of Tracy’s scooter can only be described as endearing and interesting.

Tracy explained that she first got into scooters when she visited her brother-in-law’s garage in 2008.“There was a scooter outside, a PX125 disc in cobalt blue; it looked beautiful. I said to Dean, I love it! I want a scooter!”

I suspected that Tracy must have had an interest in two-wheels for some time. “I’ll have to track back a bit. It was several years into our relationship when I saw the cobalt blue scooter, which got me interested in scooters and the scooter scene.

“Several years prior to that I met Dean, my husband-to-be, at the speedway at Odsal Stadium, Bradford. We both used to watch and support the Bradford Dukes speedway team and for a few years Dean rode speedway on a Saturday night.

“Dean and I got engaged seven years after we met and when we were planning the wedding he suggested we should get married in Las Vegas; I knew it would be perfect! We planned the wedding two years in advance, so if family or friends wanted to join us they had plenty of time to save up.

“To our surprise, 40 family and friends joined us for the wedding in Las Vegas. We had a French vicar, Elvis singing, and after the ceremony we released doves outside the chapel. It was fantastic.”

Across the pond

Tracy explained that the first scooter rally she went on was the ‘Highrollers’ 10th anniversary rally in Las Vegas in 2009.

“We flew there and made it into an 11-night holiday, it was a brilliant experience and we made some great friends who we see at various rallies in the UK.

“One story always springs to mind, which we always laugh about with our friend, Jayne, who we met at the Highrollers rally. It was about the time when we saw the band, The English Beat, perform at the night do.

“We were dancing along enjoying the band when Dean sneezed and his plastic front false tooth flew out, landing just behind Jayne. Dean and I shouted: “Don’t step back!” But we were too late.

“As Jayne stepped back we heard the crunch of Dean’s tooth, which he had to repair for the rest of the holiday with super glue!”

From Tracy’s enthusiasm, it’s clear that Las Vegas holds fantastic memories for her and Dean. I asked Tracy how she approached the theme to develop it on to her scooter.

“I’ve never owned a custom scooter before and this has always been the theme I’ve wanted for many years. I got the ideas from all the fun times we’ve had in Las Vegas, and with the help of Gatch he made it into a reality.

“The ideas came from our wedding, Dean’s son’s 21st birthday in Las Vegas and my sister’s antics whilst we were there. I love ‘Big Elvis’, who is a tribute act in Las Vegas.

“I always listen to Johnny Cash on the flight every time we go to Las Vegas, and the classics like the ‘Rat-Pack’ and the Showgirls along with my favourite casino, Excalibur, are on the scooter.

“The scooter’s got everything I love about Las Vegas on it. The name of the scooter is ‘The Gambler’ and I’ve got the lyrics to the song, The Gambler by Johnny Cash on the toolbox.”

Additional theme

With that said, it’s clear to see that all the characters on the scooter appear as Minions. I asked Tracy why Minions had come to be a prominent feature in the artwork.

“I’ve always loved the Minions, they’re funny, cheeky little yellow fellas and they had to be on the scooter!”

Following up on the delivery of the artwork, I spoke to Gatch and asked him how he’d handled the overall brief of the theme from Tracy.

“To start with, Tracy and Dean are good friends of mine, so it was a job which was going to have a special place in my heart. Tracy was passionate about her choices and I had to make sure that I could get as many of the things she wanted on the scooter into the artwork without it looking disorganised; it wasn’t easy.

“I decided that the best way to tackle the delivery of the theme was to make it feel like a tour of Las Vegas, visiting all the places which were relevant to Tracy and Dean, and the main features would connect with Tracy and Dean’s wedding.

“Also, Tracy told me some funny personal stories which had happened during their trips to Vegas, and I wanted to subtly blend references to those stories into the artwork to add to the romance of the theme.

“As well as this, I also knew that Tracy loves Minions and to add to the light-hearted, fun-loving feel I decided to make all the Vegas characters, and Tracy and Dean into Minions!”

Wedding date

In pride of place, on the scooter’s horncast is the date of Tracy and Dean’s wedding: 30th May 2008. White doves appear above the date and a wedding chapel appears at the top of the nearside legshield.

In the meantime, on the other legshield Dean and Tracy are shown as Minions riding together on a Union Jack scooter.

With the wedding theme set, Tracy and Dean then take us on a trip round the scooter on a tour of Las Vegas, sharing their fun times and personal experiences with us.

A Johnny Cash Minion raising his middle finger whilst performing one of his prison concerts appears as the main mural on the front mudguard.

An Evil Knieval Minion jumps the Grand Canyon on the top of the headset, who takes us to a cheeky corrupted purple Minion below the front of the seat.

The offside sidepanel has a graphic of Tracy’s favourite casino, Excalibur, and is supported by an Elvis Minion.

The nearside sidepanel shows ‘Rat Pack’ Minions, Frank, Dean and Sammy, along with Showgirl Minions giving a glamorous stage performance.

Behind the rear of the seat are four Binions Casino dice, and the final parting shot is Tracy’s cleverly personalised registration plate.

Emotive personal influences run throughout the concept and the development of The Gambler. The Gambler is something different; it’s got a fun-loving theme and expresses happy times and romance.

In addition, there are several other subliminal stories are present in the artwork, but we’ll leave those for Tracy to smile about and share with you if she wishes, and hopefully, we’ll see Tracy and The Gambler at custom shows in the near future.