Dameon Ellis is the youngest of five kids and also the only boy. His dad, Dameon Ellis Sr., had two daughters, Darnecia and Dayshawn, before meeting Thaiescia, who already had a daughter named ThaiLehr. Together they later had De’Jah, and finally Dameon came along even though his parents thought they were done having kids.

Growing up with only sisters, Dameon’s childhood was a little different. Sometimes they would dress him up for fun, but he was still into comics, Transformers, dinosaurs, and video games. Sports didn’t really interest him at first, and his parents never pushed him into them either.

It wasn’t until seventh grade at Meridian Middle School that he joined track and tried shot put. After moving from Kent to Renton, he went to Nelsen Middle School where he kept meeting new people and stayed with sports. Now at Lindbergh High School, he plays football, wrestles, and does track, and he’s really enjoying it.

Dameon hopes to keep playing sports in college while studying psychology and philosophy. “Sports are fun, but I’m just excited to see where life takes me,” he said.