I’m also one of those who considered myself a MTBer back in the day of Lopes/Missy?/Tomac/McRoy (maybe even before) but never heard of them until the last few years. Namely, I suspect, because I didn’t buy mags back then, wasn’t in any club and wasn’t aware of any ‘scene’ which involved spending a weekend with like minded MTBers, mag editors, sponsors, manufacturers, parading around a big muddy field in an organised event somewhere.
We just got out on our bikes every weekend with a guidebook/map, mostly Yorkshire Dales or Lakes, MTB holidays in Scotland and, if travelling by car, took bikes on climbing trips in the alps as a bad weather plan B. We were blissfully unaware of anything MTB beyond our own little world.
It actually came as quite a shock learning since of quite a big racing scene that existed across the country, as I don’t particularly recall seeing very many other MTBers around, back then.