Picture courtesy of Alex Benigno
Have you ever just lately discovered a nail in your tire? you aren’t alone Fortunately, Alex Benigno — aka Atlanta Magnet Man — is right here to assist. With a bicycle and loads of magnets, Benigno has grow to be town’s de facto collector of metallic particles, screws, scrap iron and all the opposite miscellaneous rusty hazards that litter the streets of Atlanta.
Benigno received the thought for his roving magnet within the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, when he discovered himself one of many few individuals driving on the street. Inside two months, he discovered a number of nails in each automobile tire, and even a couple of on his motorbike, which made him assume, How is it occurring? Benigno determined that if he did not choose metallic on the streets of Atlanta, nobody would.
“I hate to see an issue and say, Me, not my job“, says Benigno. “I am not that form of particular person.” He purchased a small trailer to carry his bicycle, together with some magnets, which he connected to the underside of the trailer’s metallic body. From there, he used a brush to assist take away metallic elements caught in sand and gravel. connected, which allowed him to obtain greater than twice as a lot. After perfecting it final December, Benigno started driving his contraption as a lot as attainable.
In his first eight weeks of journey, Benigno totaled 55 rides, 522 miles and picked up 410 kilos of particles. He gave a lot of this junk metallic to artist Laura S. Lewis, who turned it into gorgeous sculptures and wall artwork, together with a artful “Trash Fox.” Benigno drew plenty of native pleasure for his shock: drivers honked their horns and cheered as he rode, and as soon as a fan stopped him on the road to present him an impromptu greeting. His Instagram web page has attracted greater than 28,000 followers. “I had no concept that what I received myself into was going to be so in style,” Benigno says. “I’ve had individuals say, ‘Oh, I am on the opposite aspect of the world; I wish to do it.'”
Picture courtesy of Alex Benigno
Benigno by no means returns from a motorcycle mission empty-handed. “These things is actually all over the place — each neighborhood you’ll be able to consider,” he says. “Nothing else is being achieved. Road sweepers are selecting up trash, however the metallic simply form of will get thrown round and thrown again onto the road. Then it goes again down the drain.”
Benigno’s plan is easy: simply trip bikes and make roads safer for everybody. Whereas he admits it is good to obtain thanks from so many metropolis residents, he maintains the mission was by no means about him. “If I by no means get any recognition, I will nonetheless do it,” Benigno mentioned. “My aim is to get as many nails and screws off the street as attainable for everybody’s profit.”
This text appeared in our June 2024 difficulty.
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