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Small actions can lead to big impact. Every ride, every mile can make a difference. One rider who proves that is Alex Benigno, better known as the “Atlanta Magnet Man.”

As seen in Atlanta, Georgia, on the news, and across social media, Alex rides an ElliptiGO MSUB that pulls a trailer rigged with fifty heavy-duty magnets. He turns his rides into cleanups, collecting metal debris from city streets. His mission is to prevent flat tires, protect cyclists, and inspire others to join the movement toward cleaner, safer communities. September, which is National Cleanup Month, is the perfect time to honor Alex as ElliptiGO’s Rider of the Month.

Turning Frustration Into Innovation

This community cleanup hero’s origin story began during the early days of COVID lockdowns. Alex’s job at the time required him to be on the road. The streets were empty, and Alex was finding enjoyment in having freeways all to himself—until the flats started stacking up. “In two months, I got fifteen flat tires in my car and a bunch on my motorcycle and bicycle,” he recalls. He realized that with so few cars on the road, his tires were now picking up all of the nails and other metal debris that had always been lurking on the ground.

Alex began keeping an eye out for sharp objects and metal scraps, picking them up by hand when he spotted them. One day he saw a big contractor’s bag of screws spilled in a grocery store driveway. He tried using an inexpensive magnet sweeper to clean it up. Alex’s verdict: “It was completely useless. That’s when I knew that something better needed to be created that didn’t exist yet.”

Alex had thought about putting magnets on the bottom of a bike trailer. Now it was time to experiment. He attached a rail to the trailer, and then attached magnets to the rail. He hooked the trailer to his ElliptiGO MSUB. And it worked! The magnets easily picked up nails on the street. And thus “Atlanta Magnet Man” came to life. In January 2024, he picked up more than 47 pounds of metal debris in 10 days. As he’s refined his magnet-trailer design, he’s able to collect more metal waste. Recently, he calculated that he removed more than a quarter-ton of metal over a five-month period. 

From Injury to Inspiration

We all know that riding an ElliptiGO bike is a workout. And riding an ElliptiGO stand-up bike while towing a trailer that’s picking up metal is an even tougher workout. So Alex is probably a lifelong athlete, right?

Wrong. “I had spent most of my life until the age of 42 being relatively weak and out of shape,” Alex confesses. He did enjoy riding bikes, but a herniated disc pressing on his sciatic nerve caused excruciating pain and required surgery. After Alex recovered, he was excited to get back on his bike, but every few months he wound up with terrible back pain.

The only real pain relief Alex could find was using the elliptical machine at the gym, but he preferred to be outdoors. One day he Googled “elliptical bicycle.” ElliptiGO was the first choice, and Alex bought an MSUB in 2021. He says, “It was a dream come true!”

With no seat to cause him pain, Alex found riding his ElliptiGO bike much more comfortable than his full-suspension mountain bike. It just took time to build up his endurance. He began by riding just one mile on flat ground and practiced every day to ride stronger and longer. “My legs are solid muscle now. Getting myself to this level of physical fitness is one of the greatest gifts I have ever given myself,” Alex says. “I had never been this physically fit before, and I owe it all to this bicycle.”

The stand-up bike has additional perks for Atlanta Magnet Man. Alex explains, “Riding as tall as I do on the ElliptiGO makes it much easier to see nails and screws from my bird’s eye view.”

Now he has three MSUBs, two with electric conversion kits, and an RSUB. He added  puncture-resistant tire liners, which help protect his own bike tires from flats.

Alex also enjoys bouldering. One day, as he rode his ElliptiGO home after bouldering at the gym, he came across a large group of cyclists. They invited him to join them, and Alex became part of MWR ATL: Midweek Roll Atlanta, a cycling and social group.

Alex notes, “I’m really quiet and shy. It took me a while to open up. I have met some of the greatest people I have ever known in my life on these group bike rides.” He now regularly participates in group bike rides all over Atlanta. And, of course, he logs many miles each week on his mission to protect the tires of Atlanta’s vehicles.

Setbacks and Comebacks

Defending the roads from malicious metal isn’t easy. And all those magnets don’t just attract debris. “On many occasions I’ve gotten myself stuck to metal plates and manhole covers!” he says.

A year ago, something much worse happened: Alex hit a concrete block in a brand-new bike lane. The blocks had been placed in the road prior to the lanes being painted, and Alex’s trailer got caught on one. Alex went over the handlebars and broke five ribs and lacerated a lung. “I’m so thankful that I was able to recover,” he says. “Luckily I am still able to ride and climb.”

Rather than slowing him down, the accident sparked yet another design breakthrough. Now his trailer features safety improvements that allow it to glide over obstacles rather than catch.

Unfortunately, Alex would soon face another setback. In May, his orange ElliptiGO MSUB was stolen from the rack on the back of his car. “My stomach sank when I saw that my bike was missing,” Alex recalls. But then something incredible happened. Within 25 minutes of posting on Instagram that his bike had been stolen, someone sent Alex $1,000 to help replace it. “I couldn’t believe it,” says Alex.

He hadn’t asked for a single dime, but within two weeks, enough additional donations came in to help replace the bike and to buy an electric conversion kit, which Alex uses to help pull the magnet trailer. Alex shares, “This reinvigorated my sense of purpose and helped restore my faith in humanity.”

Unexpected Fame

You see, Atlanta Magnet Man has fans. Lots of them. In January 2024, Alex created @AtlantaMagnetMan on Instagram. He began documenting his magnetized trailer designs and the massive amounts of metal he collects. His following quickly grew. Then he was interviewed on local TV news stations. Axios, The Washington Post, and CNN all did stories on Atlanta Magnet Man, too. Today he has more than 41,000 followers on Instagram.

His online presence also led to a social media promotion with the Atlanta Hawks basketball team and Kumho Tire USA. They created a video, casting Atlanta Magnet Man as a superhero who saves Hawks fans from flat tires in the parking lot of State Farm Arena, where the Hawks play. The video intones, “He’s the hero Hawks fans didn’t know they needed!” as Alex rides by and high-fives the Hawks mascot.

“Filming this promo was so surreal,” says Alex. Working with the Hawks mascot, Harry T. Hawk, a human-sized hawk in basketball gear, was kind of like being in one of the Muppet movies he’d watched as a kid. The video’s voiceover even begins with the iconic phrase, “In a world … ,” just like a dramatic movie trailer.

“I tell everyone that I have officially reached ‘peak Alex,’” he jokes. “It makes me laugh every time I think about it.” 

Reflecting on his social media fame, Alex adds, “I had never imagined that I would go viral for anything, but it is one of the greatest honors of my life to gain such recognition for an act of community service.”

Magnet Man’s Next Chapter

Today, Alex is 46. The Atlanta native is happy to live in his hometown. His home’s location along The Beltline, a pedestrian and biking path along old rail lines, is an ideal location for Atlanta Magnet Man.

Now he works at a company that repairs and sells industrial-sized electric motors and water pumps. “I’m not a repair technician yet,” says Alex, “but it’s an honor to work within a magnetic field. Sorry for the pun, I couldn’t help myself!”

He’s single, and he chooses to use his spare time ridding the roads of metal so that other people can spend more time with their loved ones instead of changing their tires on the side of the road. Alex adds, “I ride as much as I can. I would love to figure out a way to do this full-time.”

For those who want to become Magnet People in their respective cities, Alex plans to develop a step-by-step guide for recreating his current magnet trailer design. But for now, since it is National Cleanup Month, Alex recommends putting some magnets on a stick and manually picking up metal from the road around intersections. It’s a cheap, easy, and thorough way to make your favorite bike route a little safer for everyone’s wheels.

Alex, we’re proud to celebrate you as our Rider of the Month. We’re cheering you on as you continue your cleanup mission! We invite the ElliptiGO community to join Alex by participating in National Cleanup Month and World Cleanup Day. Whether it’s with a magnet trailer, a cleanup ride, or simply picking up a few stray nails on your route, every action matters.

As Alex shows, a single rider can make a powerful impact on their community. Not every hero needs to leap tall buildings. Some ride tall and pull metal out of the road. 

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Bonus: Atlanta Magnet Man Q&A
What’s the weirdest object you’ve found on the streets? One time I found a very large crane hook in the road that probably could have destroyed someone’s car.

What do you do with all the metal you collect? I give it to scrap metal artists when they request it. And I currently get $5 per 100 pounds at the local scrapyard. The calories-burned-to-money-earned ratio is not in my favor for scrap recycling.

What’s your biggest concern while completing your cleanups? I worry that by preventing flat tires I may be stopping someone from meeting the car mechanic of their dreams.

What are your favorite Atlanta Magnet Man finds? My favorite thing I found was a very small dream catcher that someone made. My next favorite object I found was a Ruth Bader Ginsburg keychain that said “supreme.”

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You can contact ElliptiGO with nominations to Rider of the Month or share your own story. It may just be the next feature!