You might’ve seen him riding around town on a bike with an interesting trailer, but maybe you didn’t know who he was. The Atlanta Magnet Man has made quite the name for himself, and for good reason! This good Samaritan has spent the past year cleaning up the streets of Atlanta to save your tires from all the screws, nails, and other metal debris that litter our roads.
Who is Atlanta Magnet Man?
We recently spoke with Atlanta Magnet Man to get a little more info about the man, the myth, the legend, and we are so happy to introduce him to you!
First of all, the man behind the iconic Magnet Man persona is Alex Benigno, and he’s lived in the ATL his whole life. He says, “I was born at Piedmont hospital. I have traveled all over the world and there is no other place that I would want to call home.” He includes that this newfound local fame is an interesting experience for him: “I’m normally quiet and shy, and all of this new attention has been a fascinating journey outside of my comfort zone.”
The Creation of an icon: the idea behind Atlanta Magnet Man
Benigno says he came up with the idea to ride a magnet-bike around the streets of ATL during Covid. He says, “I had to drive for work during the [Covid] lockdowns and as one of the few people on the roads I felt like I was picking up all the nails and screws with my tires. I got 3 to 4 nails in each tire in two months, as well as multiple in my motorcycle tires.” But the problem reached deeper than just Benigno’s tires picking up nails. He elaborates, “This made me realize that when I’m not picking up nails with my tires other people’s tires were picking them up. The spark that got this project started happened April of last year when one morning I saw that there was a big bag of screws on the ground that must’ve fallen off of contractors truck as I was leaving the Kroger on Howell mill.”
Benigno couldn’t just leave the problem for someone else to suffer through. He borrowed a Harbor Freight magnetic sweeper and a broom and dustpan to try to sweep up all of the debris from the road, but without much luck. He says, “The cheap magnet sweeper couldn’t handle any part of the road and it barely picked up anything all.”
But one failed attempt didn’t stop the Atlanta Magnet Man. Benigno says, “When I see problems like this I can’t turn away and say ‘not my job’ and be able to sleep well at night.”
Atlanta Magnet Man’s bike
Because the cheap magnet sweeper didn’t do as well cleaning up the mess as Benigno had hoped, he decided to take matters into his own hands and build a contraption that would work much better: a magnetic bike. Benigno says, “When I started building my idea I used a lot of parts I had laying around. As the first person to ever make a magnet sweeper for a bicycle, I had to start from scratch without any reference.”
A bike was the perfect solution for lots of reasons. Benigno says, “Street sweepers are primarily used to keep trash out of the sewers, but they are terrible at picking up small pieces of metal that can’t be easily vacuumed. My approach is unique in that I can dodge plates and grates and sewer covers, and still get amazing results.” With this new plan and a lot of ingenuity, Benigno created the first ever magnetic sweeper bicycle. And this project was all done out of the goodness of his heart. Atlanta Magnet Man says, “Every part of this project has been paid for out of pocket. The most expensive part are the magnets. They are $16 each and I have over 60 of them now.”
Why do all of this for strangers?
You might be thinking, ‘okay, so what’s the catch?’ The incredible thing about Alex Benigno is that there isn’t one. Benigno created the Atlanta Magnet Man persona truly out of a care for others. He says, “I really enjoy doing random acts of kindness that no one notices so I can alleviate needless suffering of random strangers… Since I was a child, I’ve always enjoyed making people laugh and finding ways to help out. With this project I have an amazing opportunity to do both.”
Knowing that our community is made up of such kind, caring people is a true breath of fresh air. Benigno elaborates, “I came up with the Atlanta magnet man name as a tongue in cheek joke because every time I think about it, it makes me laugh. I never expected it to get so popular. Now when people drive by and say, ‘thank you magnet man,’ it makes me giggle every single time.”
And his ultimate goal? Make flat tires a thing of the past. What a wonderful world that would be!
Benigno sums up the story of Atlanta Magnet Man perfectly. He says, “I’m motivated with a passion to serve all my fellow humans in any way I can. I am here to fight the notion that if the solution to a problem doesn’t involve being lazy then that problem won’t have a solution. This is work that does take effort, and I want to do this work.”
We are so lucky to have Atlanta Magnet Man right here in our very own city. Thank you so much, Alex Benigno!
If you want to follow along with Atlanta Magnet Man’s journey, you can follow him on Instagram at @atlantamagnetman!