Alexey Vermeulen
You may know Alexey because of his dog Willie the Weiner, who likes to ride on his back and look cute. We learned about Alexey when we brought DaylightBrand to the Ice Cycle Expo in Northern Michigan for The Bell's Iceman Cometh Challenge; a 30 mile point to point Cross Country Mountain bike race held annually in November. (Spoiler: Alexey won!)
DaylightBrand was welcomed into the mountain biking community and soon connected with three-time Iceman winner, Alexey Vermeulen. Alexey is an American cyclist who currently competes on the professional mountain bike circuit, but our conversation with him is about his passion project of the last three years. This episode of the Daylight Spotlight podcast is about what Alexey and DaylightBrand have in common – a desire to connect humans with a community they can belong to, with a shared love of the outdoors.
How It Began
During covid, stores were sold out of bikes as people saw the activity as a way to get out of the house for their mental and physical health. The majority of these new riders weren’t into racing; they were just trying to figure out what mountain biking was all about and understand the appeal.
Alexey and his friend, Ryan Petry, saw an opportunity to use their wealth of knowledge and connections in the bike industry, and asked, “what if we were the people who could give the bikes, training plan, and all the help anyone would need to be able to take on a race?” From their own experiences, they knew such an endeavor would bring people from the community together to learn from one another. The result was “From The Ground Up”, a television show that documented the collective journeys of three people selected to learn the skills they needed to attempt an infamous race: the Leadville 100.
A Little About Leadville
Leadville, CO is iconic in the world of endurance sports, but, like From the Ground Up (FTGU), it was born out of hard times and a desire to contribute something good to a community. With the closure of the mine in the 1980s, the unemployment rate in Leadville was the highest in the country, leaving the town in search of a new identity and source of income for its residents.
It was decided that tourism was the way to boost their economy, and in 1983 the town of Leadville hosted the first Leadville Trail 100 Run, a grueling 100-mile ultramarathon on rugged trails in the heart of the Rockies surrounding the town. It was an immediate success, drawing participants from around the world for an overnight stay, which boosted the town’s economic status. The positive attention set the stage for a variety of races that were founded in the following years, now known as the Leadville Race Series.
In 2021, The Leadville 100 Mountain Bike Race was an ideal focal point for FTGU.
“It’s stupid. It’s insanely hard.” Alexey says, shaking his head. “Whether they finish or not doesn’t matter. But since we’re able to film and tell the story, we can hopefully educate and impact a lot more people than just the three or four (FTGU participants) that we are directly impacting.”
The Evolution
Going into the fourth year and season, Alexey reflects back on how the show started as a mix between educational content and reality tv (though that comes with a disclaimer, as FTGU is intentionally less about the drama and more about the experience). Now it has become more about the people and that many of them end up at these bike races together.
As we at DaylightBrand can attest to, the online outdoor community doesn’t stay online. The communication between people who are making connections on social media groups are coming to the events to be a part of what’s happening in person.
The Challenges
Overnight, Alexey became a producer in charge of documenting this project. Even under the pressure to deliver, and conscious of what was being invested by others, he rode the line between teaching and production, prioritizing what the project was all about: people.
Though taking on Leadville at all may be viewed as unrealistic by some, Alexey and Ryan have a sensible approach to the entire process. Alexey talks about how the participants are adults – not children – learning how to ride, and later he mentions the impracticality of bike camps that would take a person away from their job for weeks at a time and how they do their best to make FTGU feasible for the average person. From welcoming diversity, to valuing authenticity over sensation, From The Ground Up continues to make fresh tracks through the outdoor industry.
“There’s no refilming, they’re not crashing again, they’re not riding that hill again. This isn’t fake. It’s all real.”
The takeaway is real too. Through the process, Alexey looks beyond the production of the show and sees what happens as a result of the experiences they all had. He speaks of broadening the circle of who we interact with and how it inherently diversifies the sport, how teaching others the skills you learned creates a network of support, and he remarks on how the knowledge gained through finding out what you’re made of proves to yourself that you can take on anything in life.
Connection
The reason FTGU continues is because of the people who want to be a part of this amazing community. Reach out and search for people who can connect you with a group ride or offer advice to get you started on the right foot (or on the right trail) without becoming discouraged. You might join a group ride that’s not your pace or end up on a black trail, and not want to get out there again.
“I can ride by smiling, with a weiner dog on my back and it’s still going to be demoralizing no matter how much I smile and say hi. It just is.” But he promises that there are easier trails to start out on, and groups that will ride at your pace.
“Community is there,” Alexey encourages. “Once you find someone, that one person will probably have so many pathways (to community). We all got into this because of someone else.”
There’s something powerful in how biking connects people. It creates forward motion. It’s even powerful enough to get us up off the couch and on a bike, ready to meet you out on the trails.
Notes
Follow Alexey on instagram: instagram.com/alexeyvermeulen/?hl=en
More about From The Ground Up: https://www.fromthegroundup.bike/
During our chat with Alexey, he encourages anyone to apply for FTGU, explaining that even if you’re not accepted or if you don’t really want to do Leadville, the application process is a way to get connected with the biking community. You can also join the Facebook group Alexey and Ryan host, and check out your local bike shops for resources like group rides and where to start out.
