Hey Iman, excited to get started! Could you give a background of yourself? Where did you grow up?
I come from a culturally beautiful country—Iran and I like to call myself authentic Persian (because I hope one day I’m worth as much as a Persian Rug). I am Santa Cruzian…if that makes sense? I say this because I am everything but not one thing.
Growing up in Santa Cruz, I have had a diverse experience of everything. From the mountains to the beaches, I’ve met all kinds of people, and I’ve befriended many of them too. I’ve surfed, biked, mountain climbed, and more! I’ve done it all and I am so eternally grateful I have because I feel one step closer to understanding who I am.
How did you end up in Santa Cruz? How has Santa Cruz inspired you? Were there any challenges running Bikes4All in Santa Cruz?
That’s where my memory gets foggy. So far I’ve told people I ended up here by chance and I’m sticking with it!
Santa Cruz is/was my saving grace. There are so many outlets here to let out frustration, anger, sadness, etc. As a result, the one thing I hate is people not taking advantage of the opportunities in our community. Unfortunately, more often than not, people don’t take advantage because they don’t have access to the opportunities.
That’s why I started Bikes4All! A local nonprofit dedicated to increasing the accessibility of opportunities to people through bikes! Niche, right?!
The largest challenge I have faced running Bikes4All in Santa Cruz is finding support for our initiative through the county. Although we live in a very beautiful place, our leaders and politicians disregard the people’s need for safe and accessible transportation. How can I, an 18-year-old high school student, morally give out bikes when I know that the bikes I give out lead to people being put in unsafe situations? How can I gain support when the people of Santa Cruz County know this too?
I’ve learned it is best to just focus on the next and hope for good to come later on. That’s what I’ve been doing now and it has been working pretty well!
How did you get involved in community outreach?
I have always been a part of community outreach, but I was formally introduced to it during the height of COVID in 2020.
My neighbor ran a nonprofit called VictoryVeggiesSoquel, where the organization advocated for the growth of veggies in one’s own garden (like those during WW2) and then collected the veggies for donation. I joined in as a volunteer of this organization and eventually became the President. Through this nonprofit I raised 1500 lbs of produce that went to those who were starving during COVID.
What inspired Bikes4All? What issue are you trying to solve?
In my sophomore year of high school, I began to ride bikes a lot, and I mean A LOT. That year I rode over 2000 miles on my bike which was my record at the time. I had also previously invested in a banana slug yellow Santa Cruz Tallboy Full-Suspension Bike.
Towards the end of that school year (June 2022), a friend told me that the state parks would collect 60 bikes every 3 months or so, and then dump them! This hurt me, not because I wanted to give bikes away, but because I was thinking about the valuable parts I could have used. The idea for Bikes4All didn’t start until a couple of months later.
I went to school at Aptos High School, a place with predominantly low-income students. These students would come up to me and ask, “Hey Iman, where did you get that bike?” I would respond by telling them and then suggest they get one too… only to get hit with the common response of, “I wish I could but I couldn’t afford it. I don’t even have a bike right now and can’t even get one for $200!”
My reaction to this was heart wrenching. I thought, “Biking, something that has been an outlet for me my whole life, something that has allowed my mother to work more hours instead of driving me around, something that has allowed me to become independent, something that I use daily to get around town… and you’re telling me there are people out there who can’t even get a bike when there are 60 good ones being thrown out every couple of months??”
Anddd the rest is history. I felt compelled to do something after this.
What would you recommend to people who want to help their community, but do not know where to start?
“Embark on your journey of change with a simple step, for even the smallest act of kindness can ignite the greatest change.”
This is a quote that I said a while back, it has always stuck in my mind. I think that placing an emphasis on doing what YOU like is the most important thing.
Ya, it would be nice to advocate for social justice, but is that what I’m good at? Is that what I like? The answer is: not really. I’ll just stick to broken bikes because I’m passionate about these dumb bikes as silly as it might seem.
Do you have any aspirations you are looking forward to? Do you have an idea of what you want to do after high school?
I will be attending Boston College this fall studying Biochemistry. I plan on taking a pre-med route and I hope to end up as a physician one day.
Thanks Iman, thats all the questions we have for you! Get your ticket to the NEXTies to come say hi to him and other movers and shakers being highlighted at this years’ May 17th NEXTies awards! See you there!
