9 August 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Max Barber and Evan Esparza started Teen Recycle in March.
“We teach a class going in-depth on all of the maintenance and service aspects of a bike that you would need to know,” Barber said. “Everything from changing a tube and a tire to indexing the gears, adjusting the brakes. And then at the end of that class that you get to leave with the bike.”
“For me, it’s all about community,” Esparza said. “So this is the best way for me to help the community is by putting out bicycles and teaching people how to work on bicycles.”
It originally started out as Teen Night, encouraging teenagers to volunteer at Bike Walk Wichita. But, recycle shop manager Cody Custer encouraged them to take it a step further.
“I challenged them to make it more intentional to see if there was a way that they could build it, and it would bring back more, and the kids would leave with more than just a bike,” Custer said.
“I think it’s really important for kids of all ages to know how to turn a wrench or kind of problem solve their way through mechanical problems to be able to look okay, so this is doing this, but this is also doing that, so I have to do this,” Barber said.
They are taking advantage of their resources.
“We’ve worked with good people to learn all the skills we have, and so all we’re doing is relaying what we know, and we have all the right tools, we have the right setting, so we’re just kind of spreading our knowledge to anybody that wants it or needs it even,” Barber said.
They work hand in hand with Bike Walk Wichita.
Max Barber, Co-Founder of Teens Reycle, repairing a bicycle (KSN Photo)
Evan Esparza, Co-Founder of Teens Reycle, repairing a bicycle (KSN Photo)
“We just use the parts we have here,” Barber said.
Not only has the class taught teens in Wichita but also Barber and Esparza.
“I really learned that I love to teach, like I really enjoy going through aspects of a bike and even other things now,” Barber said. “I really love to teach people how to do things, and I feel great after, I really feel accomplished and feel a little uplifted when kids are getting some bikes. It’s great.”
“What I really learned is like patience, and like the way you word things, it takes like specific wording for someone to understand,” Esparza said.
Custer says it’s also rewarding for him to watch them.
“The cooler part is seeing how they work with the people one on one and how it’s not only inclusive, but they really take something that is a foreign problem using foreign tools and show them that they can accomplish it,” Custer said.
Their mission? Fixing bikes goes beyond just making them work again.
Bikes at Bike Walk Wichita (KSN Photo)
Bikes at Bike Walk Wichita (KSN Photo)
“We build confidence, we inspire, we really support while people have the opportunity to safely fail,” Custer said. “And I think especially as teens, that’s not always an opportunity that’s given, and it’s not seen by your peers. So it’s one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever been a part of.”
Custer says getting a bike is exciting, but putting it together yourself is different.
“It’s incredible when you’ve built it, or you’ve worked on it, and then you leave with it,” Custer said. “There’s a whole different sense of independence and responsibility and confidence and empowerment that comes with that.”
Esparza and Barber hope to be role models in the shop and out.
“Teen Recycle is all about having kids or teens learn about being involved in the community,” Esparza said. “So if they see us doing that, we’re kind of like role models to them. And they see us in here volunteering our time for Teen Recycle, then they have a sense of like community,”
Giving more people transportation makes Esparza proud.
“The feeling of giving someone a bicycle or having them work on it is like giving them new opportunities,” Esparza said. “You open doors for them to ride their bike to school or to see a friend and go ride their bike to the park.” They came here for a reason. They’re going to use that bicycle, so it makes me feel really good that it goes to someone that needs it and wants to get outside, or they needed to go to the school.”
The Teen Recycle Program, hosted at Bike Walk Wichita’s ReCycle Bike Shop, 325 N. St. Francis, is held twice a month on Sunday afternoons from 3-5 p.m. For more information, email [email protected].
If you would like to nominate a person or business for Positive Connections, fill out KSN’s online contact form.