At the tender age of 26, South Philadelphia’s Carlton Lyles is making major moves—throughout Philadelphia on his Indego bike—as he ponders the meaning of life. Carlton, a former runner, is quick to tell people how cycling offered him a low-impact way to stay active once his knees got bad. Carlton grabs a bike at the top of his day for his work commute, plus any errands he can accomplish. Along the way, he takes in all that he can of the city he loves.
“When you travel to a place you’ve never been by bike, you start to look at yourself and think, ‘There are places in me I haven’t been. I need to keep traveling, expanding mentally and physically.’ Cycling makes me feel like I’m going to the next level.”
What’s more, Carlton says Indego is affordable and, with the money he saves, he can make healthier food choices. He was so excited to see that bikeshare was coming to Philly, he went all out on Instagram promoting Indego. But his enthusiasm didn’t go unappreciated for long. Now an official Indego brand ambassador, Carlton explains how the sequence of events was all a part of his plan:
“I named a music company I co-founded “Live Legendary” because that’s how I approach everything. I was trying to get the attention of Indego. Turned out my former high school teacher was working for them. She saw my posts, then reached out and asked if I would like to help promote getting healthy, staying active and faster commutes.”
Carlton embraces being “an example of a healthy black male” and wants to get more men on board.
“My goal is to have universal connections. If you want to live legendary, you’ve got to be legendary. That means getting fit in ways that fit who you are.”
