THE ANIMA COLLECTIVE:

Dominic Alei-Gonzalez

ROOTED IN HIS UPBRINGING - GENUINELY GOOD GUY:

Joining The ANIMA Collective - Dominic Alei-Gonzalez. He's one of those guys you meet at the bike park with an infectious attitude and a playful style on and off the bike. When we were first introduced to Dom, he was mid-backflip to manual at the infamous I-Street step-up jump here in Salt Lake - no doubt a crowd pleaser amongst the 30+ person crowd that fall afternoon in 2023.

As we got closer, it was obvious Dom fit perfectly into the ANIMA Merx Team, being a well-rounded individual demonstrating kindness, gratitude, and a genuine personality, traits we deeply value.

We interviewed Dom to dig into who he is as a person, and how he uses the bike and style to express himself. As expected, he shared some thought-provoking words during the interview.

See Dom on IG.

"AT THE END OF THE DAY YOU'RE JUST RIDING BIKES & HAVING FUN. YOU'RE RIDING DOWN A CHUNK OF MEDAL ON SOME DIRT. "

"I WOULD DEFINE MY STYLE AS SOMETHING AS AUTHENTIC, PURE, AND CHILDISH ... TRYING TO EXPRESS THE FUN YOU'RE HAVING MENTALLY WHILE YOU'RE ON THE BIKE, PHYSICALLY THROUGH THE BIKE."

Dom has a past racing downhill around Colorado and New Mexico (where he grew up), on the Western Colorado Freeride team, as well as competing in a handful of freeride ski events during the winter. Now, balancing life as a full-time Mechanical Engineering student at the University of Utah, Dom splits his time between Woodward Park City, I-Street, digging with the boys, and building a jump-line on a friend's farm in Ogden, UT. More to come there!

We're grateful to have Dom in The ANIMA Collective and are stoked for the future.

CREDITS

Riding: Dominic Alei-Gonzalez

Cinematography & Editing: Art Collazo

Photography: Elan Maj