Rider Stories: Daxx– Perspectives on a city

Meet Daxx. We wouldn't be exaggerating when we say that Daxx can do it all. He's an expert musician (we're talking Saxophone, five other instruments, and vocals), a dedicated painter, an academic professor, a dentist, a passionate traveler, and a gardener – but not often all at one time. Perhaps most importantly, Daxx works as a family physician, providing urgent care to patients at one of New York City's busiest hospitals. Over the course of the pandemic, this work has been even more vital than usual – he's been on the frontline, working up to 20 hours a day. Yet somehow, he still makes room for his array of passions. How does he do it? Well, according to Daxx, it's all about balance, music, medicine, and people.

For Daxx, there's truly no other place on earth like New York City. Originally hailing from Mississippi, Daxx has been a permanent fixture in NYC for 15 years now. He knows its pace, its rhythm, and just how unpredictable life can be here. Indeed, things certainly haven't been a walk in the park. He tells us that much of his time in the city was impacted by suffering a severe brain and spinal injury in a car accident a few years prior. But that's never stopped him from pursuing all sorts of hobbies and skills. Some of them have even been set in motion due to this misfortune. And all of his pursuits serve as a form of therapy, he tells us: "It's about balance and recovery. They're all new ways to express myself and relearn."

Of all his passions, Daxx finds music the most compelling. He tells us that he's been a music lover his entire life, and all genres and forms move him. It's perhaps no surprise then that his favorite instrument to play is the saxophone because of its versatility: “I love the fact that I can use this thing for orchestral pieces, jazz pieces, electronic pieces – literally any genre. That's why I've been playing it now for 30 years."

Daxx is also a practicing family physician in the city's Lower East Side, providing individuals with urgent same-day care. He also serves as an academic professor within one of the hospitals. At the peak of the pandemic, his work was all-encompassing. His job would take up to 20 hours a day, with an average of 130 patients on his list. This exhausting schedule, however, was remedied by music. The two are intertwined for Daxx: "Music helps me recover from medicine, and medicine helps me recover from music".

With so much going on for Daxx, time becomes incredibly precious. He talks to us intently and explains that his understanding of time and its limits lead him on a surprising quest to be the first to adopt certain technologies. After losing two months of life in the hospital and pursuing so many different things, it's not surprising that he wants to make the absolute most of it all. Daxx is aware of how easily time can slip away from you and how technology ultimately equates to efficiency to counter this: "A shorter commute equals more efficiency. In essence, this brought me to the forefront of understanding new and developing technologies. It's been a life-changing experience. That's where cycling comes in. It's the flexibility to leave at any moment and the flexibility to come back at any moment."

In New York City, Daxx knows how easily you can lose time. He laughs as he tells us about once sitting in traffic for six hours to drive eleven miles, In July of 2022, I purchased an X1. And I have not returned to driving a car to work since.”

It’s not just the efficiency of electric biking that drew Daxx to Luckeep: “The back carrier lets me put my briefcase, a mobile office and carry specific musical instruments with me. My bike is a genuine automobile replacement." Daxx's life is whole and immensely rewarding. "It sounds busy, but in the end, it's never too much if you enjoy it", he laughs.

If you work in the city, are you like him, like us? In fact, we are all the same.Trying to solve your commute problems with an e-bike? Check it out here