We were lucky to catch up with Alek Minkis recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Alek thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

Jumping from a stable job working for a GC in construction to natural surface trail building is one of the biggest risks I have take financially and socially. The profession, and trade, of professional trail building is fairly new in the states but is developing rapidly especially over the past decade. While there are a lot of builders in more natural or mountainous regions of the US, Indiana is still very much coming into its own when it comes to offering natural surface trails in public green spaces. Mountain bike trails are right along with this outdoor recreation development but I would say the state is still about a decade behind areas of the country like Appalachia, Ozarks and the western states. I say all this so say that jumping into a market that is developing means that there is a lot more risk in acquiring jobs and builds but can also lead to being ahead of the market curve which is always good. I am playing the long game with project development and have been seeing good progress within the state of Indiana when it comes to developing new riding and hiking parks.

Alek, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’ve been riding mountain bikes for two decades and have had the opportunity to ride some pretty awesome trail all over the country. My building started when I was in middle school in the back yard like a lot of teenage buys do when they get their first bike. Over time I got involved with a local mountain bike club and did volunteer work on local trails which in turn lead to me meeting a professional builder. I thought it was the coolest thing ever that you could work in the woods building fun trails that the community would enjoy for years to come. Combing my love of building things and the creative nature of building in the woods seemed like a great way to spend ones life. During college I worked on and off for the professional builder I met in highschool but eventually moved out to Utah when I graduated college. After a few years in the mountains working in the construction industry I decided to move back and take the skills I have from the construction industry along with my passion for building and apply them to the Midwest, Indiana specifically. It have been great to be able to build in multiple state and city parks in Indiana along with a flow trail build in Fort Duffield Kentucky.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

Attaining the capital to start has been a hydra in every sense of the word. I had money saved from my previous job that was enough to get me going but in between having projects I would do other miscellaneous excavation and remote construction estimating to make sure that I was covering my bills. At one point I was selling extra clothes and recreation items to make ends meet. It’s not always been great but ultimately as I’ve gotten out on the other side of those days I can appreciate the sacrifices I have made to be where I am with my life and business.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

The mountain bike community is, while growing rapidly, still very small and comprised of a bunch of great people. I typically work directly with local mountain bike clubs and have personal relationships with the leaders of those clubs which are all across the country. Depending on the project and level of client and landowner involvement I will work with DNR and park managers to make sure that the intended project is heading the direction it needs to in order to meet all land use requirements. I am always looking to keep developing new relationships withing the trade and community and always make sure to produce the best trail at the end of the project.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://highcountrytrailsolutions.wordpress.com/
• Instagram: highcountrytrailsolutions
• Facebook: highcountrytrailsolutions

Image Credits
Aaron Ibey