PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – After community members rallied online, a Grammy-nominated artist, known for his killer mustache and backflips, was seen Friday leading students on a bike ride through a Portland neighborhood.
Sam Balto is a physical education teacher and executive director of Bike Bus World, a nonprofit that brings kids and families together through community bike rides to and from school. Currently, there are more than 30 local bike and walking buses through the program, according to Balto.
On October 3, however, students gained a “core memory” with special guest Benson Boone joining a bike ride before his show at the Moda Center that night.
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“I lead the Vernon Bike Bus and a couple weeks ago, we made a video inviting Benson Boone to come join our ride,” Balto told KOIN 6 News in an interview Monday. “The video gained a lot of traction online with thousands of people tagging him, and over the couple weeks, we made a couple more videos to just encourage him to join, and he did.”
“It was after school and the weather was absolutely perfect and it was a magical experience,” Balto said. “He is the kindest, most genuine person I’ve met. I have a camera that was on his bicycle, and getting to watch the interactions he had with the students really touched me as a parent and community member – the amount of love and care that he showed our students, asking what their names were, taking selfies with them, staying and signing tons and tons of autographs.”
Musician Benson Boone joined the Portland bike bus on Oct. 3, 2025, leading hundreds of students on a bike ride after school before performing at the Moda Center (Courtesy Sam Balto).
Musician Benson Boone joined the Portland bike bus on Oct. 3, 2025, leading hundreds of students on a bike ride after school before performing at the Moda Center (Courtesy Sam Balto).
Benson Boone met with hundreds of Portland students after participating in a bike bus with the World Bike Bus nonprofit ahead of his Moda Center performance Oct. 3, 2025 (Courtesy Sam Balto).
Benson Boone met with hundreds of Portland students after participating in a bike bus with the World Bike Bus nonprofit ahead of his Moda Center performance Oct. 3, 2025 (Courtesy Sam Balto).
While Boone may not have done one of his signature backflips during the bike ride, Balto noted, “there was a funny interaction where a kid asked him if he’s ever done a backflip off of his bicycle and he said, ‘I’ve never tried that.’ But he did not do any backflips. He saved them for his concert.”
“We played all his greatest hits, and it was amazing. There’s a couple moments when the kids and him were all singing together, throwing their hands in the air. It’s totally an amazing experience while the kids are yelling, ‘I can’t believe this is happening!’ So, it was truly a surprise, totally spontaneous and really something the kids in the community will always remember,” Balto said.
Boone isn’t the first celebrity to join a Bike Bus in Portland.
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“I want to say it was a year-and-a-half ago for the Alameda Bike Bus birthday. The band AJR was coming to town and their bassist, Adam Met, was the first celebrity to come and join. It was really cool. He had a show in Boise, Idaho the night before, took the first flight to Portland, and thanks to the time change, was able to make it in time so, he joined,” Balto recalled.
That interaction encouraged Balto to invite Justin Timberlake, who would join a Bike Bus event in January and later Benson Boone in October.
“We’re now three for three (celebrity guest invitations) and it’s really exciting to see how Portland’s really putting Bike Bus on the map and celebrities are using their power to come join the experience and bring more awareness to it,” Balto told KOIN 6.
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“I think Bike Bus, we always say, it’s the most joyful place on the internet and the comment section is always just so positive. When you sort of have that collective energy of tagging the celebrity, they pay attention and they see it and then when they see the videos of these kids having so much fun riding bikes to school, they’ve been able to make it a priority to come and ride with us,” Balto said.
Balto began the bike bus movement in Portland on Earth Day in 2022 amid a trend of bike buses popping up in North America and Europe. Balto would then start Bike Bus World to encourage bike buses everywhere — promoting biking as a healthy, eco-friendly and community-building activity.
“It absolutely means a lot to the children. I think also the parents and the parent volunteers. It can be hard sometimes being a parent and when you have people, especially celebrities, who take time out of their busy schedules to show up to bring some extra joy and spend some time with your kids at the end of a ride that really means a lot. Kids at the end of the ride were crying, hugging, coming up to me and thanking me,” Balto said. “The parents were really appreciative that we put the effort together for him to be able to come and join and it really is this magical, amazing experience that happens on bike buses, even when there’s not celebrities but when celebrities do come, it’s extra special.”
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