‘Unofficial Mayor’ Of Flagstaff Discovers The Power Of Community After Tragic Accident

Andres, or Dre, Adauto is what you’d call a big fish in a small pond in Flagstaff, Arizona, where we both happen to live. He’s even known as the unofficial mayor of Flagstaff. 

When he moved here from El Paso in his early 20s, he knew pretty quickly he had found home. He loved that you could have an idea one day and make it a reality the next.

DRE: You get to see the ripples of the pond happen so much quicker compared to like say I was going out to San Francisco to do this thing or Portland to do this thing. It would take so much longer to reverberate back. You know? Whereas like a lot of these things I would do complete strangers would come up to me, you know, within a few days to a week and be like, oh man, you put on that thing or, oh, I saw emcee that thing. It was like, so cool. And when are you doing it again? The only way you can try out the hypotheses is to do it, you know, is to be, to get up on that stage or to set up that event.

So that is what he’s done. Dre has a knack for drawing people together to express the fullest versions of themselves. Whether it’s getting people to participate in an adult talent show or emceeing a Flagstaff music festival, he knows how to galvanize a crowd.

One of his latest accomplishments was starting a local chapter of a national movement called “Bike Party.”

DRE: Bike party was trying to make biking look so fun, so sexy and so ridiculous, but also show people that they could be on the streets that it's their streets too. That bikes are as allowed on streets, as cars that people having fun is universal.

Dre heard from a friend in Oakland about Bike Party, which was developed to bring awareness to bikes on the road, and decided to bring Bike Party to Flagstaff. 

DRE: For the longest time I was throwing house parties and uh, bar parties and those are enclosed, you know, and they're stationary, they're one place bike party was everywhere. You know, we'd be like, we don't like this anymore. All right. We're going down such and such, but you know, like come on and everybody get up and go and then, you know, and you're just like using the entirety of your community to have fun instead of like, oh I go to that bar and that's my scene or even in the cycling community portion where it's like, oh I'm a mountain biker. So I only go out with these six to 12 people, it was like bike party was trying to get every cyclist, everyone who, who could and wanted to ride a bike in a community. That's what we were trying to do. And that's what was so beautiful about bike party. 

This is a story about the power of community, about what happens when you create space for people to be themselves.

This is 2 Lives. I’m Laurel Morales.

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Dre is the perfect combination of his parents – his dad is easy going, spontaneous, and oozing with charisma, while mom is more practical. She saw what needed to get done and did it.

DRE: Dad was little bit more like how do we do it is it fun my mom was how do we get it done if that’s your goal what do we do to get you to your goal. She was setting parameters of like if that’s your goal then what are you doing to get your goal.

Dre set the goal of going to college in northern California only to find he really just enjoyed the people and the parties. The classes he could give or take.

When Dre came home after his freshman year he got busted for possession of marijuana. It was his mom who bailed him out.

DRE: That one's rough where you're just like, it's seven in the morning. I've been up all night. I've been like in that chair cell with everybody else for just a little bit of weed … It's super stressful with other folks in the drunk tank. You already had them make the call. You're already feeling like garbage, you know, and then you get called, uh, or you, you get taken home and then you have that sit down.

His mom told him he’d have to get a job so he got one slinging pizzas at a restaurant known for hosting birthday parties. He had to stick around El Paso for court proceedings so didn’t go back to college. One weekend he was helping a high school buddy move from El Paso to Flagstaff.

DRE: I was at this crossroads of like, well, do I move in with my dad? Do I stay in El Paso? Do I get my own place? What's that look like? And so we did this trip to Flagstaff and I was like, dang, that was something, you know, something registered… I like felt a draw for sure. 

So just shy of his 21st birthday Dre moved to Flagstaff and eventually landed a job at a costume shop called In Cahoots, where he found a love for fashion and really started coming into his own. 

DRE: The uniqueness of that shop allowed for my uniqueness to blossom. 

In Cahoots really just lit me like gasoline on that fire, you know, and just like wanted wear, wanna wear a dress to work. Sure. One, you know, like wanna wear like, and at the time too, I had my own natural Afro, so I like pick out my Afro so big and wear yeah. Polyester and short shorts, you know, and just like be ridiculous every day. And it would be fine inconsequential, you know, it was like if anything had added to the weirdness and the mystique of that job.

In a sporty mountain town of mostly fleece and spandex, Dre stood out with his vintage suits, wigs, and funky hats from every era. He even acquired the nickname “Dapper Dre.”

He said, it was just a matter of saying “yes!”

It started out as the clothes he wore and eventually graduated to the parties he would host. 

DRE: People seeing that like, oh, you're fine doing that. You wanna try to like throw a party together or emcee this thing for me? Or, you know, you, you, you seem weird. You probably like this thing, you know, and you're like, yes, to all of those, at, in cahoots you would get to see all the weirdos coming in for their weirdo things, you know, where it's like, well there's like a vampire or costume ball and you're like, oh well can I go? They're like, yeah, sure. You know like, or like, you know, there's this, there's this crazy disco party. It's like, oh well can I show up? And they're like, yeah. 

As he and friends stirred up party themes, he saw how quickly he could make things happen in Flagstaff. He collaborated with friends to pull off events like a modern art show, an urban flea market, and a variety show.

DRE: Especially in the creative sense in that spontaneity is like always try because you don't know what magic you're gonna make, you know, because it could be awkward and horrible for you as the presenter, but maybe those three or four people that showed up that were so inspired by it, they create that next event that you get to go to. And that's, um, you know, and I always say that with fashion too, it's like, give it a try, try it out. Like you wanna make that stupid haircut, do it, you wanna wear that ridiculous combo, 

Dre would see friends come and go but Flagstaff had become home to him.

DRE: People are like, oh, well flag doesn't have this. So I'm moving to Portland to find it. Oh flag doesn't have this. So I'm moving to Colorado to find it. Instead of like Flag doesn't have this, I'm gonna try to make it happen. 

When Dre was 24 he was riding his skateboard to the costume shop everyday and everyday a girl on a bike would ride past him. She’d always ring her bell on her handlebars and wave.

DRE: And I'm like, we must be going to like the same place kind around the same time every day. Um, and I was like, and she's always getting there like way quicker than I am, you know? And um, so then when that summer she finally comes up to me and she's like, Hey, my name's Laura. I live up the street from you. She's like, we're gonna be friends. And I was like, okay, sounds cool. And so sure enough, like we just started seeing each other at all these shows and concerts she was like, Hey, friends of mine are gonna have barbecues and stuff. You want to come over. And I was like, sure. You know, well, all her friends were like mountain biking people, but they also rode bikes just to like get from point a a to point B. And so I would be trying to keep up with them on my skateboard and it would just be horrible, you know, cuz there like sometimes I would try to like, you know, hold the back and like get pulled. And sometimes I would try to like keep up.

One day a couple of his friends surprised him at the costume shop.

DRE: Hey we got something to show you…and I walk out and there’s this bike leaning up against the tree and they’re like had the parts and put it together and I was like what no way! I was so stoked so stoked.

Dre quickly became enchanted with this form of transportation. He discovered he could get around so much quicker while still experiencing all he did on a skateboard. He could smell someone’s barbecue, hear kids laughing at the playground, wave to friends, not to mention show off his latest outfit.

DRE: I've cried on the bike so many times in like beauty. Oh yeah. Like I remember riding home one, uh, night and I looked up and I was still moving and I could see the Milky Way and I was just blown away.  I think anyday on a bike is magical. like, it's all, you know, even the most mundane trip is, uh, it's like total body, cuz you can feel the sunshine on your skin. You can feel, you can hear the all be it sometimes the loud obnoxious parts of the road, but also just life. You hear life, you hear birds, you hear people talking. 

At the same time Dre says being on a bike always brought him so much humility.

DRE: Cuz you're like, I'm not better than anybody. This is so tough. It's so tough to be on a bike, like your legs hurt and you can't breathe and you're dodging cars, but like you're so alive because then you feel, you know, you're exerting and you feel your blood pump and you feel your legs work and you see people, you know, and it's so empowering.

People in Arizona live for the summers in Flagstaff. At 7,000 feet everyone flocks here for its cool mountain breezes. On a bike you can get from one end of town to the other on an extensive trail system. While the number of bike shops continues to grow, Flagstaff is still dominated by cars and the city can’t keep up with the traffic.

That’s where bike party comes in. In 2018 Dre combined his love of dressing up and parties with riding bicycles and started a monthly themed bike party.

But on May 28, 2021 something happened that would change Dre’s life forever. He and his friends were kicking off their fourth season of Flagstaff Bike Party. 

DRE: So we were super stoked up on it. 

During the first year of the pandemic they took a break and during the second year they encouraged people to do their own smaller bike parties. So come 2021 they were ready to all get together again. The theme of the kickoff was safety party. Dre was wearing striped shorts, a neon yellow safety vest complete with a silver reflector and he even ziptied a safety cone to his helmet.

DRE: ​​The safety party, cuz like part of our critique too, of a lot of cycling is we wanted everybody to just dress normal, but also ride a bicycle. You know? I mean that's always been a goal. I think of us as commuters us as producers, a bike party, again, to show people you can dress well, you can dress however you want and you can still be a cyclist, you know? Um, you don't have to wear spandex and you don't have to wear the newest, like coolest mountain biking gear or bunch of pads and downhiller gear. It's like just wear what you normally would put on in a day and then put a helmet on it and show em on your bike. Like that's the goal? And so part of the safety ride was tongue in cheek cuz we were like, safety gear is so funny, you know like cuz it's all bright and it's all ridiculous. So we put on as much as we could.

Dre had mapped it all out. At 5:30 about 50 people met at Wheeler Park.

DRE: 58:50 we get there, um, you know, start seeing folks start seeing folks at hadn't seen in a while, started introducing myself to new folks,

Dre started things off with an announcement as always.

DRE:  It's always kind of like this ride is for everybody. We're trying to keep it, you know, accessible and racing, be as safe as we possibly can always watch out for each other. Always watch out for traffic. You know, that's was my usual spiel.

They rode their bikes from Wheeler Park to the tennis courts at Thorpe Park at the base of Observatory Mesa, then turned up the music. Dre recalls checking in with friends both old and new, dancing and laughing. 

Then he remembered panning the tennis court and saw some people doing bike tricks, others were doing figure eights. He felt part of the community that he helped create.

DRE: I remember dancing on those, uh, tennis courts. And then I have this brief moment where it feels like a dream and I have like a, it's like a Polaroid shot of seeing the underside of a truck. Like, and like, I can't describe it. Can't describe colors. Can't describe any of them. Like, it's just like a Polaroid. And then I remember being like, that was a really weird dream I had, you know, like, it's just, if it's strange that I'm asleep now, you know, and not really understanding what that Polaroid and what that feeling meant, cuz it was like, I could have sworn I was doing something and now I'm just in the nap, you know? Like it's weird. 

LAUREL: So you don't remember seeing it coming.

DRE: NN-hnn nothing. No, none of that. 

After they danced at the tennis courts Dre led the group downtown. They passed Route 66, crossed the train tracks, and rode to a busy intersection just north of Northern Arizona University’s campus. It was there that a tow truck driver hauling a box truck ran a red light and collided with six people including Dre. One person, Joanna Wheaton was killed. PAUSE 

DRE: The next thing is I'm I wake up in the hospital and I remember coming to, and being like, whoa, like, whoa, you know, you're like, this is wild. And I remember seeing my roommate and my good friend, at the end of the bed and being like, whoa. And I was like, what's going on? You know? And they're like, well, you, you kinda, there's an accdent at bike party and you're in the hospital and then it's like, I start seeing my like body, you know? And I'm like, whoa. And then my right leg is like in a cage, uh, rods to hold stuff together pretty much like from just above the knee, you know? And it looks real bandaged up and I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa…then I do ask, you know, if anybody else got hurt.

That’s when Dre learned an esteemed member of the community Joanna had died and five people were severely injured including Dre. Both his legs and pelvis were in pieces, his right leg below the knee shattered.

Doctors tried to put Dre back together again and again. After a dozen surgeries in five days his Flagstaff medical team sent him down to a Phoenix hospital where more surgeons took a closer look at his leg to see what they could salvage. At this point he had pins holding his pelvis together so he could not sit up. In spite of that, he says they told him he had an 80 percent chance of recovery.

DRE: And they come back and they're like, okay. So here's where we're at. We somehow information didn't get to us as best as it could. And we were under the impression that you had like 80% damage or no 20% damage, 80% potential for recovery. They're like, you're opposite. They're like you have 80% damage and 20% that we can do anything for you…They were like, it’s so crushed it's shards of bone floating in fluid. So they were like we're probably gonna have to amputate.

It was time to face the most difficult decision of his life. 

DRE: Ooh man. That was a whew. That was a rough night. I would say that like the ego death you have when you have to make that amputation decision is pretty intense.  

His mom sat with him as he took in the news.

DRE: It’s super tough but my mom's like, get rid of it. She's like, it's not gonna serve you. They can't do anything. Be okay with it. And that was like huge, cuz I was like, yeah, you're right. Like get rid of it. It's okay. You know, like, okay, it's just, it's too far gone…. She really gave me that perspective. LAUREL: She could accept it. DRE: Mmhmm it sounds horrible what are we going to do after that. Alright, when you put it like that, let’s do it. But like yeah. Allowing yourself to say like, okay, go ahead and take a part of my body. Woo.

So they prepped Dre for the amputation surgery.

DRE: It's like, you're there by yourself. And at the same time too, you're like, dang, that thing is messed up. You know, I'm looking at it like for the last time you're looking at your leg and you're like, that is just it's too much, you know? And then, you know, I, I guess you're still holding on where for a second I had that like, well, maybe they will find out that it's not as bad as they thought, you know, like, even though they've looked at it like eight times and it's, they never said it's getting better, you know?

That entire summer Dre spent in a recovery facility down in Phoenix. Even though they had air conditioning, they didn’t keep the place very cool. Dre said he spiraled into some dark places while he was there. For the first several weeks he couldn’t sit up so he just stared at the ceiling or watched trash TV. He said time felt elastic.

DRE: Sometimes you feel like you're in that two at two days of like in, in a state of whatever, it may be panic, emergency, extreme pain, whatever, like, but then you look back at it and it's only a couple hours or sometimes it is a two days and you're like, wow, that was, you know, wild. Um, yeah, due to the, uh, external fixators being in my pelvis. Yeah. Sitting up was just awful and turning on my side and pretty much everything. 

Then once he started physical therapy he said he had to mentally prepare for 23 hours for the one hour of PT because it was so painful. 

DRE: You're like just watching the clock, you know, watching the clock for mostly for meds cuz you're like, okay, when can I get that? Like slight, slight, uh, injection of relief.

To keep himself from slipping into a deep depression he’d remember stories. He was a haunted history tour guide in Flagstaff so he’d try to remember dates and names. 

Dre also decided he wasn’t going to hold onto any blame for the driver who caused the accident.

DRE:  Did I have moments where I was like, I want to get caught up in the blame game. I want to get caught up in what I'm owed because of what this other person did to me. and I can get caught there and I can think about it, but that same thought on my other side is like, well, why are you getting caught up? What is that serving you? Is that bringing, is that bringing your leg back? Is that bringing Jo back? Is that bringing anything back? No, this is another moment in time in that, on timeline, you can control, what can you control? I kind of just leaned into like looking at it as like that amnesia took that all away.  I also didn't want to give him that power, you know, to have me like stay in there and stay in that hate and stay in that. He gets to deal with his consequences and repercussions and I get to deal with mine. 

So he focused on what he could control and that was building strength. After three months he was released to go back home to his community in Flagstaff. 

On his first day back to the Flagstaff Urban Flea Market that October he rolled up in a wheelchair sporting a dapper cap, mirrored sunglasses, and a big smile. When his friends saw him coming, they blasted the Talking Heads on the speakers. Some hadn’t seen him since the accident. 

DRE:They all formed D.R.E. like in like people pose, you know, and I rolled up and it was just like, I didn't even cry that time. You know, I was so moved, but I was just so happy, you know, and normally, and I had spent so many tears, you know, I had months, months of just so much, so much crying alone, you know, and, um, and that time it was just like just all smiles and all laughs. 

His friends and the community he had helped build missed him.

…and it just like, yeah, get that sense that like a piece was missing and to be able to like, know, it was me, that was a piece, um, that's pretty special, you know? 

Dre often finds himself overwhelmed with gratitude.

DRE: I still have my family. I still have, um, people who love me in a community who's great. You survive like full on, get run over by a tow truck, like 100% and didn't die. Didn't become paralyzed, didn't have major brain injury and you got a robot leg. I mean it's like, yes, lots of bad stuff. Lots, lots of horrible. But coming out of it, you're like, you're so thankful for the things that didn't happen, even though you had to deal with all the like crap that did, you know, it's just gratitude, gratitude, gratitude… You know, you wake up, in this new body and it's just like, well, yeah, do I let it stop me? And I guess everybody can find that they're more powerful than they think they are. Cuz I also didn't think I would be able to take it, you know, waking up like that. You were like, this isn't real, this isn't like, I can't do this. You know? And then, but then every moment you're like, but they just came in and told me I could, … you just get there and you deal, you know, like you get there and you figure it out.

When he left the recovery center he had goals. Dre’s been learning how to stand, walk, and even dance with a prosthesis. And it’s still very tender. 

DRE: My goal, my like number two goal besides walking is riding a bike. I mean like that's close second. Okay. Maybe dancing in between like it's probably like bikes, dancing or walking, dancing bikes are like the same. You're gonna get a prosthetic, you're gonna walk and you're gonna dance and you're gonna bicycle again. Like that's what, that's the only thing I thought about, you know, for the vast majority of my days. … And that's all I'll focus on, you know, is that get up on a walker? Yeah. Is that sit up in a wheelchair? Yes. Is that, you know, do a little bit of this, do a little bit of that. Yes. Yes. 

Now that he’s feeling better, he’s planning events and twice the number of people are coming out. There are certain people in this world whose energy is magnetizing. Dre is one of them. He says that’s because whatever the event, he makes it fun.

DRE: I know I’m a talented speaker. I know I can get up in front of any person and if you want me to be serious I can do it but it’s not fun and it doesn’t change peoples minds.… engaging with people and being loving and emoting when people tell you they’re going through a hard time looking out for people that have far less than you all those things should be metrics of success yet societally we never do that what do you do for a living or where do you go to school instead of what do you do for life how do you actually affect your community? 

Dre has reimagined a new life, one in which he’s part robot. He says he’s always been a science fiction fan so being part robot was an image he could embrace.

DRE: Dapper Dre becomes Android Dre becomes, you know, all these other characters that I always play are now just more sci-fi than they've ever been, which I'm totally cool with, you know, like I see myself in that projection of the future, you know, again, doing these things that I always normally do, you know, those, those like dressing as characters and having accessories and being up on stage and doing events in the sense. But now it's just like all that normally, but also part robot, you know? And it's like, that's like so cool. You know, and that is so empowering to look forward to because now it's like, I lived a full life, you know, and if I had, if things had changed and I hadn't made it through that, um, I would've lived a hilarious, like expressive, awesome life and I get to do that even more so now.

In July he narrated a show called “Robot Apocalypse.” His dad drove from El Paso to see it and took this video. 

SFX: BRING IN ROBOT APOCALYPSE 

The show was sold out standing room only. People crowded into the small warehouse gym turned theater to watch Dre’s big comeback. In it Dre wears a steampunk costume complete with a helmet and metallic leggings. He’s surrounded by alien dancers and aerialists. 

SFX: SCENE FROM ROBOT APOCALYPSE

Dre says even if things had gone differently, he could accept that fate too because his last moment would have been with people he loved doing the thing he loved most.

DRE: The last thing I was, you know, I would've been on was a bike ride and that's also beautiful, you know, like I think if I had woke up, I was like, I was just haul a long bike ride, you know, just like off, off into nothing. And that's it like gives me peace to think about Joanna that way too, where it's just like we were having the best time of our life. Like it was so fun. It was so beautiful. 

Dre is working toward riding a bike again. His PT has him on a stationary bike for now but when he does get riding one of the first things he would love to do is get Bike Party up and running again. But he says don’t wait for him. 

DRE: Even though I’m not religious I believe in some religious sayings where two or three are gathered in the name there too it is if you got two or three people riding bikes that’s bike party you got your friends on bikes thats bike party you got people in love with bikes riding around and feeling free that’s bike party I’m not bike party.

This is 2 Lives. I’m Laurel Morales.