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If you grew up in the BMX scene, whether it be today or a decade ago, then you’ve surely heard of Nigel Sylvester. What makes Sylvester so unique, particularly within his field, however, is there a chance you’ve heard of him even if the sport that made him famous has never even crossed your mind.
These days, now that movies have become my passion, my interviews are usually with actors, writers, directors, and so on. But long before I was a film-loving professional, I was a punk teenager, riding from town to town across the North Jersey suburbs during the dog days of summer with my now long-lost hometown friends.
And back then, just like he is now, Nigel Sylvester was *the guy*. Hailing from Queens, New York — just like my Father did, making my admiration of him all the deeper — Sylvester was not only a talented rider but, most importantly, possessed the quality that has made him the type of guy that you can find the likes of Jay-Z rapping about: he made it cool.
In that sense, Sylvester might be the most important BMXer of the last decade-plus — because he’s taken the sport to a place where he’s been listed on Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list and featured in ESPN’s “The Body Issue” and partnered alongside the likes of Meta, Ray-Ban, Nike, Mercedes-Benz, Fendi, Kith, and more. He’s been shouted out by Jay-Z and is the first-ever BMXer to get his own Jordan Brand sneaker.
Now 36 years old, Sylvester has lived through a litany of experiences most of us could only dream of in the days since I was attempting to replicate his barspins and smith grinds some 15 years ago, thus providing the framework for our conversation that happened thanks to the launch of Meta’s “It’s Your World” of which he is one of the brand’s official Creators: where BMX was, where it now, and where it — and he — is going next. The campaign is built around empowering people through connection to pursue their passions and build “their worlds” around what they care most about, which Nigel has started doing through the lens of Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses.
Editor’s Note: This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Eric Italiano, BroBible: Nigel, it’s awesome to be joined by you today, as I’ve been following you for a while. I am from North Jersey. I was in the BMX scene in the early days of YouTube and The Come Up — ’06, ’07, ’08. I remember guys like Edwin DeLaRosa, Sean Burns, Dakota Roche, and, of course, you. That’s why I was so hyped to talk to you today. But it’s been a while since I’ve been plugged into BMX culture, so I’m curious how it’s changed or how it’s gone in cycles since I was last tapped in. So let’s start here. What’s in now: Is it two pegs or four pegs?
Nigel Sylvester: You definitely know what you’re talking about, man. And I’m always appreciative of journalists who know what’s going on. But it still comes down to personal preference. I’m always gonna ride four pegs until the day I die. That’s just what I like, what I came up in. Edwin DeLaRosa was always a big inspiration for me, as well as Dave Mirra, and those guys rode four pegs. That’s just such a tradition that I’m gonna follow.
EI: And then how about wide bars or short bars?
NS: Oh, definitely the bars have gotten wider… I look at some old clips of myself, and I’m like, ‘Damn, how the hell did I ride with handlebars that small?’ And now they’re probably double-and-a-half the size now. It’s about comfort. And that’s just life, right? It’s about progression. It’s about evolution.
EI: And then the last one I’ve got for you is: freecoaster versus cassette?
NS: You really know about bike riding. That’s so dope to hear. I’m always gonna ride cassettes. Again, like I’m just a creature of habit.
EI: Old school!
NS: The old school way. I feel like I’m probably the last of a dying breed. I just like riding cassettes. I just feel like what I’m doing, half cab bar spins, it just helps with my timing. And I just like what I’m used to.
EI: You actually touched on what is my first real question here, and that is how the sport evolves. I’m curious how a sport like BMX evolves outside of the technology used for the parts, and specifically how you’ve tried to evolve. What I guess I’m most curious about is how the sport is evolving in the streets of Queens where you come from, and not so much at a camp, the Woodward-type place, where they’ve got the newest tech and the newest rails and the jumps and all that. How does it evolve on a ground level?
NS: There are still tons of kids that are riding their bikes and pushing themselves. That’s the core of it. And that’s still the same whether you’re in Queens or anywhere around the world. I travel a lot so I see kids riding around the world, and that remains the same.
The thing that I feel has evolved the most, probably since when you started riding to now, is that kids are really looking at BMX riding as a legit sport and as a way to get out of their situations. And when I say that, it’s similar to how kids have, for the longest time, looked at basketball and football and traditional sports as an avenue to express themselves but also make some money and make a career out of it.
A lot of kids are starting to look at BMX in that same exact way where it’s like, I could actually ride my bike professionally and get out of the hood, change my current financial situation, and live my dreams. And that’s happening around the world. I have to shout out Lagos in Africa. There’s a rise in the BMX scene happening there and I love watching these kids on Instagram — they’re going crazy. And these kids are hitting me on a weekly basis, asking certain questions and certain things of trying to figure out, ‘Well, how do I turn BMX into a career and do some of the things that I’ve done throughout my career?’ So that’s super refreshing for me, because that’s something that I’ve been focused on. And you can even say fought for a long time, changing our perception of BMX where it’s not just this thing that you do in your spare time or in the backyard.
It’s not just this thing that if you’re not privileged and don’t you have the ability to go to a Camp Woodward because your parents can’t afford it, you can’t go on and build a career out of it. Like for me growing up, I couldn’t afford Camp Woodward. It was almost a $2,000-a-week camp in the summertime. And my parents didn’t have that. I had to make do with the park bench, with the handrail, and whatever I could find in the streets, and manipulate my environment to express myself and to film content, etc. And that’s what I did. And there are so many kids that are doing that now. So I would say that that’s the biggest change is just kids are looking at it as a more serious sport and hoping to maximize it and monetize it, which I think is super dope.
EI: I’m thrilled to hear you say that because is something that I did want to talk about. I don’t want to say it was concerning me, but it’s something that I’ve thought about: BMX is going on its second time being an Olympic game next year, which, from where you started, from where I started, I can’t believe that it’s gotten to this point. But something that comes with that is it inherently becomes a more elitist, expensive sport to get into. You’re saying that kids from underprivileged parts of the world are still able to access and grow in this sport. That is great to hear because that is something that has concerned me as the sport becomes a more well-oiled machine.
NS: Right, I got you. The fact that it’s in the Olympics is it is what it is to me, honestly. Riding concerts, I think that nature was never my thing. I didn’t depend on those things to achieve the level of success that I have, but to each his own, you know. And I’m sure that there’s going to be one day where there’s going to be some kid that comes out and uses that platform and the sky’s the limit for that kid.
But I think one thing that’s dope about BMX is that you can make it your own, right? There’s no right or wrong way to do it. And that’s something I truly believe. So again, power with everyone that’s riding bikes and pushing it.
EI: What do you think the TikTok kids are doing differently than the YouTube kids like us did beyond it being shorter videos?
NS: I don’t really know what a TikTok kid is.
EI: Well, just like kids who grew up with that app versus I remember the thing back in our day was like those sort of long-form, 10-minute YouTube edits where now like are they still creating the same thing or?
NS: I mean, yeah, like I can’t really only speak for myself. We’re like, I came up in a situation where I was already pro when IG popped up, you know what I mean? And I was a bit skeptical at first, but as I used the platform more and more and I understood like, oh, this is an avenue in a way that can control my narrative. It became more and more of one of my go-to tools.
And now it is my number one social media, not probably, it is my number one social media platform. I just feel like nowadays with all the different social media platforms out there, again, like to each his own, everyone makes it what they want to make it. Whether you want to do short form, long form, photo, or whatever it is, you can be as creative as possible. And I love the fact that the power is now in the athletes’ and the creators’ hands. When I think about when I was coming up as a bike rider, before I turned pro, it wasn’t like that. You had to film a video part and had to wait until that video part came out and it was underneath the say-so of whatever brand or sponsor.
Now it’s completely different. I’m a living, breathing, walking example of taking that power of social media and the internet and building a brand from it, just like you’re starting to see so many kids do that. It’s just dope that kids have the opportunity to have the power in their hands to make it what they want to make it.
EI: You talk now about how kids, the sport that they come up in, it’s not the same one that you did, but I am curious about the athletes that you grew up loving. You’re from Queens, my dad is too. I am curious about how the athletes that you grew up loving shaped your career and how you want to both perform and create.
NS: The athletes that I grew up admiring just became great examples for me I used to watch Michael Jordan clips on YouTube before I went out to go ride my bike and the way that he moved around the court and through defenders gracefully, how he would like a finger roll and like spin the ball into the basket. Sometimes it was more of like a power movement slam dunked it or shot it in that way. Of course, two different worlds, but I articulated in my mind, like, ‘Cool, a finger roll is going to be a bar spin, right?’
And the way that MJ navigates through certain defenders, I’m going to navigate through traffic in the city, and things of that nature. And also the style — like how he wore his socks over his J’s and things of that nature. MJ was a huge influence on me, as well as Deion Sanders. Deion has that amazing, amazing quote, “If you look good, you feel good, you feel good, you play good, you play good, they pay great.”
That’s also a mantra that I took to heart and mind, right? Where it’s like, okay, I first want to make sure that I’m feeling good, but I’m about to go out on a ride, and make sure I’m looking good. And like, when I’m looking good, I’m going to feel good on my bike, and I’m going to go out and do my thing.
So when I started to think about that, I started thinking about style and I was like, man, like when I’m filming content, I want to make sure that when I’m watching it back or anyone that’s watching me ride, it’s like his sneakers are laced good, his jeans are falling perfect on his sneakers, his t-shirt fits right, the way he lands his tricks, it looks super smooth, almost effortless. And I was able to share that content at a certain point on social media platforms like Instagram.
EI: You touched on two things that I want to hit on. You are the first BMXer to have your own Jordan Brand. Did you get to meet him?
NS: No, MJ and I haven’t met yet. We’ve been trying to get that on there. Sometime soon, though.
EI: What I do want to ask you is what is the one moment in your career where you had to pause yourself and be like, I can’t believe this is my life right now, and why is it when Jay-Z dropped your name in “Biking”?
NS: Shout out to Hov, man.
EI: That’s so sick, dude.
NS: It’s crazy. One, because you understand BMX, so you know that the place I’m coming from to take bike riding from that point to the point where someone such as Jay-Z is acknowledging me and shouting me out was crazy.
But there have been so many moments like that, right? Where I had to kind of stop for a second and be like, ‘Man, look at what I’m doing with bike riding.’ You know, whether it was dropping my first shoe, whether it was the “Biking” track, whether it was getting sponsored by Jordan Brand, whether it was any of the multiple partnerships I’ve done. And even something that’s like sitting in New York on set, right? And I’m shooting with Meta, even that’s crazy. How many touch points that Meta hits in my daily life to be able to collaborate with them on such a product and help launch these Meta Ray-Ban Sunglasses. It’s just another one of those moments where I’m like, ‘Man, look how far BMX has taken me.’
EI: I do want to touch on the Meta “It’s Your World” campaign. Usually, when there’s an athlete and a brand, or a celebrity and a brand, it feels kind of forced. This campaign is perfect. I could not think of a better marriage of content creator and tool. You have been doing this for years, and now they have made something that I could only imagine makes your content creation that much easier and lived in. Talk about why you wanted to be a part of this campaign and how the Ray-Ban Meta Sunglasses have helped you improve your content creation.
NS: When I first got approached about being part of this campaign, I was intrigued. I’ve experimented with other wearable technology-driven pieces before and they just kind of didn’t live up to my expectations. But when I had the opportunity to try on Meta Ray-Ban Sunglasses, and I played around with them for like five minutes, and I was like, ‘Cool, these are f—— dope.’
Just like the seamlessness between connecting to my phone and being able to transfer the content back and forth was super quick. I’ve been working with cameras that link to the phone for years through the GO film series. And sometimes it takes forever to load a clip from the camera to the phone. But Meta has figured out a super quick way to get the content from the glasses to the phone. That was one thing.
And then also just how efficient it was at being able to start filming video within seconds, snap a photo within seconds. The AI feature that I’m able to speak to in the sunglasses and it can relay information back to me like instantly. That was super dope.
And then music. Music is such a big part of my life. When I’m out riding, I’m usually riding with music, right? Some type of soundtrack is in my ears and helping me navigate through whatever city that I’m in. To have all of that in one piece of technology and wrap all that in a Ray-Ban. From a style perspective, it’s a classic. It’s the perfect combination of style and technology.
(photo credit via Fred Daniels III/Meta)
EI: Congrats. They look great. They feel great. They work great. You are – this is a dying breed, but you are truly a Renaissance man. Like I said, I’ve been following you for 10, 15 years. And to see how you’ve brought this so far, not only where you brought the sport, but how you’ve elevated its place within the culture is remarkable. I give you all the credit in the world, man. I think you’re dope and thank you very much for your time today.
NS: Eric, thank you, man. Speaking to you was definitely refreshing, man. I appreciate your insight, I appreciate your enthusiasm, so kudos to you. Keep doing your thing. Love the Mets hat.
EI: Thank you, brother. Hopefully, next year goes a bit better, but we know our Mets are.
NS: Streaky as f—.