I met Nigel just over four years ago when I worked on a Nike 6.0 commercial with him, and friend Tobin Yelland in the summer of 2007. I didn’t see him for about a year or so after, but every once in a while since then I run into him. Whether it’s at the Banks, LES park, or at some random event. I recently ran into him at the LES park though. And after catching up, asked if he would be down to do a little interview for the blog. So we set up a day to meet up over at Dah Shop around 7 or so. Losing daylight every second I knew we had to do this fast. So I thought of a couple quick locations, and we were able to pull off all the photos in just under an hour. Enjoy the interview and photos with Nigel Sylvester
Whats your Name, Age, and Where you from?
Nigel Sylvester, 23 yrs old and I’m from NYC born and bred.
Who are your current sponsors?
I’m sponsored by Animal Bikes, Nike 6.0, Mirra Co Bikes, Gatorade, G-Shock and Dans Comp.
How long you been riding for now?
My earliest childhood memories, are of me riding a big wheeler. But I’ve been riding BMX since I was 12 and now I’ve been pro for almost 6 yrs.
You remember how you got into it for the first time?
Yeah, I remember my older cousins Jody and Jay were the first ones to put me on a big wheeler, and I believe that’s the day I fell in love with bicycles. Later on I came across BMX for the first time watching the X-Games on TV and I’ve been riding BMX ever since. I guess it was something like love at first sight.
If you had a to pick a favorite borough, which would it be?
Queens all day of course, I’m a Queens kid.
You feel like BMX is making a little bit of a comeback into the mainstream? It seems like there is a lot more hype surrounding the sport these days?
BMX is definitely buzzing a bit at the moment on the mainstream level. Action sports in general is starting to pop up everywhere. I feel it’s a great thing because it gives people like myself another option in life.
Last time we met up you gave me one of the limited edition gatorade bottles, Did Gatorade surprise you with that, or was it something you guys worked on together. Can we expect them on the local bodega shelves?
The Gatorade bottle is dope and I’m super siked on it. The bottle was created to be apart of a project called “Making Moves Since 87″ and we worked on the bottle together. “MMS87″ is the name for a collab I did with Animal Bikes and New Era for my first signature bike seat and 5950 fitted hat which got released this pass May. You will be able to buy the bottle at selective retails in a few weeks.
Mini Top 5
Best things about NYC?
1. The Way NYC Looks
2. The People
3. The Food
4. The Riding Spots
5. The Proud Feeling I Get Being A New Yorker
Top 5 Foods Joints
1. Lobster Bar
2. Rudy’s
3. Any Spot Levi Maestro Takes Me To
4. The Door
5. East Village Thai
Top 5 Places to Ride?
1. Brooklyn Banks
2. NYC
3. Israel
4. AUS
5. Barcelona
Top 5 Video Parts?
1. Edwin De la Rosa – Can I Eat
2. Vic Ayala – Animal Part
3. Dustin Dollin – Baker 3
4. Mike Mo – Lakai Fulley Flared
5. Micheal Jordan Top 10 Plays
Top 5 Songs getting you Hyped right now?
1. Jay-Z “U Don’t Know”
2. Rick Ross “9 Piece”
3. Meek Mills “Ima Boss”
4. Drake “Say What’s Real”
5. Kanye West “Good Friday”
I always see you riding around the LES, is that your go to area?
Yea, I love LES and its one of my favorite areas to chill at, everything about it screams NYC! Good spots to eat, ride and chill.
I know you’ve been busy traveling a lot lately, whats the last country you were in?
Traveling is so dope and I truly love the experiences I gain from traveling. The last country I visited was AUS on a Animal Bikes tour. We rode tripped from Sidney to Melbourne. Good times for sure with the homies Osso, Mike, Tom, Garrett and Navaz.
Any Countries you want to try and hit up before the end of the year?
Yea there is always a country I have my eye on. Besides getting back to Japan at some point this year, I would love to see what Africa looks like. People have been telling me I need to get there for years now so Its something on the forefront of my mind.
If you had to pick a city other than NYC to live in, which would it be?
Cali is dope but I honestly wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. NYC is perfect! It has everything I need.
It seems like at least once a month theres a new viral video of you cruising, whether its for Nike, G shock, Gatorade, or just some homey edit. When I first met you four years ago, you were just starting to get some really big exposure. And now you cant go on the internet without seeing you somewhere. Is it still crazy to think how everything turned out?
Yea, I definitely didn’t imagine it would turn out like this but I’m very thrilled on everything that is going on in my life. I have some great sponsors who believe in me and support everything I do. They give me the opportunity to create and express myself just the way I envision it and then I’m able to present these videos to the world for people to love or hate them.
Plans for the rest of the year?
Of course I want to keep riding and get better but I’m also going to keep pushing the bar with each project I do. At the end of the day I’m about progression for every aspect of my life.
Last Words?
Thanks God, Thank You and Stay PopAWheelieFresh
Thanks Nigel
