Nigel Sylvester Talks About His “GO” Book, Wanting to Collab with fragment, & More

Nigel Sylvester has turned his passion into a lifestyle. The BMX rider has infused his love for sneakers into his work and has opened the possibilities within the sport.

While he’s aware he wasn’t the first to bring the two worlds together, Sylvester believes he was a part of the recent cross-cultural revival.

“In the late 80s, a lot of BMXers and skateboarders rode in Jordan 1s. Everyone had access to them,” he said. “It faded away; culture and fashion shifted. Back when I started to ride Jordan 1s, people thought I was crazy — ‘why are you riding in these coveted sneakers?’ But it was natural to me. It felt right to me. Nowadays, you see a lot of kids riding in Jordan 1s.”

“I would say that’s a ripple effect of my decision to ride in Jordan 1s and creating content and things of that nature,” Sylvester claimed. “I wouldn’t say I started it because it happened before but that resurgence, I’ll say I played a part in that.”

For his latest creative endeavor, the Queens native linked up with director, cinematographer, and graphic designer Harrison Boyce to capture the BMX rider’s life throughout the world — eight cities to be exact: Tokyo, London, New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Dubai, Las Vegas, and Miami.

The Nigel Sylvester: GO book (available now) documents nearly a decade’s worth of Sylvester’s multifaceted and fast pace life in a photo essay format. With an array of heat in iconic places. From fencing in “Shadow” Jordan 1s at the Somerset house to jumping out of a plane in “Bred” Jordan 1s in Dubai, to kicking tricks in the “Royal” Jordan 1 at the colorful Pigalle court in Paris, Sylvester’s hard work, passion, and soles touched every corner of the world and was capture in his book.

“There are so many amazing shots,” Sylvester said. “Coming out the plane in Dubai; having a session with PRod (Paul Rodriguez); the sumo wrestling scene was fire; getting to shoot with Nigo — like, man, that’s crazy. We all grew up on his influence; getting to shoot in Miami in my Jordan 1s.”

And for Sylvester, all these moments lead up to his own: The Nigel Sylvester x Air Jordan 1 High OG that released in 2018.

“You think about the GO series up to that point were contributors to me finally getting that Jordan 1,” he said. “To be able to shoot a GO film in my own Jordan 1 was a dream come true. I’m in my shoes. Everything that I’ve done in my life has gotten me to that point. It’s incredible man.”

With his collaborative Air Jordan 1 releasing during the rise in demand for the silhouette, Sylvester reflected on the lead-up to the release and the shoe’s sustained lure years later.

“It was super touching,” he said. “It was the release of my shoe and my birthday. It was a crazy moment. 2018 is one of the best years of my career,” he added.

During his celebratory surprise dinner to commemorate his collab ahead of his birthday, Sylvester received a call that people were already lined up outside of the Kith story for the shoe despite the relentless rain outside.

“I remember driving by and there were 100, 250 people outside with tents under the scaffolding. It was pouring rain,” he recalled. “I was like ‘wow, kids and people are lined up overnight to buy this shoe.’ At that point, I knew this was going to be something special.”

The next morning the line grew. The shoes sold out in minutes. As Sylvester and his team were about to head to Los Angeles for the RSVP Gallery release, Sylvester was notified of a massive line outside of the store’s downtown location.

“I knew then people were really resonating with the shoe. They understand the story. And that felt incredible to me,” he said. “Even during that time, the shoe was reselling for hundreds and hundreds of dollars over retail value. To see that sustain for four years to this point, shows that the demand for the shoe is there, people connect with it, and we did a great job with designing and telling that story.”

But Sylvester and Jordan Brand aren’t done yet.

The BMX rider officially joined the Jordan Brand family in 2021, making him the first BMX rider within the brand’s highly-talented and multidimensional roster.  

“I’ve been very keen on getting back to the creative space since the release of my Jordan 1,” he said. “Now that I’m officially signed with the Jordan Brand, you can expect something coming soon.”

What that entails could mean anything. But if the past collaborative Air Jordan 1 is any indication, it’s going to be a success. And for Sylvester, working with Hiroshi Fujiwara’s fragment design at some point in the future would be a dream come true.

“Something that I saw that was super dope was seeing when fragment and Travis Scott collaborated on the Jordan 1,” Sylvester said. “It’s not often you see two collaborators on one shoe; I would love to definitely want to collaborate with Hiroshi on a Jordan. That would be fire.”

For now, however, we just have to keep our eyes peeled for Sylvester’s next move.

“Throughout my career, it’s always been about progressing, evolving, making product that I believe and want to share with the community,” he said when discussing the possibilities of another collab with Jordan Brand. “We’re working on shit for sure. What those things are I can’t share right now, but there are definitely some things coming.”

As the next chapter in his career is about to take off, Sylvester reflects on the past and how GO eloquently captures it all.

“I’m a kid from Jamaica, Queens who decided to ride a bicycle. On the cover, I’m in Paris sliding on the side of my bike in some OFF-WHITE x Air Jordan 1s: that was the dream as a kid; that’s what I would’ve imagined and hope I would’ve experienced. To be able to even do that, for one it’s accomplishing a goal but two, it’s hope. If I can do it, any kid can do it,” he said. “The bicycle is an accessible mode of transportation, and I was able to take it around the world.”

The Nigel Sylvester: GO book is available now, exclusively at the Rizzoli Bookstore.

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