Nigel Sylvester BMX Pro Athlete Turns Bike Riding into Global Brand & Breaking Barriers

FOLLOW THE PIVOT PODCAST: MERCH | https://pivotpodcast.com YOUTUBE | https://www.youtube.com/thepivotpodcast INSTAGRAM | https://instagram.com/thepivot TWITTER | https://twitter.com/thepivot TIKTOK | https://tiktok.com/@thepivot FACEBOOK | https://www.facebook.com/thepivotpodcast FOLLOW HAPPY DAD: https://www.instagram.com/happydad FIND HAPPY DAD: https://www.happydad.com/find A young man growing up in Brooklyn and could have taken many different avenues chose to pursue his passion for competition and made a career out out of living on the edge and taking the sport of BMX to all new heights. Nigel is sitting down with Ryan, Channing and Fred to share his journey on how he got into bike riding, how he used the sport to turn himself into a star and secure financial success along the way developing his persona as a brand the world adapted. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Speaker 00

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• 0:09Speaker 01

  My boss asked for results, so I opened my dashboard for the only positive sounding metric I had. Impressions.

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• 0:30Channing Crowder?

  That boy floats into the room. Hey, man.

• 0:34Speaker 03

  What up, dawg? How you doing, fam? Pleasure, brother. Pleasure, boy. Yes, sir.

• 0:38Fred Taylor?

  What's going on? Pleasure, man. All right, no? How you feeling? I'm good. Good, good, good.

• 0:42Speaker 03

  Hey, Chan. Hey, Chan, he said he gonna dress you from now on for the show.

• 0:46Channing Crowder?

  I got him today.

• 0:47Speaker 03

  Y'all look good. How you got him today? Amazing.

• 0:49Fred Taylor?

  No, no, no. This is the problem. Because I told him and they didn't have a clue.

• 0:53Speaker 03

  What's that?

• 0:53Fred Taylor?

  I left my shoes on, bruh.

• 0:54Speaker 03

  What you mean? How you do that?

• 0:55Fred Taylor?

  I left my ones at the crib because I'm trying to put together some outfits and I only travel with a carry-on.

• 1:00Speaker 03

  Right.

• 1:01Fred Taylor?

  They just didn't make the cut. I'm sorry, bro.

• 1:04Speaker 03

  I mean, there's a bunch of sneaker stores that you can buy.

• 1:07Fred Taylor?

  I've been sitting on these since you dropped them.

• 1:10Speaker 03

  Back in 2018?

• 1:12Fred Taylor?

  Fresh.

• 1:12Speaker 03

  Wow.

• 1:13Fred Taylor?

  Fresh.

• 1:13Channing Crowder?

  There's only one of us here that got their own shoe, right?

• 1:15Speaker 03

  Yeah, only one of us.

• 1:17Fred Taylor?

  They know what my collection looks like.

• 1:18Speaker 03

  Ain't but one of us.

• 1:19Fred Taylor?

  I had to show them what it looked like. So, but I'm gonna sit on them. I knew it'd make it happen.

• 1:23Speaker 03

  I appreciate that. You also gotta realize when he packs his bag, he sticks his drawers in his shoes.

• 1:28Fred Taylor?

  I do.

• 1:28Speaker 03

  I learned that today. Yo, I put my socks in my shoes and like condensed the space. You know what I mean?

• 1:33Fred Taylor?

  Yeah, and you don't get the creases.

• 1:35Speaker 03

  Right.

• 1:35Fred Taylor?

  Ta-da.

• 1:37Speaker 03

  I just bring extra bags.

• 1:39Fred Taylor?

  Them white drawers you have on?

• 1:41Channing Crowder?

  I don't wear white drawers.

• 1:46Channing Crowder?

  We had this conversation.

• 1:49Channing Crowder?

  That's picking up a garbage can with a white sheet. Why would you put, yeah, trash around something white?

• 1:54Fred Taylor?

  As a BMXer, though, I know you can't wear no white drawers because you gotta sit back on that seat sometime.

• 2:00Speaker 03

  And listen, like, you can't. I'm usually wearing black or gray, man. Because like when I bunny hop, like the back tire kind of like... In that area.

• 2:36Ryan Clark?

  Well, welcome to the show. You have truly been the epitome of what the pivot is. To pursue a career in what has largely been a white sport. And not only become a huge star while doing it, but step outside of that and build your brand enough to not only write books and publish books or have docu-series that people follow, but turn around and start to give things back to the to the community, which is something we all hope to do in the places that we come from. This is Chan. I'm RC. This is Freddie T. Thank you to our partners over at Happy Dad, our sponsors at DraftKings, everyone who supports the show,

• 3:20Ryan Clark?

  subscribes, likes, views. We truly appreciate y'all. There is no pivot without y'all, man. Just thinking about it, a kid from, what is it? Laurelton?

• 3:30Speaker 03

  Yep.

• 3:30Ryan Clark?

  Laurelton, Queens, right? Immigrant parents.

• 3:33Speaker 03

  Yeah, mom and dad both.

• 3:35Ryan Clark?

  Immigrant parents, growing up. And anytime we talk to kind of like first generation kids, it's always be a doctor, be a lawyer, or do something that we feel like we've sacrificed that makes sense for us. You were forced to go to college. So how does that kid who grows up in that household, in that place, become Nigel Sylvester?

• 3:56Speaker 03

  I was hyper as a kid. And I would say like bicycle riding was my outlet. You know what I mean? I played basketball, loved football. Like I'll still go pay flag or something if I could. You know what I mean? I was in music class for a minute. My mom put me in like piano class. I drew a lot, so my mom put me in like art class for a minute. But the bicycle was the one place that I felt the most fulfillment, the most joy, purpose as well. I felt purpose like through the bicycle and. Through that, through those experiences of going out riding with my friends or exploring my neighborhood, I would like jump curb cuts, or I would like try to pop a wheel as long as I can and bunny hop off of like curbs and whatnot. And I would take like a board, like an old tire,

• 4:40Speaker 03

  and make a ramp, or like a cinder block and a board to make a ramp, go as fast as I can, hit that thing and just fly through the air. And it was that feeling that turned into like an obsession and then a love, you know, and I needed that. It fueled me, you know?

• 4:57Channing Crowder?

  Did you have to convince your family, your parents? Like, did they ever yell, Nigel, get off your damn bike and go do some work? You know, like, because the vision is beautiful, but to it, even to me as a father, like if my son was like, hey dad, I'm gonna go ride a bike. I'd be like, okay, then go do something productive.

• 5:16Speaker 03

  Of course, of course. And my mom was that way, right? She let, she gave me the freedom to explore on my bicycle, right? And explore that love and that passion I have for it. But it was always like, make sure that you're doing like your schoolwork. Make sure you're taking care of like your chores around the house, things of, things of that, like that nature. But she didn't know I had this idea in my mind to pursue it professionally. She didn't, she didn't know that at all, but she gave me the freedom now.

• 5:41Fred Taylor?

  And growing up in Queens, how was your block? I envisioned it as a diverse, you know, space. Because where I'm from in the South, we rode bikes, but not to the extent where we would want to become BMXers.

• 5:54Speaker 03

  Right.

• 5:55Fred Taylor?

  Like, you would see the sport itself. It seemed that it was more white kids doing it. How was your upbringing?

• 6:01Speaker 03

  Well, Laurelton, Queens is like 95% black, you know what I mean? And you think about the bicycle, right? Like, so many kids ride bicycles in their youth, right? Like, it's just part of, it's like a rite of passage, like a company, you know what I mean, just what kids do, right? So a lot of kids in my neighborhood had bicycles, right? It would ride to the park or ride to the store or we'd go on big group bike rides like the next neighborhood and go play football. Like, it would be like Laurelton versus Cambridge. You know what I mean? Like, we'll meet up at the park and play like football and whatnot. So a lot of kids rode bikes. It usually stopped at like a certain level, right? Like, you turn like 14, 15, 16 years old, you start thinking about, I want a car. You know what I mean? And then kids like naturally phase out of riding bikes and start to drive cars.

• 6:44Speaker 03

  Learn the permit, drop his license, et cetera. But for me, it was like, man, like, there's something here. Like, let me continue riding my bicycle. I would... Drive my car to the bike shop to get parts and then come back.

• 6:57Ryan Clark?

  That makes zero sense to me.

• 7:01Ryan Clark?

  We're gonna drive to the bike shop.

• 7:03Speaker 03

  Right.

• 7:03Ryan Clark?

  To get on something with two wheels that I gotta pedal.

• 7:06Speaker 03

  There we go.

• 7:07Ryan Clark?

  That people don't respect when they're driving down the street in the car. I drove over here.

• 7:11Speaker 03

  Right.

• 7:12Channing Crowder?

  You see some of his videos?

• 7:13Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 7:14Channing Crowder?

  He doesn't respect the cars.

• 7:15Fred Taylor?

  That's true.

• 7:17Channing Crowder?

  That's a car, bro.

• 7:18Speaker 03

  I'm like, get out of my way.

• 7:20Fred Taylor?

  Did you ever think that riding a bike and being pretty much a daredevil would land you in some of the amazing places around the world that you've been to? And with that, what's been your most memorable and favorite locations, you know, when you traveled?

• 7:36Speaker 03

  I mean, yeah, so like, growing up, for me, I would watch it on TV. You know, so I watched guys like Dave Mirra compete in X Games, you know, win gold medals and live this like BMX rock star lifestyle. And it was a bunch of guys like that. So I knew it exists. I knew it was possible. I just had to figure out how to get there through watching it on TV, through BMX magazines. This is pre-internet, right? You couldn't just go online and like Google, well, how to become a professional BMX athlete? Or like, whatever questions you may have, you know? So it was definitely just finding other kids in my neighborhood who also rode bikes. You know what I mean? Like who had that same passion for doing tricks, not just using it for transportation, but using it to like, I wanna go jump down these stairs.

• 8:19Speaker 03

  I wanna go grind this handrail or grind this ledge. You know, like there were a pocket of us in like in Queens who rode and we came together and wished, exchanged information, you know, and challenged one another. And then from there was like going outside of my neighborhood, you know, finding kids who rode in Manhattan or rode in Brooklyn. And I discovered Union Square. And Union Square was this kind of, in a sense of Mecca for BMXing, skateboarding, like all these alternative sports. We would meet up there and hang out for hours, jump down the stairs, eat lunch there, eat dinner there, just challenge each other different like bike tricks and whatnot. And that was the community that I really banded to.

• 9:04Speaker 03

  Like that allowed me to.

• 9:07Speaker 03

  Learn more about the sport, learn more about how to become a professional BMX athlete, and things of that nature.

• 9:11Ryan Clark?

  You mentioned Dave Mirra, you eventually signed to Mirco.

• 9:16Speaker 03

  Yep.

• 9:17Ryan Clark?

  Team, and I think you were around 18.

• 9:18Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 9:19Ryan Clark?

  Years old, but it's like you'd be in the hood and you could see, you know, if it's Edwin De La Rosa or Tyrone Williams, Skinny Tanis, those guys. I think you were a big Mark Hoffman fan as well, and those still aren't necessarily people who have done and extended what it means to be a BMX rider the way that you have. So when you think about some of your vision, some of the things, like you said, your parents weren't going to be able to see, how did those start to develop for you?

• 9:51Speaker 03

  It was the things that I seen growing up, right? So I would see cats in my neighborhood with dope cars. It's like, man, like, eventually I want to obtain that, you know, or watching how my mom and my brother would style their fits. So you think about those two things, right? Like, okay, when I got to a certain point with BMX, I was able to afford certain things and understood how brand partnerships work and understand how I can inject myself into different industries. For example, fashion, right? Everything I'm doing in the fashion space, that's just what I seen as a kid, right, with my mom and my brother. Their love for fashion and that rubbed off on me. Now, I took that and say, well, how can I now inject

• 10:36Speaker 03

  myself in BMX rider into the fashion space, right? Same thing with my partnership with Mercedes-Benz, right? Like, growing up loving cars, even though I ride bikes, but I love, I love like cars as well. How do I work with a brand, like an automobile brand? It just so happens that I met the team at Mercedes and we started working together.

• 10:57Ryan Clark?

  Just so happens? Yeah, I got you.

• 11:00Speaker 03

  Like, it just happened like that?

• 11:00Ryan Clark?

  I drive a Tundra.

• 11:02Speaker 03

  You drive a what?

• 11:03Ryan Clark?

  I drive a Tundra. So, yeah, I wish that just so happened to, like, those things are because of your talent, those things are because of your vision, your creativity, you know, even mentioning that 95% of the things that go through. For Nigel Sylvester, you signed off on.

• 11:19Speaker 03

  Right.

• 11:19Ryan Clark?

  Like, those are things that you are a part of. The cool part about our show is we've gotten to sit down with pioneers. And those pioneers are usually in realms and worlds we understand. Right? When you get a football, we see people with footballs who look like us. We've seen them come from our communities to become stars or transcend the sport. When you think of basketball, I mean, that's, that is us.

• 11:45Speaker 03

  Right.

• 11:46Ryan Clark?

  Right? You know, you've been used to seeing that, but for someone at your age to have that passion, but pursue it in the way that you have and actually amplify and change the way that it's done. To say, you know, we're gonna start a docu-series and go, and people are gonna get to see me move around in these different places and be in these different spots. Or I'm gonna publish a book and I'm a sumo wrestler. I'm a, I'm a jump out of planes. I'm a, I'm a drive Ferraris. All of these things that maybe if you're talking about the people familiar and traditionalist of what you do, that necessarily wasn't what it was about. How did you find the bravery to say, I know I look different. I know I sound different. I know it's gonna feel different.

• 12:30Ryan Clark?

  But I'm going to embrace those differences and show you how I can also shed a brighter light on what we do.

• 12:37Speaker 03

  It was a natural progression, right? So after I turned pro at 18, right, I signed with Merco Bikes and I signed with Nike. So I came out the gate with this presence and this understanding of how powerful the BMX bicycle is. And how powerful my, like, will to succeed. From there, started to use the internet, right? Started to use social media to really control my narrative. With each, like, small win, you know, whether it was putting out a video and, like, it going viral. Or whether it was reaching out to a brand and saying, listen, man, like, I'm doing this over here. Take a, like, take a shot on me. And I'm like, okay, cool, we try. And then we achieved that, that success. Started to build and I had, like, this snowball effect.

• 13:20Speaker 03

  So when we, like, you speak about, like, doing the go-series, right? That was a culmination of all these experiences that I wanted to create. A content platform, right? That I can create access for people who may not necessarily ride BMX bikes, but would be into my brand, right? Also plays me to say, cool, like, I do BMX riding, I'm a professional athlete, but I also like traveling, also enjoy music, also enjoy fashion, also enjoy art, technology, etc. And that's how like the Go Series started. The first episode, we shot it in 2015 and we put it on YouTube. Really didn't have a marketing plan behind it or a strategy.

• 14:04Speaker 03

  I just wanted to put this piece of content out and share with the world what I was doing on my bicycle and throughout my career. And that video went viral in a matter of days and changed the trajectory of my career forever.

• 14:18Ryan Clark?

  Where you like, ooh, got him.

• 14:22Speaker 03

  I was like, okay. This is how this goes, okay.

• 14:25Fred Taylor?

  And with that, Nigel, creativity. RC mentioned creativity, you mentioned Nike, right? In your videos, what goes into the creative process? The planning, the execution? Like, what's the thought behind it? Do you have a team or is it all you?

• 14:40Speaker 03

  No, I have an amazing group of people that I work with. We have like an idea, right? Like, okay, this is what I'm thinking about. Put it on paper and we'll break it down. And as we're filming it, as we're creating it, things change. That's the natural creative process, you know? But I've been very fortunate to live out my imagination and I've been very vocal about that, you know? Because a lot of the things that people see me doing, it's the first time it's been done, right? And that comes literally from my mind. Like, of course, I'm inspired by certain things. This is a movie or a book, TV show, an athlete, whatever it may be. I use that for inspiration.

• 15:20Speaker 03

  Think about, okay, how can I apply that to BMX riding and what I do? And a lot of these things, like even we just, we just did this amazing, amazing event called Go Ride. And.

• 15:34Ryan Clark?

  It was crazy, like just the photos?

• 15:37Speaker 03

  Yeah, I was inspired by the idea of planting my bicycle wheels on two continents in the same day. So we started in London. Probably had a few hundred kids out there, jumped in a jet, flew to New York. We landed here, there's probably about five, six hundred kids out there. And we did fifteen miles each city. And it was this moment that we galvanized to incredible bicycle scenes and celebrated World Bicycle Day through GoRide.

• 16:10Ryan Clark?

  Chan, you jump on jets from London to New York? You play football? You be, that's what you do?

• 16:15Channing Crowder?

  No, no, I was about to ask about this monetization because this is crazy. Some of the things that he is speaking of.

• 16:21Fred Taylor?

  Maybe you throw Nike back in there too. I wanted to ask about that too, yeah.

• 16:26Channing Crowder?

  You used a bike to become an amazing businessman and marketer is what I'm kind of figuring out. You're, I would say you're richer than most BMX guys, correct?

• 16:35Speaker 03

  I do good for myself, man.

• 16:37Fred Taylor?

  You see that look off?

• 16:38Channing Crowder?

  I'm not trying, I capture pockets. It's some stuff online. But, but no, it's to where you took your passion. But what you're doing business-wise, you call it your vision and your creative side, and you made it more than riding a bike.

• 16:53Speaker 03

  Right.

• 16:54Channing Crowder?

  The bike is the vehicle for your business savvy and you marketing yourself. Because you just said, you're going up. Because I saw GQ, I saw Vogue and Nike, Mercedes bring all these people. You're going to them personally and saying, me, you're marketing yourself on a bike. So is the bike the means of income? Or is it your drive as a businessman and a marketer?

• 17:16Speaker 00

  Flowing ad budget on metrics that look great till the CFO sees them? That's bull spend. And marketers are calling it out in Dashboard Confessions.

• 17:26Speaker 01

  I remember telling my boss, it'll be good for the brand when leads were slow. Yeah, it wasn't.

• 17:34Speaker 00

  Cut the bull spend. LinkedIn lets you target by company, job title, and more. Advertise on LinkedIn. Spend $250 on your first campaign and get a $250 credit. Go to LinkedIn.com/campaign. Terms and conditions apply.

• 17:47Speaker 03

  At this point in my life, yeah, it's my drive as a businessman, but the bicycle is at the center of it all. You know, like, the bicycle is the most authentic thing to me. You know, like, without the bicycle, then I'm not sitting here with you guys now. And I always say how boundless the bicycle is, like, literally, it crosses social classes, religion, race. You know, like, it's the most accessible meter of transportation in the world. You know, so I've been able to ride my bicycle and partner with a lot of amazing brands and get featured in a lot of incredible media outlets and meet amazing people and create content. But it all starts with the bike. And, yeah, like, monetizing my talent, monetizing my vision,

• 18:32Speaker 03

  that's always been something that was important to me. You know, it was my way out of my neighborhood, out of my situation. And I've always said to myself, I want to be able to support myself and people around me. That's super important to me.

• 18:48Ryan Clark?

  You keep talking about this bike, right? It's the major, it's the most important, it's the number-one means of transportation in the world. Bro, you ain't just getting it from A to B. Actually, you just told the world, when you want to get from A to B, you fly on a jet. Right? So, like, all this, you have this, like, this sly humility. Yeah, it's just the bike and that bicycle has done...

• 19:10Speaker 03

  But that's what it is, though.

• 19:11Ryan Clark?

  You know what I mean? But, it's okay. When you take your bike, right? When you take your bike and you roll up on some folks, you're like, hey, I'm Najo. This is my BMX. You know what I mean? Like, what type of cachet do you feel like you have in that world? What sort of notoriety, of popularity? How do people gravitate towards you? Because a lot of times, and we've talked to athletes who are not the traditional athlete that they're used to seeing, and sometimes it takes a while to get familiar with them, familiar with the way they move, the way they talk, the way they behave, the way that they're approaching the actual sport or career. How do you feel you've been received as a BMX rider?

• 19:54Speaker 03

  At first, people downplayed it, right? Like, when I was a kid, people would call me a white boy because... The world associated BMX riding as a white sport. So I had to first break down that on like the ground level in my neighborhood and going to school and whatnot. That was first. Once I achieved a certain level of success, like turning pro, especially at 18 years old, like still a kid, you know what I mean? And coming into this world, eyes wide open, not really knowing what's going on, having to figure things out, having to navigate through this industry and dealing with company

• 20:36Speaker 03

  owners and team managers and media people and the vultures that come along with that as well. You know, that was also a process. And then as I continued to rise and my star got higher within the sport, now I start to deal with the haters. Why does he get to do all of these things? He doesn't compete in contests, right? Or like companies are just signing him because he's black. You know what I mean? Like, it was all those things. Starting to deal with that envy and that jealousy from even people close to me, you know, and having to navigate that, you know? Having to learn how to conduct my business and be a professional.

• 21:18Speaker 03

  That's something that's super important that no one sat me down and told me these things, right? Like, no one sat me down and taught me how to write an email or how to show up in a boardroom. These are the things I had to learn firsthand, like trial by fire. But I attribute my parents and my family, like, for raising me the right way. You know what I mean? Like, shout out to my mother, love her so much. But how I show up now, I show up as me, like 100% myself. You know, I show up as Nigel Sylvester, the professional BMX athlete.

• 21:51Ryan Clark?

  Channing asked The Rock a question, and it started with him telling The Rock that he was better in football than The Rock was.

• 21:58Channing Crowder?

  I am.

• 21:59Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, he said, "I made millions."

• 22:01Channing Crowder?

  I went to the league, he didn't.

• 22:03Ryan Clark?

  You know what I mean?

• 22:04Speaker 03

  Facts is facts, right?

• 22:05Ryan Clark?

  Come on DJ. And then he told him, and you're actually, he's like, you're actually not the best actor I've ever seen as well.

• 22:13Speaker 03

  But you were shooting, huh?

• 22:14Ryan Clark?

  Oh, it was terrible.

• 22:16Speaker 03

  I'm gonna have you as you have before you said that.

• 22:19Ryan Clark?

  It was terrible, man. But in, in that sense, you say you had to deal with the haters, or people saying, he's just getting these deals, or getting these opportunities because of. When you look at yourself, as it pertains to the sport, in a moment of self-awareness, self-reflection, are you the dopest doing it, right? Because the way you've transcended the sport, and what you've been able to create for yourself as a singular brand, nobody's ever been able to do that, right? And where we come from, that normally happens, like you get to be Tom Brady because you go win seven championships.

• 22:56Speaker 03

  Right.

• 22:56Ryan Clark?

  Right? You get to be Patrick Mahomes because you go win two, and MVP. When you look at yourself, you're like, yeah, man, when it comes to this trick, or how you said, cutting this edge, or ledge, or whatever the hell y'all do on these. Rail grind. Rail grind.

• 23:10Speaker 03

  Grind on the rail.

• 23:12Ryan Clark?

  Oh, you don't know that. Curve cutting?

• 23:15Speaker 03

  No, it's jumping a curb cut. So you know, like, on the curb, like, when, like, the part that goes down into the street, that you, like, you watch you walk up, how that's, like, lower than the actual curb? So that's a curb cut. So like, when you, like, hit that corner, it's like, it's a ramp. So you use that and you get air.

• 23:31Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, I'm scared of that. But, like, are you the-

• 23:33Speaker 03

  What would you be scared of?

• 23:35Ryan Clark?

  Cause that's dumb.

• 23:36Speaker 03

  How is it dumb?

• 23:37Ryan Clark?

  Cause you might fall. Cause you could get hurt.

• 23:39Speaker 03

  So, like, this part, this part right here, right? So earlier you said you're basically a daredevil, and I'm not a daredevil, right, at all? No, like, I'm trying not to object to your respect.

• 23:48Ryan Clark?

  No, no, no, I'm with you.

• 23:48Speaker 03

  But I'm not a daredevil, right? And people have-

• 23:51Ryan Clark?

  Jumped out of a plane.

• 23:52Speaker 03

  No, but hold on, but people, people have tried to classify me as that for a long time. I'm a professional athlete, right? And people look at BMX riding and say it's so dangerous. But I think it's just as dangerous as if you're a running back coming through a hole and you there waiting to take his head off. It's just as dangerous.

• 24:12Fred Taylor?

  Yeah, people look at it and start it crazy sometimes. That's true.

• 24:15Speaker 03

  I would have to say though.

• 24:16Fred Taylor?

  No, no, it's a little bit more extent.

• 24:19Speaker 03

  I wouldn't deny it.

• 24:20Fred Taylor?

  And BMX, right, but I think, I think repetition, right? That, that, that allows you to assess the risk management. You've seen it, you've done it.

• 24:28Speaker 03

  Exactly.

• 24:29Fred Taylor?

  Much like us. No, no, people say, look, you gotta run into this 250-pound guy for a living and some people might call that they're devilish.

• 24:37Speaker 03

  Right.

• 24:38Fred Taylor?

  Or crazy even. So I, I get what you're saying. You're a pro.

• 24:42Speaker 03

  Exactly, right? Like, I go out and I train.

• 24:44Fred Taylor?

  I'm with him.

• 24:45Speaker 03

  And I ride and I practice a trick a million times, same way that you guys will practice whatever a million times. You know what I mean? And like, and you can judge the risk. You say, you know what? I've done this a thousand times. I put my 10,000 hours in. I know I can go and execute the trick at the highest level. It may look very dangerous, but it's all calculated.

• 25:04Ryan Clark?

  Nigel, have you ever seen a man lose a battle? Like, have you ever watched a man lose? Like, he's the linebacker. As a linebacker, is Channing gonna win every time?

• 25:13Speaker 03

  Not every time.

• 25:14Ryan Clark?

  Right, so sometimes he's gonna lose, right? Same with Fred, same with myself as a safety.

• 25:18Speaker 03

  Right.

• 25:19Ryan Clark?

  You know what's never lost? The damn cement. The cement, the cement ain't took no L's. You know what? It took no L's?

• 25:27Speaker 03

  So you know what?

• 25:28Ryan Clark?

  The rail.

• 25:29Speaker 03

  So you know what?

• 25:30Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 25:31Speaker 03

  Don't fall. As simple as that.

• 25:33Ryan Clark?

  In 10,000 hours, you gotta fall, Nigel.

• 25:34Fred Taylor?

  Yeah, that's what I was gonna go back to.

• 25:35Speaker 03

  The same, the same way, like, you, as an athlete, right? Like, knock on wood, like, you don't want it to happen, but injury's part of the game.

• 25:42Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 25:43Speaker 03

  Probably all been hurt here before, you know? We'll have to, have to sit down. It's part of the game. But we love the game, right? So we sacrifice and we pick ourselves up and we go back out there. It's the same thing with, with BMX riding. Yeah, I may miss a rail or I may fall off a ledge. I fall down, my shins are super bruised up, but I get back up every single time and go, and go ride again by like the grace of God. You know what I mean?

• 26:08Ryan Clark?

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• 26:36Channing Crowder?

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• 26:44Speaker 03

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• 26:45Channing Crowder?

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• 26:55Speaker 03

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• 27:05Ryan Clark?

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• 27:11Fred Taylor?

  A big part of your well-being is, especially from a business standpoint, is when you're doing your content and making your videos, is the creativity part.

• 27:21Speaker 03

  Right.

• 27:21Fred Taylor?

  But also the execution, right? But you're assessing the risk. Like, what's too far off for you to try or not try? And how often do you get like a one-take?

• 27:33Ryan Clark?

  Oh, wow.

• 27:34Speaker 03

  That's a good question.

• 27:37Speaker 03

  A lot of times, like, you do land a trick one-take, and you're like, damn, that felt too easy. You know what I mean? As far as the creativity part, right? Like, that's the process, right? Thinking of the ideas is one part. Executing it is the next part, and executing at the highest level possible. That's what I strive for. It's not just about doing the trick. It's not just about closing a deal or executing an idea. It's like, I wanna execute that at the highest level and set that bar. I hold myself to a very high standard, you know, right? So when we sit here and say, oh, man, like, you wrote books and done these crazy events and created these viral videos, and you have an amazing list of brand partners. Like, yeah, like that all comes from repetition. It all comes from challenging myself.

• 28:22Speaker 03

  And each time I get an opportunity to go as hard as I possibly can, execute at that level where people are like, damn, like, it, it looks flawless in a sense. They make it look easy, but it's not at all.

• 28:34Fred Taylor?

  What type of injuries have you sustained, you know, over your career? And what's the typical, um, career expectancy in the, in BMX?

• 28:43Speaker 03

  So I turned pro at 18 and, well, a little bit after my 18th birthday. And on my 19th birthday, I broke my wrist. And that was a crazy moment, right? Cause I just turned pro. Now proving people in my neighborhood and my family wrong. Like, I can, I actually did it, right? The thing you guys thought I couldn't do, I did it. And then I break my wrist and it's like, damn. And in my mind, I'm like, man, like, am I ever gonna like ride the same again? This is the first time I've ever been injured on that, like on, on that level. I'm like, damn, people are gonna think like, this is what it's, like this is what it is, right? You did it, but you don't need, yeah, you don't need last of the year. You know, I was nervous, right? And I had a big cast on my arm, bro. Like, I remember it was like summertime and I'm the hanger and I'm like,

• 29:27Speaker 03

  I'm like, yo, this thing is itchy.

• 29:33Speaker 03

  It's chaos out here. Like, it was a thing and then I'm coming, I'm home. At that point, I'm still living at home and my mom's coming home like, see, kinda told you so. Damn, like, so that was, that was a moment where I had to be mentally tough as well. And I, I healed, I mean, I healed up and I got back on my bike and I was better than ever. And from that point, there was, there's been like bruises and sprains, things of that nature. But again, like, thank God, like knock on wood, like that, that was the worst injury. That's answered that first part of the question. The second part of the question was?

• 30:04Fred Taylor?

  Career expectancy as a pro BMX.

• 30:07Speaker 03

  As long as your body's good, it's all about taking care of your body. You know, um, I've been pro for 17 years.

• 30:13Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 30:13Speaker 03

  You know, a lot of guys don't get that type of run in any sport. You know what I mean? Like at all. But, um, again, like just taking care of your body, being smart, assessing that risk, right? Not every trick you think about doing is worth going out there and then trying.

• 30:29Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 30:29Speaker 03

  You know, sometimes you're like, you know what? I want to do it. I know I have the ability to, but I'mma just pass on that one.

• 30:37Channing Crowder?

  Yeah.

• 30:37Speaker 03

  You know what I mean? Like, I feel I've done a really good job at assessing that risk. And again, like, by the grace of God, you know what I mean?

• 30:44Channing Crowder?

  It is athletic.

• 30:46Speaker 03

  Right.

• 30:47Channing Crowder?

  But it's, you know, the riding the bike is just funny to say professional athlete. We don't look at it that way.

• 30:52Speaker 03

  Why not, though?

• 30:55Channing Crowder?

  Because it's, the bike's doing a lot of it.

• 30:58Speaker 03

  It can't do any of it.

• 31:00Channing Crowder?

  Yes, like.

• 31:01Speaker 03

  If you put a bike here, sit it down, it's going to stand there.

• 31:03Channing Crowder?

  But I can't run my ass on a rail, like the bike.

• 31:09Channing Crowder?

  I don't know, like, I just say, like, I don't look at it as.

• 31:12Speaker 03

  Like, so what you look at, so do you see it kind of as like, if you fly a jet, you're not a professional athlete?

• 31:18Channing Crowder?

  No, like with the NASCAR guys, I've been doing, for years I've been arguing NASCAR guys. You're not an athlete, you're sitting in a car. You are doing more physically than a NASCAR driver when you're pedaling and jumping and whipping the bike whips on the curb jumps.

• 31:32Speaker 03

  Right.

• 31:32Channing Crowder?

  But, like, the professional athlete, it's me, correct me, like, let me know why I'm wrong with this.

• 31:37Speaker 03

  No, it is, right? Because, yeah, like, anyone could jump on a bicycle and ride around, right? Most people can actually do a little bunny hop.

• 31:44Channing Crowder?

  Yeah.

• 31:45Speaker 03

  But can you get four or five feet off the ground? You know what I mean? Like, can you position this bicycle to do what you want it to do? Can you manipulate it to get on this rail and go up it? And then do a 180 and bar spin and land and turn around and ride away?

• 32:01Channing Crowder?

  Yeah.

• 32:02Speaker 03

  You know what I mean? Like, that's the professional athlete part of it, because you're an expert at doing what you're doing.

• 32:07Channing Crowder?

  Everybody can play football in the street, but you have to be special at it to be a professional athlete to do that.

• 32:13Speaker 03

  Exactly. You got to special.

• 32:14Channing Crowder?

  And along this path, with professional athletics comes certain things. Like, do women be like, "Ooh, you saw his rail curve"?

• 32:27Channing Crowder?

  You know what I'm saying, like, do you have group bike groupies?

• 32:29Speaker 03

  Bike groupies.

• 32:30Channing Crowder?

  You know, rubberies, I don't know, tie-eries?

• 32:32Speaker 03

  What's a rubbery?

• 32:33Channing Crowder?

  With the rubber tie, with the rubber tie, I don't know.

• 32:36Speaker 03

  Like roadies, like for bands? Like if you're in a band, you got roadies.

• 32:39Channing Crowder?

  Yeah.

• 32:40Speaker 03

  Like, yeah, lady, wanna jump on the handlebars and ride around? Like, can I jump on your pants? Like, that'd be the vibe. Like, seriously, so I, I get it, right? Like, because BMXing isn't as popular as traditional sports, and it's not, right? Like, we don't have guys on ESPN talking about, yo, did you see this double bar spin that Nigel just did? You know what I mean? From what I understand of being a professional athlete in any sport, all those things apply to BMX riding as well. You know what I mean? Like, it comes with the ups, comes with the downs. It comes with learning, again, how to be an amazing athlete on the bicycle, but also being an amazing athlete off the bicycle. Being a businessman, you know what I mean? Like, being present.

• 33:24Speaker 03

  It comes with the outside influences. You know what I mean? Like, and you have to, you have to, like, you have to manage that, right? And, again, it just, yeah, it, it comes with the territory. You know what I mean? I live in the public eye, right? Like, I'll go outside, people gonna be like, oh, what's up, Nigel? You know what I mean? You walk into a spot, there might be girls, like, oh, what's going on? But again, it's about just being, being present and handling your business.

• 33:50Ryan Clark?

  I have a question about risk assessment.

• 33:52Speaker 03

  Right.

• 33:53Ryan Clark?

  Right? My risk assessment has changed as my bank account has changed. I'm just being honest.

• 33:59Speaker 03

  That's a sure.

• 34:00Ryan Clark?

  That, that's changed it, and my age changed it. You know, I have a son that plays football. And, like, I go to games and I, like, wince and I flinch when things happen. And not when it's just him, just when, like, these athletic, explosive, dynamic athletes are running around and running into each other. And I never had that as a young athlete. And I just remember even getting older, watching preseason games, I'd be sitting on the sideline, and I'd be like, golly, like, why am I doing this? But when I was 24, and I was 25, and I was trying to eat, and I was hungry, I never had those thoughts.

• 34:35Speaker 03

  Right.

• 34:35Ryan Clark?

  Right, and you said, oh, you know what, Patrick? We're not gonna try it today.

• 34:39Speaker 03

  Right.

• 34:40Ryan Clark?

  Right. Has, as your career's grown and as you've become Nigel Sylvester the brand, has risk assessment changed for you? Have you become a different sort of biker? Have you said, you know what? Was it back in the day where you were willing to break your wrist? Or where you did break your wrist? Were there tricks you would try it in? Because it was worth it. Because I was trying to get there. I'm trying to eat. I'm hungry. Then now you'd be like, you know what? I actually don't need to do that because the Moncler ad just ran.

• 35:12Ryan Clark?

  You know what I'm saying? Like, I'm cool. The Jordan, the ones just dropped. Check out that bank account. No, y'all, let's go to lunch. Do you look at things differently?

• 35:23Speaker 03

  Riding, I reckon.

• 35:24Ryan Clark?

  Do you look at things differently now than you did at the beginning of your career? As far as that risk assessment?

• 35:30Speaker 03

  Of course. Like, I've matured as, as an athlete and as a young man. You know what I mean? But I'm more hungry now than I was then. Like, overall. You know, as far as like bike riding. Yeah, like, I look at bike riding differently now. I ride differently. Things are, things come to me easier now. You know what I mean? Like, bike riding is 90% mental. You know, and I feel like at this point in my career, I'm using all of my brain when I think about certain tricks or how I want to go approach a line or whatever the case may be. Am I just jumping now things the way I did when I was 18, 19 years old? Nah. But am I still going just as hard? Yes. You know, because I love riding my bicycle. I love what I do.

• 36:15Speaker 03

  Again, it, it gives me purpose. It fulfills me and it fuels me. But yeah, like, I have to think about it. Where it's like, okay, I gotta go shoot this campaign next week. So maybe this week I should kind of chill for a little bit. And then I'll go crazy next week. So that's how I assess it now. You know, because, yeah, like, I am a brand now. And there's multiple facets to my brand. So I have to think about way more now than I, than I did back then. But again, like, I embrace the challenge, man. I love it.

• 36:42Fred Taylor?

  What's been your biggest pivot?

• 36:44Speaker 03

  I don't think there's one major pivot that I had to take. I think it's a culmination of a lot of different ones. Right, a lot of smaller ones. You know? I remember when I first got an agent. I was 20 years old. I was, I was signed to Nike already. And dude named Brad hit my phone like, yo.

• 37:05Speaker 03

  This beverage company wants to, wants to sign you. And I want to be your agent. I was like, cool, no doubt. But at that point in time, to have an agent was kind of looked down upon in the world of BMX.

• 37:20Channing Crowder?

  You in commercial.

• 37:21Speaker 03

  Exactly. You know what I mean? Like, at that point in time, it was the very like anti corporate, anti all of that. Like, we over here doing our thing. Like, it was kind of like not looked good upon to try to go and make money. You know, they kind of that, that I label a sellout, which is, I think is absurd. You know what I mean? But when I, to my point where when I signed with this agent, I kind of hit it for a minute. I was like, man, like, I don't want people to know I have an agent because I want people to look at me like I'm trying to do this thing, you know what I mean? But then I adjusted to it. And I was like, cool, like, I'm going to embrace it. So that was a pivot. You know, that was just one early on in my career.

• 38:05Speaker 03

  You know, dealing with the type of success I was, I was achieving in the world of BMX. And again, like having people starting to hate on me because of my success and dealing with that, right? Like, at first I was angry about it. I was like, don't y'all see I'm trying to help the sport?

• 38:23Channing Crowder?

  Yeah.

• 38:23Speaker 03

  You know what I mean? But it was coming at me in a very different direction, right? This is early social media days where like people just write whatever they want. They still do. But this is me as an athlete coming into my own and waking up to crazy comments or waking up to headlines that are on like different BMX websites and media outlets that are like calling me out of my name or, or trying to paint a picture of me that, that like wasn't true to me. You know, so having to deal with that and having to be like, you know what? I'm not going to let the hate define me. I'm not going to let the negative energy define me. I'm going to be the, the bigger person. And that again was having to adjust and like and pivot, you know, doing injury, you know, things of that nature. All these different moments in my career.

• 39:06Speaker 03

  I feel those are the, these smaller pivots that I've had to constantly endure.

• 39:13Channing Crowder?

  Because you said a sellout.

• 39:15Speaker 03

  Right.

• 39:16Channing Crowder?

  And also you're talking about wrist assessment.

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• 39:28Speaker 01

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• 39:49Channing Crowder?

  You was in a body magazine. You had your ass out. And speaking of risk assessment, why in the hell are you on a bike naked? And you was in the air. I just, your man is in trouble if something goes wrong. Was that CGI or something? Did you really do bicycle tricks butt naked?

• 40:08Speaker 03

  That was real.

• 40:09Channing Crowder?

  Why?

• 40:10Speaker 03

  It's a body issue.

• 40:12Channing Crowder?

  I know, but maybe, I don't know. Because I know when I had a vasectomy, they take a big piece of tape and they tape your man up to your stomach. Not way up there. It's just mother. I don't, I just, I need to understand the situation of biking naked. Hey, because the seat got to go somewhere. I'm just, listen, y'all know what I'm getting at. Y'all don't want to ask. I need to know.

• 40:33Speaker 03

  It wasn't like I was riding around the streets naked. Like, it was a closed set. And I did like two bunny hop tricks and they got the shot and then we stopped. It wasn't like I wanted to ride naked.

• 40:43Channing Crowder?

  Oh, okay.

• 40:44Speaker 03

  It was just art. You know what I mean? But to your point, like, that's probably one of the best things of my career.

• 40:49Channing Crowder?

  Really?

• 40:50Speaker 03

  100%. I was in ESPN magazine. You know what I mean?

• 40:53Channing Crowder?

  And probably for the other.

• 40:54Speaker 03

  You get me?

• 40:55Channing Crowder?

  Yeah.

• 40:58Speaker 03

  You know what I mean? Wait, that way after that. But also, but also, I was alongside world-class athletes. So it legitimized the fact that I am a professional athlete. Right? Like, that was what was important. I've always been fighting for that. Because a lot of times, people have this misconception of BMX riding. Because you don't really know what it is. You know what I mean? We don't have like a league behind us. We don't have a major TV deal. We don't have these things. Having to break down to people what it really is and break down these misconceptions is also something that's super important to me. I also want to control that narrative. You know what I mean? And not let people label me as something that I'm not.

• 41:41Fred Taylor?

  This is the pivot. We travel a lot. For the last 18 months, we traveled probably once a week. We fly about once a week, right? He ain't riding a bike naked. But his big ass will ride a, his little cart through the airport. He rides his little remote controlled cart, but he broke it.

• 41:55Speaker 03

  How you break it?

• 41:57Channing Crowder?

  I just, I'm too damn big.

• 41:58Fred Taylor?

  He big. But the point I'm getting at is this.

• 42:00Speaker 03

  Oh, you travel with the cart?

• 42:02Channing Crowder?

  It's like, it's a little, it's a, called a ride bot, the little suitcase that you sit on and scoot around.

• 42:07Speaker 03

  I've seen those, right?

• 42:07Fred Taylor?

  Yeah, he got one of those. But he broke it. Your brand partner, Remova?

• 42:11Speaker 03

  Yeah, Remova.

• 42:12Fred Taylor?

  You, you created a, a, a bike case to travel with. Cause just like Channing, he travels with backpacks now. Two backpacks. Can you plug us? Like, can we get a pivot plug?

• 42:22Speaker 03

  That's easy.

• 42:24Channing Crowder?

  You don't need to beg for no shit from me. I can find my own shit.

• 42:27Fred Taylor?

  No, I said us.

• 42:29Speaker 03

  It's a group thing.

• 42:30Fred Taylor?

  It's a group thing.

• 42:31Speaker 03

  What you got to be matching through the airport with Remova is like.

• 42:33Fred Taylor?

  Just that concept though, it had to be a beautiful thing. Like you got a hard case for your, your bike and not a duffel bag.

• 42:39Speaker 03

  Yeah, nah, it's, it's amazing. So for my entire career, I've been traveling with a repurposed golf bag. Right? Cause it just so happens that when I break my BMX bike down, it fits perfect in a travel golf bag. But it's also been this thing where I'll pull it to the airport and people be like, whoa, where'd you golf at today? This weekend? You know what I mean? I'm like, uh, I don't golf. You know what I mean? Like, it's that thing, right? So it just got annoying after all these years. Also because that bag isn't designed for my bicycle. It fits, but it's not designed for my bicycle. So when I teamed with Remova, um, we set out to create a solution. To create a BMX travel case that's designed for me in mine. Um, and it's beautiful, you know?

• 43:24Speaker 03

  And, and that was an amazing feat to have a brand like that design the first ever Remova BMX bike case. Which is incredible. You know, it's a one-on-one piece. And people went crazy for it.

• 43:38Ryan Clark?

  That's how you take your career with you. And you're gonna take us home on this show. I don't know how BMX riders retire. I also don't know what they do, when they do retire. But what we've learned here today is you're not just an ordinary BMX rider. You've created this brand.

• 43:59Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 43:59Ryan Clark?

  That extends far past that.

• 44:03Ryan Clark?

  What tells you or what makes you put your bike up? And what is left for you after that?

• 44:12Speaker 03

  My gut will let me know when it's time. And after that, I just hope that I'm able to continue to live out my imagination. Continue to do the things that are real to me. The things that make me happy. The things that bring me joy and happiness, honestly. You know what I mean? Whether that's in the world of business or fashion or travel, whatever it may be. Filming television, right? Like, you think about what I've done in the content space, right? The natural evolution for that is to start making movies and, you know what I mean? So long as I can continue to do what is real to me, I'll be happy.

• 44:53Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, man, I mean, that's dope, man. Also, I just want to give you just appreciation for continuing to give back. The Nigel Sylvester Foundation, the things that you are doing in the communities to show that there are so many different ways to come from where we come from and be successful. But that also leads us to different ways of giving back, man. You just have a dope story. We appreciate you sharing it with us. I don't know about riding a bike naked, riding a rail.

• 45:21Speaker 03

  You guys should come riding with me while you in town. How about that?

• 45:24Ryan Clark?

  No. Hey, nah, we can film, hey, we'll film it and we'll get some of that good viral work, you know what I mean? But riding, well, hell nah, man, appreciate you doing it, dawg.

• 45:34Speaker 03

  No, thank you so much.

• 45:35Ryan Clark?

  That's dope, man.

• 45:36Speaker 03

  Appreciate it. That's a happy time, man.

• 45:37Ryan Clark?

  Hey, I know he been walking into them, them brand meets smooth as hell. Hi, I'm Nigel. Yeah, he saw, he saw he walked in. He's on the flow, basically. Hey, hey, hey, he walked in like Jordan, too. He walked in.

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