"NIGEL SYLVESTER ON ADVANCING BMX WITHOUT FITTING IN"

[JFax]

In my eyes shadow > Cult. Even though Shadow started out pushing their image they still have had some real innovations, even though some might be a bit odd (included subrosa products).

I really dislike Cult, they are the opposite of what I want in a company. Selling non-inventive Products because of image. Only goes for sponsored riders and image. I never understood the idea BMXers have with strong teams being a Selling factor.

[DontcallmeKenneth]

I never saw a problem with cult. They help out a lot of people that arent pro and or more low key. As far as the parts go they seem alright. I dont run freecoasters so i cant rant about those, but ive passed down a few cult frames that i see still kicking from time to time. Not into the super wide bars but their other stuff isnt bad. I dont see why theres so much hate towards them. I can see if they just had a stacked team and everything they put.out product wise was harbage but that doesnt seem to be the case.

[andreas]

If he wants to market what he's good at to get something out of it other than bumming on people's couches and inevitably needing to find a different career path at the age of 30, is that really not understandable? The standard BMX lifestyle is great but it's not for everyone and that doesn't make him less of rider because of so.
 

Exactly what I was thinking.

Even if he gets more eyes on street riding, as I'm sure most of the mainstream is only familiar with xgames and similar stuff, how could that ultimately hurt the sport? Who cares if he's not Edwin/the most legendary street rider ever. I'm sure every Thrasher reading skate rat was butt hurt when Ryan Sheckler had his TV show on MTV years ago, but I'm sure that put quite a bit of more money into the skate industry even if it was from people trying to look "cool."

If anything, it could get more money into the sport. Who cares if there would be kids that use a bmx as a fashion item, it happens with skateboards all the time. Overall, it could improve the bmx industry.
Everything becomes a fashion show.

I'm fully on this side of the discussion. I feel like everyone is very isolated from pop culture and doesn't see how Nigel actually makes BMX look cool to a non-rider's perspective. I can guarantee it'd be significantly easier for me to get a friend into BMX from RWTW2 than from Burn's Dead Bang section. Image is important these days.

[Kinchy]

Lol at this whole thread.

So basically Nigel understands how to make money and has taken advantage of that, and half of you are spazzing out because you want 'real' bmxers to have that money.

[joelite44]

i FIND it ridicule that nigel is trying so hard to stand out in a sea of riders, when others are in everyones mouth without even trying it.

take for example dylan lloyd, he's a crazy good kid that represents and rides his ass off, zach gerber, chris kyle and all the other heads that are out there reppin. would you like to see this guys dissapear in the abyss into other things just like many other riders have?

we will have to see how deep nigel takes things, that vice documentary is pretty far i think.

I don't know nigel, i never will but if  had the chance i'd give him props for still standing out there (as a rider). It isn't his fault he was chosen as an icon back in the writing on the wall days. they do treat him as if he was handicapped though. just for being from queens.

he might have a spot light he doesn't deserve and this has people acting out.

[streetStreet]

That article is stupid and this thread is dumb.

BMX has always been about looking cool and trying to reach skateboard cultural status, that's failed.

Steven Murray is rolling in his grave.

[BilboBaggins]

He's still alive you shithead ha^

[dude...]

first part is live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOHnJK8S3nE

Im a complete anomaly in the sport, i dont compete and im truly doing it my own way, like im not following....what the traditional bmx route is

Yep cos everyone else in bmx is only in it to win, and noone else rides street or ever has before

i dont care whether or not he deserves the money fame etc, it just annoys me that he acts like hes really different from other bmxers and special and yet all the experiences he talks about from when he was younger are basically typical of everyone when they start riding as a teen. poppin wheelies on the way back from school, riding a 2 set cos you didnt have a skatepark, getting excited when you saw another rider, finding a haven in riding a bike, sorry but id wager thats like 90% of riders experiences.

but he makes out like he was the only one who had to go through that, and then presents it to a non bmx audience implying everyone else is only in it to win (even though he says his childhood hero was dave mirra).

and then he drops the race card, i mean, come on. yes bmx is predominantly white dudes, but does that even mean anything? as far as i can tell (and i would seriously hope this is the case at an industry level too) that race/ethnicity has absolutely fuck all to do with who "makes it" in bmx-its about ability and attitude, and who you are as a person.
the fact that he made out like his ethnicity made it harder for him i would say is bullshit. nigel started getting attention in the wider bmx sphere around 05-06 (when he had a split section on all day with blackman) which considering edwin was at his peak of popularity then (there were plenty of white edwin wannabees), you could say there was no better time to be a talented up and coming black street rider from the hood in new york.
he was really dialled as a rider from the start though, and being in the right place at the right time, i reckon someone with his skills would have got noticed irrespective of race or ethnicity

noone can ever truly appreciate what another person has had to go through, experience, their struggles etc, but to me what he says just doesnt quite add up. it annoys me a bit that he would present himself this way to non bmxers making out like everyone else has had it easy


but whatever, his attitude and his claims kind of annoyed because i dont really agree with some of what hes saying me so i wanted to discuss it

he did do a sweet double crankflip though, and yeah as a rider he is really good. id just rather see straight up riding than clips interspersed with his chatting

[Prodigal Son]

I wish he rode for cult.

[Kinchy]

Steven Murray is rolling in his grave.

Erm....

[RAILS!]

This thread is full of shit haha. BMX will never fit into any uniform agenda, there will never be the "ideal" knight in shining armour professional that all you moany fuckers are waiting for, and every single person has their own individual goals, whether it be making money, fucking bitches, getting on the next cover of RideBMX or getting covered in mud on their own down at the trails.

There's every kind of person imaginable in our sport, good ones, bad ones, fashionable ones, dirty ones, business-minded ones, selfish ones, money-grabbing ones and just fucking idiots.

I think we should celebrate we're all still riding 20" bikes and as far as I am aware, that in itself is more than productive enough for me.

Who gives a fuck if Nigel is making $$$$, and really who the fuck cares whether he's wearing fashionable clothes and talking to Mr. Cunt business manager to try and source some more finances...you'd all be doing the same thing if you could and let's not forget, for all of Nigels "faults", I bet he still knows where he came from, and still pays homage to his roots.

We're fucking adults riding kids bikes....lets be happy we're still all doing that, and that we're blessed enough SOME companies give a shit enough that our bikes are lasting longer, getting lighter and coming in more options than we can handle.

BMX, fuck yeah.

EDIT - STEVEN MURRAY IS STILL ALIVE, FUCK YEAH.

[streetStreet]

WOOSH

[Josss]

I don't get why some people are hell bent on trying to make BMX accepted by the mainstream, advancing the sport or whatever the fuck.

The appealing thing about bmx as a community was that it provided a space for kids to be as weird as they pleased and not give a fuck. At least that's how I perceived when I was 16.

Spot on.

I suspect the main reason I gave up trying to skateboard was that I was totally alienated by the local crew of older dudes that looked down on me for being a roly-poly and having the equivalent of a mall-bought complete skateboard. Granted they were much older than me but I never got that "accepted" feeling.

Perhaps totally sucking at it had something to do with it as well but I remember clearly that I really felt that there was an image-level that you had to clear to be considered alright. I never made that, hah

In skateboarding I still see high-end clothing stuff being in high regard and the whole image thing dominating a bit. It's getting to that level in BMX but I think the dudes who actually ride and don't only hang around seem to get that it isn't the main attraction. It's riding, and I care about that above all else.

I don't mind making BMX look good or cool in people's eyes but I also dislike the fact that so many companies are biting skateboarding. We definitely didn't need down-low camera angles which is a fairly recent addition but I reckon that people seem to think that makes it cool as well. To each, their own.

When I got a BMX I was a ratty fat kid with a heinous bike that went to the skatepark every day and rode until his shirt and pants (that had pads sticking out of them) had sweat-marks on it. I can't recall a single moment when the older dudes that I looked up to made fun of me for hanging around or trying stuff. There were some dudes who were less friendly but frankly people are different and not everyone has the time of day for a small annoying kid. Most were supportive and were too busy having fun, doing sick stuff to be bothered to do any of that. Either way, it felt more open. I definitely remember all the talk of people constantly asking about how long I've been riding. Was a totally different time as well so can't quite compare. Sounds a cliche but the internet really changed everything. For one, I've noticed that mmunication has really faltered. A typical skatepark session these days seems to culminate in a phone-session with everyone zoning out. But that's everywhere, not only in BMX. And a whole other subject, could probably discuss for days about how being (or rather feeling) constantly connected has changed people's perceptions.

I personally still feel a strong connection to the Etnies - Forward era/backyard jam era riding. Everything T1 has done and the legendary grimy UK videos. But that's just what I grew up on and where I'm coming from. All anyone can really do is to remember and try keep some of the mentality of that era alive. Can't really expect the kids these days to relate to that. Just like most of us couldn't ever quite understand the 80's and early 90s. It'll never be more than an artefact. Amazing to see and meditate on but not to really emulate anymore.

This thread is full of shit haha. BMX will never fit into any uniform agenda, there will never be the "ideal" knight in shining armour professional that all you moany fuckers are waiting for, and every single person has their own individual goals, whether it be making money, fucking bitches, getting on the next cover of RideBMX or getting covered in mud on their own down at the trails.

There's every kind of person imaginable in our sport, good ones, bad ones, fashionable ones, dirty ones, business-minded ones, selfish ones, money-grabbing ones and just fucking idiots.

I think we should celebrate we're all still riding 20" bikes and as far as I am aware, that in itself is more than productive enough for me.

Who gives a fuck if Nigel is making $$$$, and really who the fuck cares whether he's wearing fashionable clothes and talking to Mr. Cunt business manager to try and source some more finances...you'd all be doing the same thing if you could and let's not forget, for all of Nigels "faults", I bet he still knows where he came from, and still pays homage to his roots.

We're fucking adults riding kids bikes....lets be happy we're still all doing that, and that we're blessed enough SOME companies give a shit enough that our bikes are lasting longer, getting lighter and coming in more options than we can handle.

BMX, fuck yeah.

All of this.

[condrbkr]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXe9P9BUfos Pt 2

[dude...]

"the world is my canvas, my bike is my paintbrush"