UrbanUpdate

With an undying love of the sport of BMX, an outside-the-box vision, and savvy use of social media, Nigel Sylvester has not only created a lane all his on from the traditional BMX route, but has transformed himself into a brand that huge corporations are eager to partner with. Earlier this year, the 29-year-old was named to the Forbes Top 30 under 30 list; an extraordinary feat in its own for a BMX rider, let alone one that doesn’t participate in competitions. We caught up with the Queens native as he was set to release the fourth installment of his first-person video series Go!—shot in Dubai—to discuss the diet that keeps him fueled for a life spent in constant motion.

GQ: You're always on the move, but do you get to sit and enjoy your meals?

Nigel Sylvester: I do get to sit and enjoy my meals. I find a lot of pleasure and joy in sitting down and having a good meal. That’s usually one of the few times in the day where I get to be calm for a minute, not riding, in a meeting or doing something. So I enjoy it when I get a chance to sit down and just eat.

In your Instagram stories you're always showing off what you eat. What’s a typical breakfast for you?

It does vary. Sometimes, breakfast will be a croissant, egg whites, some fruit with either water or a green juice. That’s usually my breakfast. I have a couple go-to spots here in NYC. These are little café joints that feel like home.

While I do see the variety, you do have some places that you frequent. What are some of your personal favorite spots in New York?

There’s a spot in Brooklyn called Choice Market right here in Fort Greene. That’s my No. 1 go-to. They have a large selection of good quality food and I might go there for breakfast or lunch. If I don’t go to Choice, then I’ll go to a spot in the Lower East Side called Forgtmenot and that’s convenient because it’s right next door to the bike shop (Dah Shop) that I always go to. It’s a spot where I can grab breakfast, lunch, or dinner, depending on schedule that day. Sometimes, for breakfast, I might be in Queens visiting my family. I may do some saltfish, callaloo and some fry bakes. I don’t know if you know what that is, but it’s a West Indian breakfast. My family is from Grenada. I love eating that because it starts your day off extra right. I’m a huge believer in breakfast being the most important meal of the day. I have a demanding schedule and on the move constantly so I need to be properly fueled up.

Another spot I frequent is a Soho, NYC staple; that’s Ruby’s Café. They have a good menu and I usually get a burger and fries, a salad or pasta. There’s also an Italian spot called Pepe Rosso, which is a super dope. Most of the time when I’m riding through downtown, I’ll stop there, park my bike and go snack on some pasta. I love it there because they don’t serve over-the-top portions like a lot of places do.

In between lunch and dinner, I’m usually riding, trying to catch the sunset or something, so I don’t do anything really between there. For dinner, [there are] so many spots I hit. It’s a spot in Crown Heights called Glady’s and they have great food. I’m a big sushi person, so I’ll do Blue Ribbon or this spot in Williamsburg called Samurai Mama. They have this sushi bowl and it’s super good. If I’m truly lucky, I can get a home-cooked meal at my parent’s crib. That’s always a win. Usually, on Sunday afternoon’s, my mom always throws down. If I’m in town, I find my way over there.

You also spend a lot of time in LA. What are some of your favorite spots out there?

Some of it is healthy and some of it isn’t because I just enjoy eating. There’s a Mexican spot called Escuela Taqueria that’s super dope. You can’t go to LA without getting Mexican food and it’s just so good there. I just got introduced to Pressed Juicery when I was there recently and my go to as of now is a green juice with a turmeric shot. I’ll do something like that between breakfast and lunch, or I’ll do a Clif Bar for a good source of energy between meals when I’m on the run. Another spot that I love is Sweetgreen’s. It’s a salad spot and one of my must-haves. I probably eat there about four times a week. That’s my usual lunch and I’ll get the Harvest Bowl with avocado. That’s my shit, man [laughs]. I’ll eat there whether I’m in LA or New York.

For dinner, there’s Bottega Louie. I might do some In-N-Out because you got to have In-N-Out. One of my best friends Shayan lives in LA and he loves to chef it up, so usually if I’m in town, he’ll throw down. I frequent a lot of different places in LA but I’m always trying to make sure I’m on the healthy side of things as much as possible. I try to get a salad in at least once a day.

Because of your roots and having a mom who cooks, you don’t dabble in the kitchen at all?

I mean I could survive [laughs]. But I keep it real basic in the kitchen if I do cook. To tell you the truth, I leave it to the pros to chef it up. My girl throws down super crazy. She also has a very demanding schedule but if she has time, she’ll hook it up. When I was younger, I would cook a lot more and I don’t know why that was. I would make breakfast and I enjoyed the process of baking for some reason [laughs]. It’s a random thing but once I learned to bake, I would make cakes, cupcakes and I would find so much enjoyment in doing it. When I started to travel, that slowed way down.

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With getting to travel and try new things all the time, is there a dish or food that you were hesitant to try initially that’s now a favorite?

I actually have a funny story about that. With my family being from the Caribbean, avocados are something like a staple in the West Indian diet but I didn’t like them for a very long time. It wasn’t until I went to Mexico and one of the photographers on the trip made fresh guacamole right in front of me, and I tried it and I fell in love with avocados instantly.

That’s similar to how I found myself liking them. It took me seeing someone make guacamole in front of me to start eating them.

Ever since that day, I try to eat one a day. It’s now one of my favorite things to eat. I love them.

Moving away from the healthy side of things, I do know you also like to indulge in an occasional cheat meal here and there. What are some of your favorite spots to grab a treat?

One of my favorite spots is Mikey Likes It Ice Cream and that’s only when I do want to indulge a little bit. It’s also a spot in Brooklyn called Dough Doughnuts. They have the best doughnuts in New York City, hands down. They’re so good [laughs]. I’ll go there probably once a month and get a glazed doughnut when I want to treat myself. I try to limit myself and stay away from the sweets, though.

I don’t know if you keep track of this or not, but how many hours out of your day is spent on your bike?

It varies, man. Certain days, believe it or not, I don’t get to ride at all. Other days, I’m on my bike five to six hours a day. It really depends on what my schedule looks like between traveling and other obligations. When I’m out shooting, I’m on my bike all day long. On a normal day, probably two hours or so.

With that amount of time riding and doing tricks, you definitely get your cardio in. Outside of that, are you in the gym at all?

Nah, I don’t lift weights at all. I’m more into cardio and calisthenics. I love going to the park and doing, pull-ups, dips, pushups and stuff like that. I’ll go back and forth with it. On certain months, I’m super on it and other months, I’m not just depends on how I’m feeling. That’s the extent of what I do as far as working out. Riding is a full-body workout; it’s a lifestyle sport because my life revolves around work and riding which is a great workout in itself. On any given day, I can ride between three to six miles and that’s just riding to different spots. When I get to the spots, I start jumping on and over stuff, going in and that where the real workout start, thus far in life it has kept me in good shape. Thank God.

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