All clothing and accessories by **ZEGNA.**

No gift is more rewarding than the gift of fulfilled promise. There’s just something about finally realizing your full potential, no matter how long the road to get there ends up being. Reaching the top of your game after years and years of hard work often tastes sweeter than when it comes out of the blue. Is a good origin story that essential to a picture perfect win? Professional skateboarder Ishod Wair is no stranger to this theory.

Six years after he was named 2013 Thrasher Magazine ‘Skater of the Year’ just two years after going pro, Wair celebrated his first ever X Games gold at the 2019 tournament in Oslo, Norway. The win was a long time coming with predictions and pressure mounting ever since his SOTY nod was announced over half a decade before. But good things come to those who wait. And good things tend to come to good people, right?

Hailed as “your favorite skateboarder’s favorite skateboarder,” Wair has cemented his place as both a skating legend and fan favorite. Known for his sharp technique and crazy high-flying skills, cue the frontside kickflip over a double staircase, Wair has long attracted attention in the skate community. From the first time, he hopped on a skateboard in his hometown of Bordentown, New Jersey, the industry was forever changed.

His tricks may be big, his impact? Bigger. The 30-year-old is committed to breaking the mold—he was the first Black man to win ‘Skater of the Year’—and his innovation shows no signs of stopping, on and off his board. For decades now, skateboarding has found a happy home within the fashion industry. From major fashion houses to underground brands, designers continue to be fascinated by skate culture, and the gap between the skatepark and the runway grows smaller and smaller. It really makes perfect sense. Skateboarding is a sport rooted in self-expression. Who can land the hardest tricks, fly the highest, innovate the most. Fashion is the same game—innovating, growing, attempting the most outlandish looks all in hopes of a graceful landing.

Like many other big-name skaters, Wair has skated his way into the fashion world as a longtime member of the Nike Skateboarding team. While his first signature shoe with Nike SB is rumored to be dropping in early 2022, Wair’s collaboration with the shoe brand dates back to 2016 when he first nabbed the Nike sponsorship.

With a jaw-dropping portfolio of skating videos (to the trained and untrained eye), successful ventures into the design world, and of course, skateboarding talent that you just don’t see every day, he has no shortage of gifts. And Wair doesn’t show any signs of stopping. So maybe, just maybe, his gift of fulfilled promise will be the gift that keeps on gifting.

Is there a big skating culture in Jersey where you grew up?

I grew up in Bordentown, NJ that has a population of about 4,500 people, so there really wasn’t a big skate culture there.
At what age did you get into skateboarding? Was it an activity you did in solace or were there always people you skated with?

I wanted to start skating when I was 7, but didn’t get a board until I was 8-years old. For the first year, it was just me, alone, in the front of my house. From about 9-years-old to 14-years-old it was just me and like 4 other homies in my neighborhood. There were other people that tried to skate, but they never stuck to it.

At what point did you decide you wanted to take skateboarding as a passion and turn it into a career path? Was it an active choice or just something that happened naturally?

It kind of happened naturally. Knowing that skateboarding was so small in my town, I didn’t think this was something that was going to happen.

Who were some athletes that inspired you growing up?

P-Rod, Rodney Mullen, Allen Iverson, Michael Jordan. I had a Michael Jordan North Carolina Jersey that I loved.

You’ve done other collaborations in the past with Nike, like the Dunk SB Low Pro ‘Ishod Wair’ shoes, but this is the first time you’ll be releasing your own signature shoe with the brand. What can you tell us about the Nike SB Ishod Wair?
The goal was to create something that Nike didn’t have to offer. I believe the shoe is unique and the silhouette is something Nike hasn’t done before in skateboarding.

What does it mean to you to have your own sneakers?

It means the world. It really is hard to put it into words. To think that I share a signature sneaker with Nike where my idols like P-Rod, Koston, Jordan have had signature shoes is surreal.

How has skateboarding also brought you into the world of fashion? Was this always an interest you had or did it come later as you became more well known?

It became more of an interest as I matured. When I was able to wear what I want as my career got more established boarded my fashion sense. Traveling around the world and seeing how some places had different style of clothing interested me.

Is there anything you miss about skating for fun rather than for work? Or do you still find the time to skate for pleasure and not just for training?

For the most part, I would say 95% of the time I’m skating for fun. Even when I am at a contest or filming a trick for a video part, I’m having fun.
Like any sport, skating can be very physically taxing, especially when you’re pro. How do you try to keep the balance between work and health, not just mentally but physically?

It honestly varies on what exactly I have going on. When obligations and trips pile up, it is difficult to keep a routine. I try to stay positive. When I know I will be home for a while, I try to keep a routine. Gym in the morning, physical therapy if my body needs it, and always trying to get a session in.