GET FAMILIAR: Nardwuar the Human Serviette

Nike SB is stepping away from skateboarding to honor one of pop-culture’s brightest shining lights, Nardwuar the Human Serviette. Immortalized on a new Dunk SB Low, Nardwuar’s eccentric style and expert interview skills are legendary across the globe. Before Nike SB sends you to your local skate shop for a Nardwuar raffle - or, a recently announced run of meet and greets with the man himself - we figured it was only right to prepare you with some trivia about the man himself, and encourage you to watch our favorite Nardwuar interviews, of course.

Who is Nardwuar?

Nadrwuar is a human serviette (a self-appointed nickname). A serviette is a paper napkin, but in Canadian. He’s also a wizard, warlock, and better researcher than NSA operatives.

Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1968, Nadrwuar (not his real name) started his career as the host of a radio show on CITR, the University of British Columbia student station. Nadrwuar’s career has exploded and taken him around the world since his first show in October 1987, but nearly 40 years later, he still hosts a Friday afternoon radio spot on the same channel to this day, every single week.

Unless you live in Vancouver, though, you probably know Nardwuar from YouTube. The Human Serviette has been doing some of the world’s best interviews with musicians, actors, politicians, and pop culture figures for decades now. Using incredible research skills to pull subject-stumping secrets, obscure gifts, and questions from childhood, Nadrwuar is famous for his goofy personality and for garnering genuine shock and confusion from interviewees, who, even prepared for Nadrwuar’s skills, can never seem to believe the things he can reference.

Why is Nardwuar Getting a Nike SB Dunk?

Because he’s the best.

Nardwuar’s indie music roots - he is the founding vocalist and keyboard player of the noise rock band The Evaporators - and pop culture credentials make him a perfect match for SB’s ethos that celebrates the successful weirdos walking amongst us.

The SB Dunk will be a reference to Nadrwuar’s iconic hat, a traditional Scottish tam o’shanter, or tammie. It is a red, blue, and yellow plaid piece of history with a red and blue fuzz ball on top that was gifted to him by his late mother, and often highlights a full outfit of checkered plaid. Covering the entire upper in the same plaid pattern with colorful lace options, the new SB Dunks will only add to the Human Serviette’s endless style.

Does Nardwuar Have Any Connection to Skateboarding?

When we think of Nike SB collaborators, we start with a connection to skateboarding. It doesn’t have to be much - a song in a classic skate video, a bike trail beloved by SB team riders, or a full-fledged skate company or skate shop collab - but the brand usually starts with a skate reference of some sort. These days, though, especially on officially licensed collabs with brands like Jarritos and Costco’s Kirkland Signature, the story is less about skating and more about what gets the SB team stoked. Safe to say, Nardwuar gets us all hyped.

In the months since news started trickling out about the Nardwuar x Nike SB collab, though, the Swoosh has influenced some skate content from the Canadian question machine, who featured Paul Rodriguez in an extra-long interview where the duo connected on Nardwuar’s home turf in British Columbia.

Nardwuar also brought his SB colorway out in a new interview with OKC Thunder star, NBA MVP, and champion Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, for a jersey-swap style signature sneaker exchange that netted Nardwuar a new pair of Shai 001s.

Can You Recommend Some of Your Favorite Nardwuar Interviews?

Can we ever!

There are more Nardwuar interviews than any human could watch in one sitting (trust us, we’ve tried a few times), so we’ll leave you with some of our favorite highlights from the Nardwuar archive. Stay posted to SNKRS and your local skate shop’s social pages for info on the Nardwuar x Nike SB Dunk drop, and as always, keep on rockin’ in the free world, and doot doola doot doo…

Zach Harris

Zach Harris is a writer based in Philadelphia. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone, Vice, Complex, High Times, and more. He is obsessed with skateboarding and bowling. He is still looking for his first 300. For tips, reviews, and anything in size 10.5 - zach.h@soleretriever.com