As we are currently witnessing the rise of another Nike ACG (All Conditions Gear) reboot, it is only right to go back in time to the person who made it iconic the first time, snowboarder Barrett Christy.

Christy followed the footsteps of legendary basketball player Sheryl Swoopes to become only the second female athlete in Nike history to have her own signature line, the Nike ACG Air Barrett Christy 25 years ago. In a recent interview with Sole Retriever, Christy revealed her journey with Nike in the late 90s. 

"Nike approached me in 1997 before the Olympics, like, ‘You should come ride for us. We're going to do this whole snowboard program at ACG.’ I was skeptical. I had other sponsors and didn't want to be a sellout, but at the same time, it's Nike." 

Barrett Christy left the landscape of women's snowboarding better, with an illustrious career filled with accolades. At the 1997 Winter X Games, she made history as the first female athlete to win gold in two disciplines at the same Games, triumphing in both big air and slopestyle.

Apart from her legendary X Games career, Christy also competed professionally in the US Open and Grand Prix series, with her standout performance coming in the pro women’s division at the Mt. Baker Legendary Banked Slalom in 2001.

Her dominance on the snow earned her the ESPN Female Snowboarder of the Year award in 2001.

Christy also revealed the harsh reality of a female athlete playing for a smaller sport professionally, and that the Nike deal was her way out of living an uninspiring life.

But she didn’t end her story with the Swoosh brand as just an athlete. She followed her signature line by working with the brand.

Christy’s Time With Nike Skateboarding As a Consultant

Nike gave Christy the opportunity to use her expertise and experience to meet the unique needs of female snowboarders. From 2003 to 2013, she worked with Nike Snowboarding and Nike 6.0 as a consultant.

"I think I had my first kid, and I never really left, but kind of transitioned into consulting because they were starting Nike SB… or actually Nike 6.0 came around first, and that's what they gave me an opportunity to get involved with. Came on as a mentor, we had snowboard mentors, skateboard mentors, BMX, etc. I was basically a team manager, but I wasn't an employee.”

After a lengthy run at Nike, Christy serves as Women’s Category Advisor for GNU, LIB, and ROXY hardgoods, where she continues to influence brand strategy, marketing, and product development for Mervin Manufacturing.

But her cultural impact in the early 2000s stays intact, providing a blueprint for the next generation of female athletes from all kinds of sports.

What are your thoughts on Barrett Christy's influence on the skateboarding world?

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Written by

Joy Bassy

Edited by

Zaid Quraishi