Mahershala Ali may be best known for his acting, but in his younger years he was an athlete that competed in both BMX racing and basketball. Ali even received a college scholarship to play the latter at St. Mary’s College of California. In the latest episode of Complex’s Sneaker Shopping, the Oscar-winner talked about an unorthodox choice of sneakers he hooped in during high school: the Nike Air Tech Challenge 2.
Unfortunately, his time in the Andre Agassi signature model was cut short due to a fire in the school’s gym. “They had released this chemical to put the fire out, and it messed up our floor. So we had to have the floor stripped and recoated, and when they did it, it just was never the same,” Ali recalled. “I was just slipping for whatever reason, so I had to retire those.”
Find out more about Ali’s sneaker history and see what he picked up in the video above.
