Five Fits With: NY Giants Tight End Darren Waller

Darren Waller, tight end for the New York Giants, discovered his interest in fashion and dressing himself more stylishly relatively recently. Like the L.A. Clippers' Terance Mann, it helps he’s got the look and funds to support it, and a new city to gather inspiration from. Waller has known many ups and downs, having been drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in 2015 and finding himself suspended in both 2016 and 2017 for violating the NFL substance-abuse policy. After rehab and a humble job working at a farmers market, he was reinstated in 2018 and ranked in the NFL’s Top 100 Players in 2019, 2020, and 2021. Coming off a lucrative contract extension in 2022, he was traded to the New York Giants this year and is currently battling his way back from a hamstring injury.

This is the last Five Fits With of 2023. I always hope this column can be educational. An interest in clothing has taken me so much further than one would think pieces of fabric could. I wanted to get Darren’s perspective on adversity and share how we should handle it. Below, we discuss his interest in football and his path to the NFL, what football has taught him about life, how moving to New York changed his outlook on getting dressed, and plenty more.

Fit One

How did you start playing football? Did you always have an ambition to go pro and wind up in the NFL?

I started playing football when I was four, in Georgia. I don't even really know how. My dad is from New York, so he was more into basketball. I guess I must've seen it on TV. I think my parents [signed me up] just to see what I would like, and it was just natural from there. I never thought I'd be playing pro. I didn't really think that I was going to be playing in college or professionally, but I just kept getting better, bigger, and stronger, and things just happened.

You’re certainly a success story. What are some bits of advice you can share with readers looking to take their career and personal life to the next level, but might be having trouble with overcoming different forms of adversity?

There's really no path to where you want to go without adversity. I feel like adversity in my life is what has taught me the most and given me the most wisdom. Have a vision for where you want to go, but don’t be so focused on when you get there, but more so what you can control right now—what you can learn right now, how you can challenge yourself in the moment. Eventually, how you handle yourself in the moment is what your character becomes. You aren't going to be able to outgrow what your character couldn’t uphold.

Fit Two

Is there anything you've learned through the sport of football that has translated to other aspects of your life?

Yeah, man, football is a humbling game, for real. I've had stretches where my team's doing really good. I've had great stats. There are other times where you get your butt whooped by a team that you thought you were going to and should beat, but it just happens that way. You feel like you can't buy a break sometimes, but it's all about navigating those highs and lows and not riding the emotional roller coaster. That’s what it's taught me. Try to stay in the middle ground, try to stay even keel, try to stay calm and centered, and eventually things are going to turn around for the better. Sometimes it may dip, sometimes it may be amazing, but just stay in the middle because you need all the experiences to really know and appreciate when things are good.

What role does style play in the NFL?

I think style plays an important role. It's something that I really just got into since being in New York, really taking a leap into it and wanting to see what it was like. Because you see guys putting on really dope fits. I like to make music, so that's my best way of expression, but guys like to express themselves through their style. People know maybe they have taste, maybe they have ideas that can't be put into words, but through their outfits, people can see what goes on in their head, their level of detail, their level of courage, willingness to take risks. I really think it's dope, and it's like you put a nice fit on, you put good fabrics on, it feels good, and it ups your confidence, so it plays hand in hand to what you got to go out in the field and do.

Fit Three

That's interesting. New York brought that out for you?

Yeah, I got here and one of my teammates was like, "Yo, do you want to go to this Marni event with me?" And I responded, "I don't think I know what Marni is." But I went over there. It was after I left the studio, so I had a hoodie on and I was walking in the rain. I went there and everyone had these fits on. I was like, "Dang, this is real in New York." Seeing my teammate Tyrod [Taylor], I started talking to him about fashion. He introduced me to some people and I was like, "You know what? Let's try it. I think it's really cool. Why not carve my own lane in this somehow?"

I was going to ask you how you became interested in fashion, but maybe you just answered it. That was the spark?

I feel like the seed had been planted a while ago. I see a lot of artists and athletes I like, and I like what they're putting on. I've had more of a pretty conservative, pretty chill style most of my life. But I realized that I don't have to be super over-the-top with my style to just be myself and still have a little bit of a flair to it. So, finding my own way, not really trying to be like anybody else.

Fit Four

Do you have some favorite brands?

Marni's really dope. I've been able to wear some pieces. I wore some to my wife's WNBA All-Star weekend. They sent me a fit to wear for that. The pants and the shirt were really dope. I wore a fit from Helmut Lang that was really dope. I'm really just exploring still, trying to figure this stuff out. I really like these Fear of God slacks that I have. I’m really just dipping my toe in these things for real. I don't really know too much. I'm just trying to soak it all in from a lot of different angles. Oh, my boy, Tyrod’s brand Diallo. I love their pants, and pretty much everything that they're putting out, that's one of my favorites, too. I don't know how long he's been doing it, but I've got some products. Wore a fit from them this year. I wore some pants last night from them to dinner, and that's my guy. But subjective opinions standing to the side, I think they have really dope stuff.

Fit Five

When you're not practicing or working, what are you doing with your spare time?

I'm making music. I like to record. I make beats. That's probably my number one passion. I love being outside, being in nature, going on hikes and trails. Nature is something for me that's really spiritually grounding. I love trying new restaurants, just kicking it with friends, smoking cigars, having deep conversations, just chilling, man. Not too much, really just a mixture of those things.

If you had to wear one outfit for the rest of your life, what would it consist of?

A solid peacoat with a hoodie underneath, some oversized sweatpants, and probably some Jordan 1s.

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