We meet Evan Mock where he feels most like himself: with Hawaii as his point of reference. On our video call, the New York City–based skateboarder-model-actor is relaxing outdoors at dusk, away from the winter cold, wearing a black Miu Miu jacket and a red baseball cap—from his own brand, Wahine—concealing his bleach-blonde buzzcut. “I try to spend some time back in warm weather during the winter,” he says. “And I get to spend time with my family.”
Hawaii is a fitting counterpoint for a renaissance man whose meteoric ascent is stuff of New York City urban legend. Since moving to the city six years ago, Mock has modeled for houses like Louis Vuitton (so much so that his likeness was used to sculpt a mannequin) and Saint Laurent, starred in the HBO reboot of Gossip Girl (2021), and launched Wahine, a Hawaiian-inspired fashion label.
Time in the islands, he says, is grounding—not just for the body but the soul. “I’m lucky to be able to go back to Hawaii and be grounded again because no one here really cares what you do outside of Hawaii,” he says. “So you’re put back to square one in a good way. All my friends make sure I don’t change.”
I’m lucky to be able to go back to Hawaii and be grounded again because no one here really cares what you do outside of Hawaii.
That’s not to say his childhood lacked any excitement. Born in Haleiwa, on the North Shore of Oahu, Mock grew up with the “beach as my playground.” From a young age, he aspired to be a professional skateboarder or surfer. His finesse in the water earned him a high school job as a shark diver, guiding tourists miles off the coast for a chance to spot the creatures. It was perhaps here that he learned how to maintain composure in moments of risk—and to be at peace at the mercy of nature.
“It’s like skydiving,” he explains. “All the nerves build up on the boat ride out, and you think it’s going to be chaotic. But as soon as you get in the water, it’s the opposite—it’s peaceful. We’d see hammerheads, tiger sharks, humpback whales, dolphins, Galapagos sharks, sandbar sharks. And you’re just watching these animals glide through the ocean, barely kicking, in their natural habitat.”
At 18, Mock left the islands to pursue skateboarding in California—an era that culminated in an Instagram post from singer Frank Ocean that quietly changed the trajectory of what came next. One of the proudest moments of his career followed soon after: landing a shoot on a Calvin Klein billboard in 2021. Almost overnight, the pink-haired skater towering over the city in boxer briefs became a familiar figure in downtown New York’s visual mythology.
“I asked [my agent] Kendall, ‘What’s the biggest billboard in New York City?’ And he was like, ‘Oh, it’s the Calvin billboard.’ And I was like, ‘I’m going to get that thing one day.’ Literally six months later, I got it,” Mock remembers fondly. “That was the first actual real manifestation plan that I had, because up until then I didn’t really see it. Before, it felt like I was just moving towards a light at the end of the tunnel. That was the moment I finally caught up to the light.”
The same year, Mock joined the cast of Gossip Girl as Aki Menzies, a role written specifically for him by creator Josh Schwartz. The show, which ran for two seasons, introduced him to a global audience and marked a decisive shift from cool-kid proximity to mainstream screen presence. More billboards followed, along with walks at Paris Fashion Week and New York Fashion Week. And at the 2022 Met Gala, he drew fashion-world intrigue with his custom gender-bending Head of State ensemble.
It’s hard to point out what Mock is best known for, a fact he himself admits freely. “I’ve only ever identified myself as a skater,” he jokes. “So it’s interesting to be recognized for things you wouldn’t expect. Some people know me as a skater, some from modeling, some from acting, some from the brand. Sometimes it reminds me, ‘Oh yeah, I even did that.’”
One thing Mock did become undeniably known for was his appearance in the music video toxic till the end by BLACKPINK megastar ROSÉ, where he played her on-screen counterpart in a tightly wound, cinematic love story. The video’s emotional charge—and the real-life chemistry at its center—quickly took on a life of its own online, pulling Mock into a level of global attention that extended well beyond fashion or television. “Yeah, that kind of became my entire personality for a second,” he says with a laugh.
What stood out more than the exposure was the experience itself, particularly watching how much control ROSÉ exercised over her work. “She has a huge team, but she knows exactly what she wants. She makes all the decisions,” he says. “Seeing how hard she works and how concise she is was really inspiring—it definitely pushed me to want to be more of my own boss in my own lane.”
My biggest resolution is to stick to all the other ones.
A growing sense of ownership is something Mock is carrying into 2026. Asked about New Year’s resolutions, he pauses before answering, “My biggest resolution is to stick to all the other ones.” It’s an offhand joke, but one that hints at a broader shift toward commitment and follow-through from fitness—”I’ve been working out every day with my brother-in-law”—to entrepreneurship.
As Wahine enters its fourth year, Mock is approaching the brand with a new level of intention—less as a side project, more as something he’s responsible for stewarding forward. He alludes to a series of partnerships and collaborations in the pipeline, opportunities made possible by a change in how he works.
“I think that’s been a big change for me: planning so far ahead,” he says. “I’m usually a very last-minute, impulsive type of thing, but after having this brand for a few years, I know it is better to plan ahead of time.” The discipline doesn’t come easily—“it’s just so not my style”—but it’s allowed things to “go more smoothly,” with collaborations “that are kind of coming to fruition finally.”
Looking further ahead hasn’t pulled Wahine away from its roots—it’s pulled Mock back toward them. “Wahine means ‘woman’ in Hawaiian,” he explains. “It’s really a love letter to the strong women in my life like my mom and my sister—it’s an ode to them raising us, and seeing how they do this life thing. From a design standpoint, it’s taking the style that I grew up seeing as a child, then trying to carry on those traditional patterns and cuts.”
That desire to give something lasting back to the islands extends beyond fashion. In recent years, Mock has been involved in efforts to build a skate park in his hometown—a project that feels less like legacy-building than quiet responsibility.
“A couple years ago, Tony Hawk and I did a gala at Chateau Marmont to raise money for a skate park back home,” he says. “We actually raised enough to build it on a huge piece of land next to a school. It’s right by where my dad’s gone to work every day for the last 20 years, and close to my brother and sister’s houses. That’s something that really means a lot to me—bringing something permanent back to where I grew up.”
Now, even as he looks ahead to a busy year of running the brand, taping auditions, and juggling projects in the pipeline, Mock is conscious of what he doesn’t want to lose in the process.
“I’m really trying to balance everything out at the same time and find time to skate still and find time to come back to Hawaii and see my family,” he says. “There’s a bigger end goal,” he adds—before summing up the tension he’s learning to live with: “I’m planning further ahead, but trying to be present, too.”
Lightning Round with Evan Mock
Favorite food?
I pretty much only eat Asian—or Asian-ish—food. That’s my bread and butter.
Favorite restaurant in NYC right now?
The Korean fried chicken place, Coqodaq.
Movies?
Bugonia was by far my favorite movie last year. That movie kept you guessing—you had no idea what was going to happen until the very end. I also watched all the classics—Home Alone, Elf—those come around at least once a year.
TV shows?
I just finished I Love LA—shoutout to True Whitaker. I also watched Your Friends & Neighbors, the Jon Hamm show on Apple TV. And The Studio—I love Chase Sui Wonders, she’s great in it. I also have a pottery date with Seth Rogen planned, but it’s been hard to schedule since he’s shooting season 2.
Who are you listening to?
“I’m all over the place,” he says. “Radiohead is always in there—OK Computer is one of those albums that’s permanently near my playlist. Then it’ll jump to Aminé, Vybz Kartel, Clairo, Daniel Caesar, Turnstile, and Kaytranada. A lot of reggae, a lot of island Hawaii jams. It really depends on the day.
Have you been to Vietnam?
Never, but I want to. I think this is a pretty good excuse.
Personal style advice?
Just because it’s expensive doesn’t mean it looks good. If you feel good in it, it almost looks good. Don’t take clothes too seriously.
**Creative Team**
Photographer: An Le
Stylist: Donte McGuine
Stylist Assistant: JP Baressi
Hair by Tomoko Kuwamura
Makeup by Yuko Kawashima
Executive Producer: Victoria Pavon
Production: Lyndsay Moretta
Production Assistant: Christopher Moretta
Assistant: Matt Roady, John Law
Digital Tech: Jacob Wayler
Đạo cụ: Allan Fredrick at Smashbox Studios
Talent Management: Kendall Werts
**Esquire Vietnam**
Editor-in-Chief: Dan Q. Dao
Editorial Assistant: Lisa Le
