Nyjah Huston has been in the spotlight since he first came onto the scene at the age of seven. The tiny dreadlocked skateboarder created a buzz at every turn with the skill and consistency of professionals three times his age and over twice his size. After a sorted family life put him in a short hiatus from the professional skateboarding world, Nyjah's return cemented his reputation as a dominant contender in contests and a formidable opponent to any rail or gap he came across.
At the ripe old age of twenty, Nyjah is still the center of much conversation. Rumors recently began circulating that Nyjah would be leaving his shoe and clothing sponsors for Nike by year's end. It's no question that between the Street League partnership and seemingly impending induction of skateboarding into the 2020 Olympics, Nyjah would be highly desirable for the legendary sportswear giant's roster. One of the only competitors with feet void of the Swoosh for the 2015 SLS season, it would be strange if the rumors weren't true.
One could say any multitude of negative or positive things about Mr. Huston. But there's one thing most everyone can agree on: he is one of the most talented skateboarders ever. You can't deny his success either; Nyjah has earned more prize money in contests than any other skateboarder in history. It's safe to say he has not lived the life of a typical 20 year old, and an even safer bet is that he is no typical human... Love him or hate him, its all still skateboarding.
This past weekend we were fortunate enough to host a ripping Asphalt demo at our local park, featuring Nyjah and the rest of the AYC crew, possibly his last with the aforementioned clothing brand. Nyjah took some time for a quick post-demo chat about the Olympics, his upcoming Thrasher part and his (maybe) deal with Nike (sort of).
Nyjah Houston Singing Autographs - SLO Skatepark - AYC Demo
Thanks for coming through man. So this is your last AYC trip right?
Umm... Maybe.
(laughs) So by the time this comes out I think everyone will know that you're going to Nike. Is that something you can talk about?
I can't talk about anything yet, everyone will just have to wait and see what happens.
(laughs) Alright. What's the most common question you get asked in interviews?
I dunno, just the typical, like; how did you get into skating, how does it feel to be a pro skater, what's it like, how does it feel to win contests and stuff like that basically. It gets pretty repetitive sometimes.
We'll avoid those then. So obviously there's a lot of talk about skateboarding going into the Olympics in 2020. If that happens, it seems like you would be an obvious choice for a competitor. Is that something you would want to be a part of?
It's something I totally support. I mean, I support anything that's gonna make skateboarding into a bigger sport, ya know? Some people might look at is skateboarding selling out or whatever, but I mean the bottom line with Street League and it being in the Olympics [is it] just gives more kids out there an opportunity to make a living off of skateboarding. And I think that's what everyone should hope for, ya know? I wanna see kids like this become pro and be able to have that chance to be like us out there. So I think it [skateboarding in the Olympics] would definitely be a good thing.
Nyjah Houston - Handrail Feeble Grind
What does it take to be so consistent? You kill contests, I saw you out there [AYC Demo] and it seems like everything comes pretty easily. Just skating all the time or what?
Yea I mean, it's just a ton of practice honestly. And as far as contests go, it's just about finding those hard tricks that you can land consistently. Cause it's different for everybody ya know? Like P-Rod with his switch flip back lips and stuff, I can't switch flip back lip but I'll find my certain tricks I think will get points or whatever and I feel comfortable landing. You really just have to find your own stuff. You can't just go out that and be like "oh I wanna do tricks just like this guy" or something.
What's your process for doing gnarly tricks on big ass handrails and gaps? Do you think about it a long time beforehand?
Yea, a lot of it is pretty thought out. Sometimes you find a random spot you feel like hitting, but a lot of those big tricks I do I've been thinking about for months if not years before. Just gotta try to practice the trick as much as possible, I've got my TF so that helps out a lot. Then you just gotta go for it.
Is it hard for you to go out in public these days? You're pretty popular in the mainstream eye, can you go grocery shopping or out to eat or do you just get mobbed like this?
No its mellow, If I go out somewhere maybe a couple people will notice me but it's nothing crazy. It never bugs me or anything, it's mellow enough.
What about going to skateparks? Is it hard to just go have a session?
It depends. If it's somewhere around SoCal or something it's pretty mellow cause kids are pretty used to seeing pros and stuff. In places where they aren't as used to that, other states and especially other countries, it gets crazy. Doing demos in like Mexico and Costa Rica... The Philippines was insane. It gets pretty out of hand sometimes. But it's sick. It's sick to see all those people coming out.
I'm sure it's rad to go there and see that the people are hyped. So can you say anything about this Thrasher part you have coming out?
Oh, yea! Look out for [my] Thrasher part, coming out midnight on Halloween. So I guess technically November 1st. I'm pretty stoked on it. Already got basically all my stuff for it, just gonna be working on a last trick this last week of filming and hopefully I get it. Looking forward to you guys seeing it.
