The Impossible Rise of Nyjah Huston

Nyjah Huston is arguably the most consistent and dominant competitive street skater in the world – and he’s been that way almost since birth.

Growing up in a Rastafarian family, Huston took up skateboarding with his brothers at age four. It was an activity that his father – who skated as a teen – chose for him, and one he quickly excelled at. In 2004, the Huston family purchased a skate park in their hometown of Davis, California, where Nyjah spent every single day mimicking his older brothers and becoming prolific in his newfound passion. By age seven, Huston was recognizable by his long dreadlocks and advanced abilities on his skateboard. At age ten, Huston won first place at the Tampa Am, competing against guys twice his age and size. By age 11, he was skating X Games, sponsored by Element Skateboards and supporting his family.

“I was just trying not to get run over,” he laughs.

But in 2006, his life took a dramatic turn when his father abruptly moved the family to Puerto Rico, where they lived on a farm in the mountains – a 26-acre property purchased with Nyjah’s earnings. The Huston family lived under strict conditions, being home-schooled by their mother, adhering to a stringent vegan diet and spending their days working on the farm. Over the next few years, the Hustons lived off the grid, and Nyjah became increasingly disconnected from his sponsors and skate events – at risk of being dropped for his lack of appearances and participation.

The family lived in seclusion until Nyjah’s mother, Kelle, decided to make a change. While her husband and Nyjah went to Barcelona for a contest, Kelle packed up and moved with her other four children back to California. Huston remained with his father in Puerto Rico for nearly two years until 2010, when a judge ordered Nyjah to be placed in his mother’s custody. The newly freed family eventually took up residence in Orange County, a move that breathed life back into Nyjah’s career. But his struggle wasn’t over. Nyjah’s earnings had been misappropriated by his father, leaving the family flat broke.

In August 2010, Nyjah was invited to compete in the first ever Street League skate competition in Glendale, Arizona. His mother knew she needed to get Nyjah onto the circuit, but didn’t have enough money to fund the trip. On a prayer, she drove to Arizona anyway. And her prayer was answered, when Street League founder Rob Dyrdek offered to foot the bill for their hotel during the competition, well aware that Nyjah had the talent and drive to win – and he did. Nyjah took first place and won $150,000. “That was the most important and best feeling I’ve ever had in a contest. It saved our lives,” Huston says.

With a new lease on life and a revived career, Huston thrived. By 2013, he had won more prize money than any skater in history. In 2014, Huston swept the year, taking first place at Tampa Pro, X Games and all four Street League competitions, including the Super Crown championship. Now, he’s back to defend his title at the 2015 Super Crown, set for October 4 in Chicago.

Just before leaving for the Windy City, Nyjah invited Rolling Stone to his San Juan Capistrano home to talk about this year’s contest, growing up in isolation and fending off his toughest competition in years.

How do you feel going into the Super Crown this weekend?
I feel really good about it. It’s going to be gnarly. It’s a sick contest because it’s only the top eight dudes from the year. There are no qualifiers, which is definitely a plus. Qualifying in Street League is not easy at all. And the championship is cool because you get to go out there on the course and skate with only a few guys. That allows you to really concentrate on the gnarliest tricks that you are going to need for the finals.

I’ve been going over renderings of the course design and working on some tricks I might want to try on it. From what I can tell by the design and from past Super Crown contests, there are bigger obstacles out there. The main stair set and handrail are usually bigger at Super Crown. I like skating big stuff and I think it only makes it more exciting for the crowd and everyone watching on television. Bigger stairs are also good because the competitors don’t have to do the gnarliest tricks to be able to score high points. If it were up to me, there would always be a 12- or 13-stair set and rail so that people could do tricks, like kickflip back lip or kickflip back smith, instead of having to do a switch flip back lip.