Skateboarding phenom Nyjah Huston talks love for hip-hop

At the age of 18, professional skateboarder, Nyjah Huston has already accomplished what most can only dream about; and he’s only getting started...

Luther Vandross was outed as gay after his death.

At the age of 18, professional skateboarder, Nyjah Huston has already accomplished what most can only dream about; and he’s only getting started.

Nyjah Huston’s love affair with skateboarding began when he was 5 years old.

“I don’t remember much about the first time I stepped onto a board but I remember absolutely loving it, since then it’s literally the only thing I wanted to do,” said Huston.

Motivated by his older brothers and his father’s stern guidance, Huston was able to hone his skills and at 11 years old he became the youngest X Game competitor.

“I was so grateful to be skating with all those guys I looked up to and watched in videos and magazines since I started skateboarding,” he said with a smile. “But it was a bit intimidating. I was the smallest out of everyone there and twice, or even three times as young, so it was definitely interesting being out there. I definitely learned a lot at a very young age.”

Since then Huston has gone on to win multiple skateboarding titles and has made more prize money than any other skater in professional skateboard history.

From the tattoo in Japanese writing on his right forearm and the red, green and yellow detail on his sneakers, Nyjah embraces all his ethnicities. He feels being multiracial helps him relate to his fans and broaden his fan base.

“I’m thankful to be a mixed racial person in skateboarding. I’m part Japanese too, so when I go over to Japan everyone loves me there, when I go somewhere where there are a lot of Black people they’ll love me there too.”

Huston was raised in a strict Rastafarian household by his father, but he admits he might not have been able to take his career to the professional level if it weren’t for his upbringing.

Nyjah said about this father, “I would say maybe he was overly strict…but now that I look back at it I don’t think I’d be where I am right now if I wasn’t raised that way. It did keep me so focused on skateboarding.”

When Nyjah isn’t traveling around the globe or practicing his kick flips, he enjoys all genres of music, especially hip-hop.

The Street League Skater said, “It really gets me pumped before I go out there, Kanye’s new album is sick and my favorite track is “Blood On the Leaves”.  It’s awesome.”

Nyjah believes rap and skateboarding are connected because they both have to be able to progress in order to get better. He felt a connection with Kanye West’s album ‘Yeezus’ because it was so different.

“A lot of hip-hop sounds the same…same thing with skateboarding. But if you see someone coming out here doing some tricks no one’s done before that’s really cool.” Nyjah commented on the evolution of skateboarding.

Follow Nyjah Huston on Twitter @Nyjah_Huston, or visit  www.streetleague.com for more information on Nyjah and the Street League Skateboarding Nike SB World Tour.

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