Nyjah Huston | Growing Up with X Games
At 11 years old, Nyjah made his first appearance at the 2006 X Games in Los Angeles, representing the youngest athlete to ever compete at the time.
What is Summer X Games without Nyjah Huston? And with the season finally approaching, the Nyjah hype is back again.
The skate prodigy has had a long history with X Games and is no stranger to its podium. At 11 years old he made his first appearance at the 2006 X Games in Los Angeles, representing the youngest athlete to ever compete at the time. Eleven years later, at 22 years old, he is now a household name in street skate and is still killing the game. We’ve had the opportunity to watch this young skater grow up through the sport and change the game along the way.
The Beginning of a Collection
In 2009, Nyjah won his first X Games medal at the age of 14. His kickflip front side boardslide, front side nose blunt, and kickflip back lip took him to silver. Since then, he has consistently medaled; not once failing to land a spot on the podium.
Coming off of a win in the very first Street League Skateboarding competition, he won his first X Games gold at the Los Angeles Games in 2011, beating out Luan Oliveria and defending champ, Ryan Sheckler. His heavy bag of tricks replaced the weight loss of his newly shaved head—the signature dreads were gone. Rarely have we seen such consistency in an athlete and for the past ten years, Nyjah has dominated in X Games Street.
Fast Forward
Nyjah’s momentum did not stop; his perfectly timed runs took him on an eight-time gold medal streak, apart from one bronze in 2012. Last year he came home with a silver in Austin, missing the top spot by .33 points, to Ryan Decenzo’s score of 87.33.
Returning for this year’s X Games in Minneapolis, there is no surprise that Nyjah is back for more. He will compete again against defending champion Ryan Decenzo, hoping to steal back the crown. He is also coming off of two wins this season—Red Bull Hart Lines Contest in Detroit and the Street League Street Skateboarding Pro Open in Barcelona.
His total medal count rings in at eight gold (one for the X Games Real Street video), three silver, and one bronze. Nyjah Huston remains as one of the most dominant athletes in X Games history and a top street skater in the world. Now, the only question left is: can this street skate innovator bring the same perfect runs to Minneapolis?
