Nyjah Huston’s most recent video, ‘Need That,’ opens with the pro skater attempting to nollie onto an 18-stair handrail at Franklin High School in Highland Park. The 28-year-old loses his board and tumbles down the terrifyingly steep set of stairs. As he makes contact with the ground, he rolls to his side and then immediately pops back up to his feet. “Oh! I’m good,” Huston says, clearly in a bit of pain, before he retrieves his Monster Energy baseball hat and climbs back up the goliath set of stairs, presumably to give it another go.
In just two weeks, Huston has dropped 18 minutes worth of skate footage in two video parts that have already garnered nearly 2 million views on YouTube. On Nov. 14 he released ‘Shine On,’ a six and half minute part filmed with the incomparable Ty Evans. And last week, on his birthday, Huston released an arguably even more impressive Nike part titled, “Need That” (shot by Ant Travis). The 12-minute solo part was released on the same day his third sneaker came out.
The two videos combine several years of footage performed on some of the biggest handrails in skateboarding, dating back to when Huston was still on Element Skateboards (he now owns his own board company called Disorder). And they’re already been hailed as two of the gnarliest parts in skateboard history.
The timing of the releases has led many to speculate Huston is making a run for Thrasher Magazine’s Skater of the Year. In recent years, skaters that have won the highest honor in skateboarding save their most impressive video parts for the final months of the year. Despite being one of the most talented and popular people to ever step foot on a skateboard, Huston has never won a “SOTY.”
Skaters and fans also have their eyes on two other contenders for Skater Of The Year: Louie Lopez and Tyshawn Jones. The two skaters released a pair of impressive video parts just days apart from one another, and there are still a few weeks left in the year.
Huston filmed tricks at legendary skate spots in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Orange County for his two most recent video parts. Here are some of the gnarliest spots in L.A. (and one in Orange County) that he skated:
Franklin High School
Huston hit a few spots at Franklin High in his second of two video parts. He eventually conquered the 18 stair rail we mentioned in the intro and he also hit the smaller 12 stair rail that’s appeared in videos such as Ryan Decenzo’s ‘Sender Bender’ and Illegal Civ’s ‘GODSPEED’ by Devante Jolly. Plus a nine stair rail. Graduates of Franklin include soon-to-be Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, convicted L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca and Oscar Award-winning actor Alan Arkin.
Hall of Justice
Huston’s ‘Shine On’ part opens with him casually doing a line outside of the Hall of Justice, the DTLA building that the district attorney and sheriff’s department work out of. Huston has been a target of the DA in the past and frequently finds himself in trouble. Earlier this year he was sued for alleged assault. In 2021 he was charged with hosting a “super-spreader” party during the pandemic and in 2017 for felony battery (while he was on probation for throwing rowdy parties).
The Echo 18
Huston lands two tricks at this enormous 18-stair rail at Elysian Heights Elementary School in Echo Park, the same set of stairs that Ryan Deszenzo tre-flipped and Jamie Foy crooked a few years ago (apparently hours after turning pro).
El Camino College
In ‘Need That,’ Huston skates a 17-stair rail at this Torrance, California two year community college. The same school where in 1983, Suge Knight, founder of the infamous Death Row Records, played football (before transferring to the University of Nevada Las Vegas in ‘85). The school is also a popular filming location, appearing in movies such as Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises and The Longest Yard.
Van Nuys Blvd Overpass
Huston does a smith grind on an overpass above Van Nuys Boulevard as traffic passes by (with the LAPD watching his back no less). The first clip shows Huston jumping onto the guardrail and then losing his footing. On what appears to be his second attempt, he nails it. Then he takes a photo with the cops.
UCI 18 Stair
Huston grabs a few impressive clips in both of his new videos at this University of California Irvine spot. “When you see this shit in person, it’s like WOW,” veteran Chocolate skateboarder Daniel Castillo said while making a guest appearance on the Nine Club, a popular weekly skateboarding podcast. “It’s like watching someone skate vert in person,” host Chris Roberts says.
