Nyjah Huston hasn’t always lived the life of skateboarding fame he’s living today. Follow along this LILA Gazette story to find out how this skater went from rags to riches. 

By Camille Cheung – 9th grade.

There’s a reason Nyjah Huston holds the title for the second most famous skateboarder in the world today. He is known throughout skateboarding culture as one of the best street skaters in history with his countless trophies and medals to back him up. But every exceptional athlete has a backstory and, whether it’s good or bad, their story becomes the root of their passion for sports. For Nyjah, his difficult origins shaped him into the skater he is today and pushed him to be the best of his game. 

On November 30 1994, in a childhood home located in sunny California, Nyjah Imani Huston was born into a family of six, including his parents. Right from the start, his household was not the most supportive or stable family for Nyjah or his four siblings, Isha, Ahbi, Kiade and Jahmai. His father, Adeyemi Huston, was strict and sometimes would be physically abusive towards his family. He mentions that he is most proud of being able to overcome his rough childhood and especially his father. Nyjah was also raised in a very Rastafarian lifestyle, which contributed to his ways of life today, such as being a reformed vegan. Being a Rastafarian is a belief originating from Jamaica that black people are the “chosen ones.” Having this specific lifestyle includes different ways of life, such as having dreadlocks, smoking marijuana or having a specific diet. Nowadays, Nyjah sticks to a very healthy and almost vegan diet, as he isn’t used to eating red meat, milk or eggs. The Huston family managed to make a living by growing and selling marijuana in their house. Isha mentions that she grew up with marijuana growing in pots under their Sacramento house. 

Both Nyjah and all his siblings tried skateboarding, starting with their dad’s old skateboard. Although they all practiced the sport, Nyjah was definitely the most motivated and quickly became the best one. He was only five years old when his obsession began, powered by his willingness to practice and mental ability to handle fear. Adeyemi would build skate ramps in the backyard for his son to practice the sport. This passion for skateboarding led to Nyjah getting his first sponsor, Element Skateboards, at the young age of seven. He was able to compete in many competitions, at which he successfully skated. Once his father had seen his potential and turned his focus on Nyjah, Adeyemi built his son a full skatepark in his backyard. With Nyjah getting better and better, he would go on to win pro competitions such as Tampa Am (which he won at the age of ten) and X games at eleven years old. Nyjah is recorded to have earned $310,000 per year from 2006 to 2008, so from 11 to 13 years of age. Although fame came with benefits, it also changed Adeyemi’s view on the family’s way of life. 

In the New York Times, Adeyemi states, “We’re learning. We’ve set principles to keep the hype and distraction out of his view.” It was then that he moved the family out to a remote 21 acre house in Puerto Rico. Nyjah’s growing fame and happiness came to a stop with this move. There was nowhere to go and to skate. He missed competitions and wasn’t providing for his sponsor, which lowered his income as well. Later, a decision was made by Kelle Huston, his mother, to leave for California with all the kids, except for Nyjah. She tells the New York Times, “I had to leave Nyjah behind because it was the only safe route for me to get out.” Nyjah stayed in Puerto Rico with his father and along the way, Isha, Nyjah’s sister, returned to Puerto Rico to visit Adeyemi and stay with Nyjah and their father for about a year. While Kelle was in California, she had filed for a divorce with Adeyemi, which later resulted in her having full custody of the children. Because of this, Nyjah was able to kick off his career again and start strong with his second-place win at the X Games and the Maloof Money Cup. When Street League Skateboarding gave him a chance to skate for a spot in the league, he obtained his first professional win. This is what really began his independent skateboarding career.

Today, Nyjah has a 5,300 square-foot modern house in Laguna Beach, overlooking beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean. His rise to fame is one of the reasons why he is so known today. Nyjah Huston has gone from a kid raised in a poor family with almost no control over his own life to the second-most famous skateboarder in the world with his dream home in Laguna Beach and a net worth of about 12 million (as of 2022). Huston’s particular struggles as a child and the hardcore drive he has acquired for the sport has been exactly what built him up to be the second most successful skater in the world today.