What's new about the Nyjah 2?
Blue Tomato: How do you break in a fresh pair of Nyjah 2s?
Nyjah Huston: I just get a good session in. I normally want a new board, helps the shoe break in better and faster and I just skate in my park or the streets and try to do a bunch of kick flips.
What are the main differences to the Nyjah 1?
Main difference is the mesh material we used. We’d heard from some people that the first shoe was kinda hot on the foot and didn’t breathe enough especially when you’re skating for a long time in hot weather. So this one, that’s where we got the idea to do all the mesh. It ended up making the shoe look at lot better too in my eyes, just having those different materials and stuff in different ways to break up colorways and stuff.
How did you come to go for a more running shoe inspired silhouette on your pro model?
I would say me…I just wanted to make something different. I didn’t want to make a normal skate shoe out there. I wanted something that looked and performed differently than other shoes already out there. Especially working with Nike, I mean obviously they got the best and most advanced people working on their shoes and materials and resources. So I definitely wanted to make something different and also just something that look sick that I was stoked on. I like wearing a lot of running shoes and shoes outside of skateboarding anyways so I definitely have some inspiration there too.
What’s your favorite feature on the Nyjah 2?
I would say the breathability. And then also probably my favorite improvement: I’ve been skating this shoe a lot lately and jumping down big stuff and in the street, and I’ve noticed the shoe lasting longer in the structure of the shoe more. It feels like it takes a longer time for shoe to loosen up on your foot, so there’s less of chance of you rolling your ankle or something like that.
How many shoes do you go through in a week/month/year?
Skate shoes… I’ll go through a couple in a month depending on how much I’m skating, sometimes more, sometimes less. I don’t know how many that would be in a year but probably quite a bit. But I do skate in my shoes for a long time. I like putting them to use.
Do you skate every day?
I skate every day when I can and when body is good enough too, you know? I’ve had a little ankle injury the past month now so I’ve just started skating again but yeah, man, I try to skate every day.
What's new with Nyjah, the human?
Do you have superpowers?
(Laughs) Do I have superpower? I don’t think so. I do heal fast though, I will say that. That is one thing, my body heals really fast.
Which (European) city do you like to skate/inspires you the most? Have you ever skated in Austria?
Barcelona is one of the best places to skate in the world, it’s so fun. I haven’t skated in Austria yet.
Does every one of your tattoos have a story behind it?
(Laughs) Absolutely not. When I first started getting tatted when I was 18 I tried to get things that meant something to me, but over time, it’s like, if you want to co be covered you just gotta start getting random shit. And I liked getting tattooed often so I just see things and get em.
How do you overcome fear?
I was literally just talking to this little kid about this other day. Definitely comes with a lot of experience. It gets easier over years, like years of experience. I wouldn’t say you ever completely overcome it. Even nowadays when I’m skating big rails, I still feel that feeling of fear. But I live for that feeling. It drives me to skate. In my eyes if want to learn a new trick and you’re trying something you’re scared of, you just kind of gotta make up your mind and then there’s no point in hesitating and doubting yourself. You’re either gonna go or not. In skating the main way people get hurt is that hesitation.
What’s your favorite trick?
My favorite trick lately I’d say kick flip back smith.
How many tries did the first rail in “Till Death” take to finally get the shot?
If you’re talking about that King Rail that showed me eating shit on a bunch of times, that thing took two days actually. I probably tried it like at least over a hundred times. And then it ended up getting dark and then we had to come back a few days later and then it took another two hours to land that day. So it was probably a total of 200 tries. It was a mission.
Thank you Nyjah for taking the time to answer our questions!
Wear test by #bluetomatoteam rider Philipp Gebeshuber
Our Blue Tomato Shop Linz employee and team rider Philipp "Phüz" Gebeshuber tested the new Nike SB Nyjah 2 thoroughly and shared his findings with us:
