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Nyjah Huston The Rise and Shine vote

Nyjah Huston just released his Pay-per-view part entitled Rise & Shine but whether you like it or not, there is a clear divide between those who look at Nyjah’s skateboarding with anger and those who praise the teenager as the second coming.

You can download it here on i-Tunes for £1.50 (or £1.99 for full HD)

The question is, which side of the fence do you sit on?

THOSE IN FAVOUR:

Ever since his mainstream debut as a spritely pre-pubescent dread head, Nyjah has displayed undeniable talent on a skateboard. The young boy has grown (quite a lot actually) into a young man and his ability on board has only grown exponentially. The rails are much bigger, the drops are steeper, the jumps are further and the dreads are longer. Rise & Shine is the icing on the cake that sets a new level for skateboarders going big. Back to back never been done tricks at hollowed ground and the faculty to roll away from a ten-foot drop like he was rolling off a curb are the standard Nyjah has set for his peers to follow.

We have all witnessed the ease with which Nyjah can tackle spots thanks to his Street League performances, but sometimes you need to pay to play and Rise & Shine features a couple of crippling slams that act as a stark reminder of the risk Nyjah runs as he pounces down 18 stair rails. Whilst most of us would need a stretcher to cart us off to ICU, Nyjah takes it in his stride and continues to shred the shit out of an array of spots spread across the globe.

This is Premier League skateboarding with all the camera flashes, flood lights and media frenzy a top player witnesses on the job. Nyjah has not been slacking this year with a Berrics Battle Commander, a Thrasher Firing Line, a Skateboarder Mag interview and plenty more. Rise & Shine wraps it all up and delivers a package to the skateboard community that could see Huston added to the exclusive roster of Skater of the Year trophy winners. Now wouldn’t that be a great way to end an incredible year?

THOSE AGAINST:

You can compare Nyjah Huston’s Rise & Shine part to Premier League Football with it’s ego-centric Lil’ Wayne soundtrack, multiple angles, camera flashes, generator lights and peanut gallery cheering him on from the sidelines. The top players have legions of fans and Nyjah will no doubt recruit a few more now. But keep in mind that some skateboarders and football fans feel completely detached from the hi-life and don’t buy into the big bucks hype. Some of us are very happy supporting and playing in our local leagues. We might watch the likes of Nyjah on the television on a Friday night, but Saturday afternoon we’re having a kick about with our mates and couldn’t care less. You only need to take a look at the stats to see that Nyjah is not messing around. Stats nerds registered approximately 36 tricks performed on handrails, 16 on gaps, 8 on ledges or manual pads and 1 on a handicap ramp, so 60% of Rise & Shine involves a grind or a slide down a handrail, 25% sees Nyjah flying through the air (sometimes over a handrail), 12% requires a balancing act and a mere 3% is the closest you’ll get to a jump ramp session.

There are groundbreaking manoeuvres on display but the spontaneity of it all is completely lost (Some people have doubts about the enders being performed back to back). Nyjah is a part of this new Top Gun crew of skateboarders that use the tactics of shock and awe rather than fun and games that the toy that is a skateboard should provide. Even if the wild underdog Maverick made Top Gun, Tom Cruise is still a knob. Perhaps people are bitter from the relentless media spin that has slowly brought Nyjah’s Rise & Shine to a boil. Berrics Battle Commanders, Thrasher Firing Lines, (awkward) Ricta commercials, Magazine interviews… The list goes on.

With the release of Rise & Shine, some members of the public can’t help but think Nyjah’s entire year in skateboarding has been carefully planned out and crafted to place him nicely on a platter for the ultimate title of Thrasher’s Skater of the Year. If this is the case, then has skateboarding lost a large piece of its soul? You decide.

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Ralph Lloyd-Davis
11.11.11