San Leandro, CA – Skate Industry News: Nyjah Huston Ends The Element Era

Nyjah Huston first garnered attention when he signed a sponsorship deal with the Element company and joined the skateboard team at age 11. During his debut era with the company, Huston appeared in numerous Element video productions, such as both volumes of the Elementality series, and competed in high-profile contests, such as the Dew tour and the Vans Downtown Showdown. However, Huston eventually launched his own skateboard deck company “I&I” in the year of 2009 after he parted ways with Element in 2008; Huston was an amateur skateboarder at the time of his departure.

I&I was a short-lived company and operated for approximately two years with a team that consisted of Huston, Richard Jefferson, and Anthony Williams. During the period of the company’s existence, a number of magazine advertisements were published and an online promotional video that featured the three team members was released.

Following the closure of I&I, Huston returned to Element and released a solo video production entitled Rise & Shine in 2011—the video was available for purchase on the iTunes website and later received the “Best Video Part” award from the Transworld Skateboarding magazine. During this stage of Huston’s career, the skateboarder also joined the DC Shoes company as a team rider, following a significant period of time without a shoe sponsor—an unusual occurrence for a professional skateboarder with the degree of exposure that Huston had attracted. In response to the DC Shoes announcement, Huston explained that “I think it was all a buildup of things over the past year. DC has always been my top choice for a shoe sponsor but I think it took this past year for them to see what I’ve accomplished and how I did in the contests and my video part and all that for it to finally come through.”

“It’s the end of an era: Three longtime Element riders—Nyjah Huston, Chris Colbourn, and Dominick Walker—have officially left the brand. They’ve all been on Element for as long as we can remember—in fact, Huston had been on the team for an astounding 19 years! As far as clues to where he’ll end up next, Huston says, “New beginnings are in the works and I can’t wait to share it with you guys.” Colbourn gets poetic in his parting words: “…change is constant. Moving forward is key. Excited for new chapters ahead.” And Walker keeps it short and sweet: “Cheers to new paths and the future.” We still think all three are starting a new brand called Cookie Domo Jah-ka.” states the Berrics