I hate this kook as much as the next guy, but now that I’ve had a chance to watch it a few times and let it sink in; holy fuck, Nyjah is easily the most skilled handrail skater of all time. He’s light years ahead of everyone else.
basically this.
this whole thing is like a litmus test for thrasher: will they give SOTY to a guy whose personality and aesthetics thoroughly grates against the mentality and history of the mag?
Here's a dude that lives in an LA mansion, parties to EDM music, skates contests, wears the worst, most basketball jock-ass fits in the history of our culture, sells NFTs, has an insanely long list of non-skating sponsors, is a literal instagram influencer, and consistently attaches himself to the most empty and artless visuals. You could say this directly goes against the image of Thrasher and the things they espouse, or at least did at one point.
But on the other hand, this latest part shows that he's easily one of the most skilled, consistent, driven, and fearless dudes to ever step on the board and someone that is going bigger than almost anyone right now.
So would they give someone SOTY
solely based on skill,stair count, and minutes of footage, and ignore everything about this dude off the board?
My gut says no. TJ is doing groundbreaking skating while being at least 50 times less corny as a human being. I think that matters to Thrasher still.