American skateboarding star Nyjah Huston suffered a fractured skull and fractured eye socket in a skating accident in Arizona, he revealed on Monday.
Huston, 31, posted images of himself in a hospital bed and a wheelchair outside of an HonorHealth medical facility, as well as a selfie of a bruised and swollen eye. He also posted a photo of medics in Tempe checking on him after the accident.
“A harsh reminder how death defying skating massive rails can be,” Huston wrote on Instagram. “Fractured skull, fractured eye socket. Taking it one day at a time. I hope yall had a better new years then me.”
Huston, who won a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics and also competed at the Tokyo Games, is a seven-time world champion and 15-time X Games gold medalist. He said he’s aiming to compete at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Huston told “CBS Mornings” in 2024 that his skating career didn’t come easy. After an abrupt move to Puerto Rico, he disappeared from the skating scene. Divorce split the family, and Huston remained with his father, who pushed him hard to train.
“I think the fact that I was able to get through all those rough moments as a kid and still come out with that much love for it is the perfect example of, like, how fun skateboarding is,” he said. “It’s really just an addiction. There’s just, there’s nothin’ else like it.”
Now one of the most decorated skateboarders in history, Huston told CBS News his failures are the key to his success.
“When we put out these video parts that people watch on YouTube or whatever, or they see us skate these contests and land most of our tricks first try, they don’t realize that skateboarding is really 90% falling,” he said. “I hope you guys show some of the falls in this, because I have taken quite a beating throughout my lifetime.”