To me, the definition of greatness is being a true skateboarder.

“Keeping the body up to shape takes a lot of work”

If the streets feed Huston’s soul, and the contests his mentality, then the last part of the equation, his body, is a much more complicated affair.

In a sport where smashing concrete and taking falls are a necessary part of the growth process, time has far more sway than most skaters would like to admit. Deep down they know they can’t do this forever.

For most of his career, Huston has skirted major injuries. It wasn’t until two years ago that he underwent his first surgery. An ACL rupture, acquired while out on the streets filming a video part set the skater back several months. He knew from the moment of diagnosis he would do what it took to get back on the board, and with the same rigour and discipline instilled in him for his early years, Huston went through the motions to get it all done. But even he couldn’t outwork the nagging feeling he might never skate the same again.

Remarkably, out of the anxiety, Huston did return and almost exactly where he left off.

A year after turning up and winning the first Olympic qualifier on the road to Paris in Italy, he marched back on Rome and won the event for a second time.

It is with no surprise then, that as the conversation around greatness continues on, Huston puts health on the table with video parts and contest results as something he is “proud of”:

“If you ask me how I would feel nowadays, let’s say five, ten years ago, it would be questionable if I would still feel good enough to skate every day, almost every day, practice hard and really stay at that level because it’s truly not easy. Even though all the skateboarders out there are great, we still have got to put in so much time to keep these tricks on point, learn new tricks, and stay at that level.”

He continues: “I mean, really, keeping the body up to shape takes a lot of work. I’m literally in my local physical therapy office at least once a week or twice a week, and that’s just to keep up on maintenance. You know, even if I don’t have an injury, you’re still in there.”