NOAH NAYEF NO

When skateboarders burst onto the scene at a young age, they can often find themselves unfairly defined by the traits of their younger selves. Noah Nayef is still only 17, but his days as a contest-sweeping, handrail-chomping young teen are largely a relic of the not-too-distant past. The following photos were shot in roughly a 10-week period, during which Noah had two loose rules: no handrails and no spots outside of Sydney city. He stuck to them both. By pulling himself away from those old comfort zones and redefining his approach to skateboarding, Noah’s prodigious talent has begun to thrive more than ever. The kid from Bankstown has genuinely come of age since his New Gen back in 2017. Forget about the future – Noah is one of the best right now.

You just finished school for the day. You’re doing your final year at the moment, right?

Yeah, I’m doing the HSC right now, and it sucks. I can’t skate as much. Especially right now, leading more into the exams, it’s definitely harder. I really have to put skating aside so I can try to focus on doing well with school.

It sounds like you’re taking it pretty seriously.

I guess so. It’s hard.

Do you have any plans for after you graduate? I feel like I know Noah Nayef the skateboarder, but for things outside of skateboarding, you keep to yourself a bit.

Outside of skateboarding, I really don’t know. I have a States trip planned for when school is done. That’s my first step after school