Riding the Edge

Most students compete on the court or the field, but Nikka Souza ’26 finds his athletic passion racing at high speeds on the one-wheel racing track.

One-wheel racing is a fast-growing sport that involves a track and a self-balancing skateboard. It is similar to mountain biking and snowboarding. One-wheel racing competitions occur in various environments, including ski slopes, mountain trails, and racing tracks. One wheel race speeds typically range from 20 to 25 mph. 

 “One-wheel racing typically involves a track, either asphalt or off-road,” Souza said. “Normally we use go-kart tracks as they're about the same size that the one-wheels can handle, speed and turning-wise.”

Souza started racing at the beginning of his junior year. He found one of the one-wheel devices online, and his passion for the sport has grown since. Now, with over a year and a half of racing experience, Souza has become a passionate and experienced rider.

“Once I got past the initial learning curve of riding the wheel on the device, it's almost like you're flying,” Souza said. “You can't think about anything else. You have to constantly be thinking about where your feet are, what's coming up on the road ahead of you, and it really is like a distraction from reality. It's an escape for me.”

In January, Souza was invited to be an exhibitor at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) conference in Las Vegas, an event that had over 148,000 attendees.

Souza received his invitation from Albert Kua, the United States representative for InMotion, which is one of the largest electric unicycles and OneWheel production companies. He rode the vehicles around the conference to promote them, and taught attendees how to ride.

“I had a long-lasting relationship with Kua,” Souza said. “He reached out to me, and I said I could go to those dates, talk to InMotion, and they sent me over an official invitation to come and be an exhibitor there at CES. What I was doing was really just selling the wheels and teaching people how to ride on one of their beginner models.”

Souza also has an open hardware archive business called SouzaLabz, which provides 3d printed materials for OneWheels.

“My goal was to create open source models that anyone could have access to and modify for themselves, and we could all improve on it and work on it together," Souza said.

He was able to sponsor his own SouzaLabz OneWheel team with nine racers across the country. They have participated in one event so far, which has resulted in a podium finish.

Outside of his passion for one-wheel racing, Souza is active in the Brimmer community, serving as an essential part of the Robotics team.

Robotics Team Captain Aryaa Mutha ‘26 applauds the intangibles that Souza brings to both his work in one wheel racing and the robotics program. 

“The enthusiasm that he brings to practice every day is truly inspiring, his work as a coder is amazing, and he is a very integral part of our team,” Mutha said.

From racing on the track to 3D-modeling parts, Nikka Souza is dedicated and diligent with his passion.