One basic trick you can learn early on is the frontside 180.

This trick involves doing an ollie and turning your body and your skateboard 180 degrees. It’s going to be frontside, so when you do it, you won’t need to turn your head through a blind spot. When doing a backside one eighty there is a blind spot in the trick. A point at which you cannot see your landing. This makes a fronstide 180 an easier choice to start with.

If you’re only going to get one thing out of skimming this article it should be that you need to bend your knees. Bend your knees and getting some power built up helps me with getting a nice high 180.


When you’re just learning though you will need more than just this to understand the trick. You will need to understand how to wind yourself up for the trick. This means you will need to bend down and then actually turn your body in the opposite direction that you’re going to be doing the trick. This may be counter intuitive, but it really is key. By turning in the opposite direction you’re building momentum for the trick. It will help you spin faster and get you closer to landing a 180 instead of a 90.


Should I say it? Yes, it will take a lot of practice to get the exact amount of spin you’re going to need down to an exact amount. This trick will take a while for most people to learn, but not quite as long as some flip tricks. After you start landing 180s, however, they become easy. They will likely become one of your most frequently used tricks. They will help you get up and down some strange obstacles and are an easy trick to start learning gaps and stairs with.

To do the actual motion of a 180 you will be using both feet. I find equal use is important for this trick. Your front foot will be used for the first half of the trick and your back foot for the second half.

First, you will need to snap out a good ollie. Then guide your board around using the toes of your front foot. Your board may even be tipped in slightly so your toes get a good grip. Think about pushing the board backwards here. Your front foot should also naturally be leveling out the board from the ollie. Once you are halfway through the rotation you will need to switch to concentrating on your back foot.


Your back foot is now becoming your front foot. You will need to use it to push the board the extra half a turn and guide the board down. Your back foot will now be guiding the board since most of the energy used for the trick is already gone. You should be past the height of the trick and probably coming back down quickly now. So just guide your board into a straight line and bring it down gently.


You’ll want to bend your knees as your coming down. This will give you some extra time. It can be very important to have this time. You might need to correct your footing some more or turn the board a little still. Having this extra split second can make all the difference. You’ll find that after you start understanding how to give yourself more time in the air, your tricks will become easier and easier.

Hopefully you’ll be landing this trick really soon. It can be a really fun trick. Try it fakie too. Click here to learn about doing a 180 in fakie stance (also known as a half cab). This can look cool and really hard for being one of the easiest tricks you can learn. Have fun with your new trick and take it over some gaps and off some stairs. Until next time, relax and skate on.

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