Learning skateboard tricks can feel overwhelming, but with the right approach, you can progress from beginner to pro. While there’s no one-size-fits-all order, focusing on fundamentals is key before attempting advanced maneuvers like Tre flips. This guide will walk you through essential tricks in a logical sequence, ensuring you build a solid foundation and develop your unique style. Remember, the most important thing is to have fun and enjoy the process of learning!
Before you even think about an ollie, it’s crucial to understand how your board feels and responds. Many beginners jump straight into practicing ollies while stationary, but this is a mistake. You need to be comfortable riding your board first. This might seem like a boring step, but mastering the basics will significantly speed up your progress in the long run. Let’s explore the tricks that will transform you into a proficient skateboarder, starting with the basics and gradually moving towards more complex maneuvers.
skateboarder performing a handplant in a pool
This guide is designed to be inspirational. While the order makes sense to a degree, don’t follow it rigidly. It’s all about what you enjoy and what feels right for you. If you haven’t already, check out our beginner skateboard trick guide for a head start.
Essential Skateboard Tricks: A Progressive Guide
Here’s a list of tricks to consider learning in a logical order, ranging from foundational to more complex. While some tricks might feel challenging, remember that everyone can master a manual or a shove-it with commitment.
1. Manual
The manual might seem basic, but it’s fantastic for developing board feel. This trick is perfect for linking with other tricks. Be warned, learning manuals can be tough on your board’s tail, so it’s worth using an older deck. The crucial elements are balance and not placing your rear foot at the very end of the tail.
2. Fakie Shove-it
This trick is simple but it gets you comfortable with moving your board around. After you’ve nailed it, you can progress to big spins and other more complex tricks. If you’re comfortable riding fakie, you won’t have trouble with this one. There’s a bit of a commitment issue involved because it’s easy to bail, but it’s also very achievable.
3. Shove-it / Shuvit
Once you’ve mastered the fakie shove-it, move onto the regular shuvit. While this might be a biased opinion, the regular shuvit is often seen as harder to learn than its fakie counterpart. It requires dedication but is likely easier than an ollie, so it is an excellent starting point. Learning the ollie first is often better as it simplifies the pop-shuvit. The basic shuvit doesn’t require the tail to touch the ground, opening doors to frontside, backside, 360 shuvits, big spins, and more.
4. Ollie
Invented by Alan ‘ollie’ Gelfand in 1976, the ollie is one of the most fundamental tricks that leads to a whole range of other tricks. It isn’t easy and feels awkward for beginners. But don’t worry, with patience and hard work, you’ll eventually pop the board and land it. Once you have this down, you can start ollieing curbs while cruising. Always wear a helmet when practicing.
5. Pop-Shuvit
Now that you’ve mastered both basic shuvits and the ollie, it’s time to combine them. A pop-shuvit requires the tail to hit the ground and is more aggressive than a regular shuvit. If you find yourself getting frustrated, it’s a good idea to switch to a different trick and revisit it later. Make sure you can perform this trick both frontside and backside, which will greatly aid your progress with flip trick combos.
6. No Comply
According to available information, John Lucero invented the no comply, but Neil Blender named it and brought it to the mainstream. The exact inventor is unclear, but numerous skaters have contributed to its development. This neat-looking trick isn’t too difficult to master once you grasp the mechanics. Once you feel at ease, try moving from flat ground to jumping over obstacles or trying it on a quarter pipe. This is a highly creative trick that opens up many options.
7. 180 Ollie
The origin of this ollie variation is unclear, but it’s done both frontside and backside, and it’s called a half-cab when you ride fakie. Many skaters find the backside version easier as it makes them more aware of their direction. While some find the frontside a bit harder, learning both sides has many benefits.
8. Heelflip
Finally, it’s time for flips! Heelflips are generally considered easier to learn than kickflips, making it a great starting point for getting used to flipping your board. A well-executed heelflip looks great.
9. Kickflip
It’s a big leap from an ollie to a kickflip, and some beginners try kickflips on day one. But to master a kickflip, you really need a good feel for your board. Skipping the basics will only slow down your progress and can lead to frustration. Originally called the magic flip, the name kickflip stuck.
10. Varial Kickflip
Popular in the 90s, the varial kickflip isn’t as common now, but it’s still cool. If you’re comfortable with the shuvit and kickflip, it shouldn’t be too hard to learn. Rodney Mullen invented the varial kickflip over 3 decades ago (1983).
11. Hardflip
If you’re comfortable with frontside pop-shove-its and kickflips, it’s time to try the hardflip. While not an easy trick, it looks incredible when you nail it. Daewon Song first landed it on video (Love Child – 1992), although Dan Gallagher may have actually invented it.
12. Varial Heelflip
Before attempting a varial heelflip, make sure you’ve mastered the frontside pop shove-it and heelflips. This trick involves heelflipping while spinning your board 180 degrees frontside.
13. Inward Heelflip
To move on to the inward heelflip, you should be proficient with pop shove-its, ollies, and backside pop shove-its. The trick is a combination of a heelflip and a backside pop shove-it.
14. Backside 180 Heelflip
This is where a series of combination flips starts, which can devastate any challenger in a game of S.K.A.T.E. This trick combines a heelflip and a backside 180 ollie. It looks amazing and landing it feels fantastic. Like many tricks, it requires focus and dedication. If you’re struggling, practice a few heelflips and backside 180 ollies, and then get back at it.
15. Frontside 180 Heelflip
This trick is basically a frontside 180 ollie combined with a heelflip. Skateboarding tricks are all about getting creative with combinations, and this is an excellent example. Make sure you’re comfortable with individual tricks before combining them.
16. Backside 180 Kickflip
Now that you’ve covered both frontside and backside 180 heelflips, try the kickflip variant. This combines a kickflip and a backside 180 ollie. Don’t try this if you haven’t mastered a kickflip or a 180, as it can be frustrating and perhaps risky.
17. Frontside 180 Kickflip
This is another combination of basic tricks. Similar to the backside 180, you need to know how to do a frontside 180 and a kickflip. Combine them for something impressive.
18. 360 Pop Shove It
It might have been better to list this earlier, but learning to shove your board 360 is essential for taking your skating to the next level. It requires effort to scoop your board all the way around, but with the correct technique, you can master it. Before combining with flips, make sure you’ve really mastered this one.
19. Backside Big Spin
Compared to previous tricks, this one is easier, but it’s still a challenge. You need to scoop the tail hard to spin it completely while turning your body 180 degrees. This is an amazing trick that unlocks new possibilities.
20. Frontside Big Spin
The frontside big spin is slightly harder than the backside version. While some might not love the look of this trick, it’s very impressive and great for combining with grinding. Place your front foot slightly below the deck bolts, with your toes hanging off the edge and the ball of your foot on the side to help scoop the board.
21. 360 Flip / Tre Flip
The Tre flip is a favorite because it looks so pro and impressive. Even though it is further down the list, some skaters nail this before being comfortable with simple drop-ins from a mini ramp. It’s all about perspective. Rodney Mullen came up with this trick, so make sure you’ve mastered the kickflip and 360 shuvits.
22. Ollie Impossible
Similar to the previous trick, you can pull this off fairly early, and this list is really a collection of tricks to practice whenever you feel ready. Even though it’s called impossible, it’s not as difficult as the previously listed flips. Just spin your board around your back foot and land when it reaches the right position. It’s easier said than done and requires the right angle. It shouldn’t go sideways but rather up and around.
23. Laser Flip
This is quite difficult to master. Make sure you’ve nailed the varial heelflip and 360 frontside shove-it before attempting it. Essentially, it’s a frontside 360 varial heelflip. It got its name from a video where lasers were heard in the background music.
24. Backside Big Spin Kickflip
This is difficult to execute and requires mastering the backside Bigspin, Varial Kickflip, and 360 Flip before attempting it.
25. Casper Flip
If you can consistently pull off Casper flips, you might stand a good chance in competitions. This trick always gets noticed. It’s a unique trick that will turn heads. Bobby Boyden, nicknamed Casper, invented the Casper flip in the late 70s. Rodney Mullen improved it and perfected it in the early 90s. There are numerous variations, but it basically involves a combination of a half kickflip and scooping it back onto the underside of the deck’s tail. It’s often mistaken for the hospital flip, but these are not the same.
Stationary or Moving?
There’s a constant debate about whether you should learn tricks stationary or while moving. Honestly, it’s up to you. Learning a trick while moving is completely different from doing it stationary, so starting there is a good approach. Most skaters begin stationary, but it’s riskier to injure yourself when you aren’t moving. It’s harder to move away from your board, kick away, and roll when you fall. Ultimately, the way you learn is your personal decision.
The Order Isn’t Everything
Remember, this list is meant for inspiration. There’s no strict order for learning skateboard tricks. Starting with Tre flips is probably not a good idea, so just pick a few tricks that seem achievable and start practicing. Some will come easily, while others will be harder. Some skaters are better at kickflips, others at heelflips, and some friends do massive airs in verts but cannot do a kickflip. As long as you have a solid foundation, focus on what you enjoy and are comfortable with. Skate as much as possible and have fun. The sequence of tricks you learn is all up to you.
Ruben Vee
Ruben Vee
I’m an experienced skateboarder still going strong. I started skateboarding 25 years ago, peaked in the 2000s, and still ride to this day. I’m a big geek when it comes to skateboard gear, love to test things, and share my findings.
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