Glossary
Skateboard Tricktionary
X Games guide and glossary to Skateboard Terms and Tricks, updated over time as the sport is constantly evolving!
Skateboard Tricks
Skaters are constantly inventing and reinventing tricks. Indeed, the defining essence of action sports is progression and evolution of tricks. The maneuvers and variations are ever-changing and too numerous to all be named. Within the Skate disciplines, tricks can be broken down into the following basic categories, and many of these maneuvers can be done in combinations.
Skateboard Tricks
When all four wheels are off the ground at the same time.
Holding the nose with the front hand, the feet “walk” through the air above the board: front foot kicks forward, back foot kicks back.
When a trick is performed in the opposite direction from which the skater is moving. Mainly used on halfpipes and transitions.
An inverted handplant grabbing the outer edge of the board with the front hand behind the front foot, named for Dave Andrecht.
Frontside heelflip varial 540, invented by and named by Shaun White.
On a rail or obstacle, backside refers to the way the skater approaches. A backside boardslide, for example, is when a skater approaches with their back to the rail/obstacle. In a ramp or bowl, backside refers to an air or turn made when the skater's back is toward the coping and beyond the ramp while their front is facing into the ramp. Standard abbreviations: BS or B/S.
Frontside 180 to switch Smith grind. Named for Donny Barley, and Liz Akama is the first woman to do it in competition.
In the air, the back foot is hanging off the board (while the front foot remains on the board) and the back hand grabs the tail of the board before pulling it back under the skater's feet.
Emulates the surfing maneuver coined by Larry Bertlemann. Approach the wall and at the top of the transition make a turn while placing the back hand on the wall or bank and extending the body across the surface. Feet stay on the board and complete the frontside turn on four wheels and one hand. Popularized by Tony Alva and the Z-Boys.
A 360-degree kickflip or 360-degree heelflip while turning the body 180 degrees in the same direction.
A 540 kickflip while turning the body 180 degrees in the same direction.
A 360-degree shove-it while turning the body 180 degrees in the same direction.
A 540-degree shove-it while turning the body 180 degrees in the same direction.
A trick in which the back wheels either roll or pop over the coping or rail before the tail of the board locks into the coping or rail in a near vertical position to maintain either a stall (blunt) or slide (bluntslide).
Lifting the front truck to slide on an obstacle or lip with the contact point being the underside of the board between the trucks.
Backside nose grab, with the tail of the board smacking the coping as a rider re-enters a ramp. Variations include the “gnar jar” 540 to tail smack re-entry.
The skater’s body spins independently of the board.
The front foot is planted on the ground, obstacle or coping and pushes off while the board is controlled by the back foot and a grab.
Kickflip roast beef grab to fakie, invented and named by Reese Nelson.
A no-grab, fakie 360 named after Steve Caballero. The trick was originally performed on vert and in pools, but it has been adapted to street skating. The 180-degree variation of the trick is a half-Cab. Note: “Cab” is shorthand for the Caballerial trick itself which can be either frontside or backside.
To make a long, curving arc while skating
A backside air in which the front hand is holding the board, with the arms extended to the sides like a cross. Invented and named by Christian Hosoi.
A tail slide while grabbing the heelside of the nose by reaching across the front of the body with the rear hand.
Grinding on the front truck with the nose of the board and front, heelside wheel is pinched to lock the grind in at approximately 45-degree angle. Pioneered by Wade Speyer, named by Dan Peterka, and popularized by Erik Koston (the trick is sometimes called a K grind in Koston’s honor).
Front hand grips heelside of the board, just inside the front foot, with the back leg boned. The front leg is tucked up and the nose of the board is pulled into the body.
A boardslide with the deck upside down, so the grip tape is sliding instead of the underside of the board.
Landing an air in a vert ramp or quarterpipe with the rear wheels on top of an object, or over the coping, with the rail of the board on the edge. Essentially the same motion as a lipslide, but to a stall position. The front two wheels are hanging off the coping or object. Named for Duane “Master of Disaster” Peters.
Sliding the front foot off the nose of the board, so that it flips vertically between the legs (also known as a forward flip, frosty flip, murder flip).
Backside hand plant with front hand on the coping, Indy grab with rear hand. Variations include the McEgg (backside eggplant 540).
When the board and skater are riding the opposite direction as normal, but their feet remain placed on the board as if they were in their normal stance. This means the back foot is now in the front popping the tail (which is also in the front).
A 540-degree kickflip with a body rotation of 360 degrees in the same direction.
A 540-degree shove-it with a body rotation of 360 degrees in the same direction.
The back foot plants on the ground, obstacle or coping but only very briefly as they continue to push off and jump while the board is controlled by the front foot and a grab.
A grind in which the skater pops or clears their front truck over the coping or rail, locks the back truck onto coping or rail and proceeds to grind on both the back truck with the front trucking pointing down or away.
A double axle grind (on both trucks) on top of an obstacle. Originally meant the trucks were half on and half off while grinding coping or a ledge, now also used for any double axle grinds.
Spinning the board with the fingers while the feet are off the board.
Just the back truck is grinding, with the nose in the air.
Touching the floor or an obstacle with one foot.
On a rail or obstacle, frontside refers to the way the skater approaches. A frontside boardslide, for example, is when a skater approaches with their chest to the rail/obstacle. In a ramp, bowl or over a street obstacle, frontside refers to the skater spinning their body towards their heels. Standard abbreviations: FS or F/S.
Grabbing the toe side of the board between the nose and the tail with the rear hand on straight air or frontside rotation. Note: On any backside rotation, the same grab is referred to as an Indy grab.
Fakie hardflip late backside 180. Invented and named by Kareem Campbell.
Backside 540 nosegrab to body jar on the coping of a vert ramp, a signature trick of 2-time X Games gold medalist Sandro Dias.
To ride with the right foot forward. Opposite of "regular” foot.
Using a hand to grab the board.
General term used when one or both axles slide on the coping or an obstacle.
A no-grab fakie 180 (half of Caballerial no-grab fakie 360).
One hand holds the board to the feet while doing a one-handed handstand on flat ground or an obstacle.
When the board does a kickflip while spinning 180 degrees frontside and the body stays facing forward.
While performing an Ollie, the athlete’s front foot heel flicks the edge of the board (off the toe side) causing it to flip over. Variations include the varial heelflip (heelflip frontside pop shove-it) and inward heelflip (heelflip backside pop shove-it).
Starting with a 180, the back truck is placed on the obstacle, with the nose of the board facing backward and locked to the side of the obstacle opposite from where the skater approached.
An Ollie where the board spins 360 degrees while wrapping around the back foot. Trick named by Rodney Mullen. Note: the same trick wrapped around the front foot is differentiated as a front foot impossible.
Grabbing the toe side of the board with the rear hand on any backside air (capitalized because it’s in tribute to the Independent Truck Company). Note: On any straight air or frontside rotation, the same grab is referred to as a frontside grab.
An inverted handplant with the back hand on the coping, front hand grabbing the toe side edge of the board between the feet. Variations (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqGA2lvCSVY) include the sad plant (straightening the front leg, popularized by Lance Mountain), tuck-knee invert (reaching around the back knee and contorting the body into a scorpion shape), Smithvert (turning the board an extra 90 degrees, perpendicular to the coping, named for Mike Smith).
A backside shove-it heelflip.
The front hand grabs the toe edge between the feet and the front knee is tucked toward the back foot. Named by Tony Hawk, inspired by a photo of French-Japanese skater Philippe Mentone at Kiosai Skateboard Park in a 1985 TransWorld Skateboarding feature on the Japanese skate scene.
While grabbing the heel edge near the front wheel with the front hand, the front foot kicks off in front.
While performing an Ollie, the athlete’s front foot’s toes flick the edge of the board (off the heel side) edge of the board causing it to flip over.
When pressure is applied to the tail of the board, lifting the front and turning it in another direction.
A frontside 360 shove-it with a heelflip.
at the top of the transition once a grind has been initiated the back hand is placed on the coping allowing the body to become fully extended across the top of the ramp before re-entering entirely on their feet.
The front hand grabs the heel edge and the body leans out over the tail. Named for Neil Blender (it’s his first name spelled backward).
To force the tail of the board over the lip or rail and slide on the surface before re-entry. Same position as a boardslide but the rear wheels go over the obstacle before the slide happens (in a boardslide the front wheels go over the obstacle).
Nollie 360 varial heelflip.
Grabbing the heel edge near the front wheel with the front hand and kicking the front foot behind, then tapping the tail (body jar) on re-entry.
Another name for wheelie. Balancing on the back two wheels or front two wheels without scraping the nose or tail. Sometimes used to link tricks together.
Eggplant (backside hand plant with front hand on the coping, Indy grab with rear hand) with a 540-degree rotation like a McTwist.
An inverted, backside 540 grabbing Weddle performed on a ramp. Named after Mike McGill.
Grabbing the heel edge of the board with the front hand.
A tweaked melon grab, with the back leg fully extended while the front hand torques the board across the front of the body, often with the skater’s back arched.
Handplant 360 flipped all the way around to re-enter fakie, named for 1970s era pro skater (and 2022 Skateboard Hall of Fame inductee) Darrell Miller. The 540 variation of the trick is called a “unit.”
A grab with the front hand on the frontside rail between the toes. Historically known as a mute grab but officially renamed by Tony Hawk in 2020 to better honor its inventor, deaf (and not mute!) skater Chris Weddle.
Old school street skating trick. Travel along with rear foot on the tail, then the front foot slides off the board and is placed on the ground or obstacle while the board’s tail pops off the ground and into the air. Invented by Otis “O” Barthoulameu and named by Neil Blender, with countless variations popularized by other skaters.
An Ollie performed by tapping the nose instead of the tail, causing the rear trucks to leave the ground first.
To grab the nose of the board with the front hand.
A grind on the front truck. Variations include the crooked grind (with the rear of the board angled away from the obstacle).
Stalling on the front truck with the back axle in the air.
Sliding on the underside of the nose of the board, against the wheels, on a ramp lip, ledge or rail.
A no-grab air, or jump, performed by tapping the tail of the board on the ground or ramp surface, then sliding the front foot towards the nose to lift all four wheels off the ground. The trick, named after its inventor, Alan “Ollie” Gelfand, is an essential building block of modern skateboarding and most tricks (especially flatland tricks) could not be done without it.
A fakie invert. The skater approaches the wall riding fakie, plants the rear hand on the lip, and lands in the transition riding forward. Named after Jeff Phillips.
A shove-it (board spins 180 degrees beneath the skater’s feet) mixed with an Ollie. Enables a shove-it to be performed higher.
The same combination of rotations as a varial flip (read below), except the flip itself comes from carefully removing the front foot and releasing the board as it’s being pressed down with the back foot making a scooping motion (not a pop).
Standing on the long edge of the skateboard, so the deck surface is vertical. It’s an actual trick, but the term is also used to describe a trick that has gone badly by not getting wheels-down and landing on an edge while the board is perpendicular to the ground. Leads to lots of ankle injuries.
To ride with the left foot forward. Opposite of "goofy” foot.
A 180-degree rotation done by dragging the wheels on the ground or ramp surface. Note: reverts are sometimes done unintentionally, to rescue an over-rotated trick, and X Games judges regard an unintentional revert as a missed trick when scoring.
An inverted frontside 540.
A trick where the front trucks come over the coping or lip and the skater “rocks” on the underside of the board before making a kick turn at re-entry.
A Rock and Roll that doesn’t include a kick turn upon re-entry; the skater re-enters the ramp fakie.
The nose of the board is grabbed with both hands, with both feet on the tail and the legs straight. Invented (and named) by Christian Hosoi.
An invert (handplant with the back hand on the coping, front hand on inside edge of the board between the feet) with the front leg straightened and the rear leg bent at the knee. Popularized by Lance Mountain.
5-0 grind (on the rear truck) turned over the rail or ledge until it is almost a bluntslide. Named for Eric Dressen (because you can’t have a salad without Dressen).
Indy kickflip with a finger flip.
The front foot circles around the nose of the board before the front hand grabs the nose while the front foot returns to the board.
On a vert ramp, the skater will gain air above the coping on opposite sides of the ramp without doing a trick to gain height for a big trick.
A trick performed by spinning the board 180 degrees while both body and board travel forward without hitting the tail of the board on the ground (hitting the tail turns it into a pop shove-it).
A Weddle grab while airing frontside.
A grind on the back truck with the rail of the board also sliding the lip of the same ramp or obstacle, while the front truck is dipped down in the direction the skater approached from. Named for Mike Smith.
Grabbing the board on the backside with the rear hand around the back of the rear leg. Pioneered by Mark Gonzales and later named by Swedish skate campers after seeing visiting pro Tony Hawk do it, as a tribute to the herring served at the camp cafeteria.
Further rotating the body than a hurricane grind, the front truck is ultimately positioned on the side of the object the skater approached from (now in the back) while the back truck (now in the front) locks in the grind.
Backside 5-0 twisted until it is almost a tailslide. Named for Aaron Suski.
Usually simply called “switch.” Feet are placed opposite of normal stance, and the skateboard is ridden with the nose forward. Not the same as fakie, where skater rides the board backwards with the tail forward.
The back end of the board from the back two truck bolts to the end of the board.
To grab the tail of the board with the back hand.
Sliding on the underside of the tail end of a board against the back wheels on a ledge, lip or rail.
Moving from one obstacle or part of the course to another, usually in the air.
More commonly known as a 360 flip. The skateboard does a 360-degree spin with a kickflip beneath the rider’s feet (the rider does not spin with the board).
grab with the front hand on the frontside rail. Historically known as a mute grab but officially renamed by Tony Hawk in 2020 to better honor its inventor, deaf (and not mute!) skater Chris Weddle.
A nollie backside 270 noseslide backside 270 out, pioneered by and named for Yuto Horigome.
A 540 version of a Miller flip (360 handplant).
An aerial where the board is spun from backwards to forwards beneath the feet.
A kickflip and backside shove-it occurs simultaneously.
To ride on a wall that has no transition.
An Ollie performed during a wall ride.
Half of a complete lateral rotation.
Spinning a three-quarter rotation.
A full rotation.
One and a half rotations. See variations above including McTwist, rodeo, unit.
Two full rotations. First landed on a vert ramp by Tony Hawk in 1985.
Two and a half rotations. First landed on a vert ramp by Tony Hawk at X Games San Francisco 1999. Variations include the 900 judo, first landed by Gui Khury at X Games California 2023. Arisa Trew became the first woman to land a 900, on May 30, 2024.
Three rotations. Attempted by Shaun White in Vert Best Trick at X Games in 2005 and 2006. Tom Schaar (then age 12) landed the spin for the first time on a modified Mega Ramp in March 2012. Gui Khury was the first to land a 1080 on a traditional vert ramp, for Vert Best Trick gold at X Games 2021.
Three and half rotations. Mitchie Brusco became the first skateboarder to land a 1260, doing so at X Games Minneapolis 2019.