Victoria Avila

Me skateboarding with my friend in the parking lot of a playground, attempting to pull off the pop up trick.

In the last article, the different beginner tricks were discussed in order to help amateur skaters get a better understanding of where they should start when trying out tricks on their board. In this article, we will be continuing on with the more beginner/intermediate tricks and how to pull them off. This article will go through running start, the ollie, and pop up.

Trick 1: Running Start

To get a general idea of this trick, this is like getting a head start in skating around quickly and more efficiently than usual. For this trick, you start with holding the nose (front) of the skateboard with your left hand if you’re regular footing or right if you’re goofy footing. Once you do that, you run and slowly let the back wheels down to the surface. Once it’s low enough that the wheels start rolling on the ground, let go of the board and jump on it using both of your feet. This helps with boosting you forwards and you move quickly around the board. 

Trick 2: The Ollie

This trick is incredibly well known and popular amongst the skater community. Although it can be kind of tricky (no pun intended) to pull off, with practice and patience, you will get it. To pull this off, place your back foot on the tail (back) of the board, and your front foot on the board a bit below the bolts. Once you do that, you essentially push the tail down a little bit while sliding your foot upwards and jumping up. It’s easier said than done, but once you practice and put your mind to it, you can easily do it.

Tip: If you struggle with this trick and can’t really manage to put your brain to it, imagine yourself jumping but making sure you take the board with you.

Trick 3: Pop Up

Going back to the more simple tricks, here’s the pop up. Think of this trick being somewhat similar to the manual from the last article, except this time you’re catching yourself. With both feet on the board, you have to pop the tail of the board firm enough to get the nose into the air. When that happens, you catch the board with your left if you’re regular, or right if you’re goofy. It can be difficult to catch the board and be able to pop the tail hard enough to get the nose to go up, but keep practicing and it’ll improve. It also looks really cool once you practice a lot and it’s more smooth. 

Don’t forget that, even though performing tricks can be difficult and practicing can be very time consuming, they’re really fun and worth it in the end. Viewing skateboarding as a fun game rather than something boring or something you’re forced to do is the best way to view it. I highly recommend wearing knee pads and a helmet while skateboarding. But always have the mindset to just get back up and never give up.