Skateboarding Guide: 12 Skateboard Tricks for Beginners

Complex tricks, like gazelle flips, slide tricks, handstands, and fakies evolve from their simpler predecessors. For a list of basic skateboard tricks beginning skaters can try, check out the following guide below:

1. 1. Ollie: The ollie is a skateboarding trick that involves snapping the tail of the board off of a surface, bringing your board up into the air. The ollie is the foundation to almost every trick on the street, and most ramp tricks.
2. 2. Nollie: A nose ollie, or a “nollie,” uses the same principle as the regular ollie, except instead of snapping down on the tail of the skateboard to pop the front wheels, you use your front foot to snap down on the nose of the board instead, which pops the tail.
3. 3. Kickturns: To perform a kickturn, use your back foot to press down on the tail and raise the nose of the board, turning it into a new direction.
4. 4. Pop shuv-it: The frontside or a backside pop shuv-it (or pop shove-it) combines a regular shove-it—when the board spins 180 or 360 degrees with minimal air—with the pop of an ollie.
5. 5. Hardflip: The hardflip is a trick that combines a frontside 180 pop shuv-it and a kickflip. This trick’s name is derived from how difficult it can be to execute.
6. 6. Kickflip: A kickflip is a common skateboard trick that pops the skater up into the air, using their feet to flip the board a full rotation—360 degrees. With a kickflip, the board spins mid-air toward the skater.
7. 7. Heelflip: To perform a heelflip, the skateboarder starts with an ollie then kicks their front foot out diagonally, using their front heel to flip the board. This move makes the board spin outward from the toes—the opposite of a kickflip.
8. 8. Frontside 180: A frontside 180 is a skateboarding trick that combines an ollie with a 180-degree turn. After you learn how to do a regular ollie, this is another basic trick that is easy enough for any new skateboarder to learn.
9. 9. Backside 180: The same as the frontside 180, except the difference with this trick is that you lead with your back, rather than your chest, spinning in the opposite direction as you would for a frontside.
10. 10. Powerslide: Once you learn how to brake regularly and kickturn, a powerslide is a quick way to stop your board. A powerslide involves turning the board sideways while in motion so that the wheels skid to a stop.
11. 11. Manual: Riding manual is the skateboarding version of a wheelie—it involves balancing on the tail end of the board while the opposite side is raised into the air.
12. 12. Nose manual: Nose manual is similar to riding manual, except the nose of the board is pressed down, while the back wheels are popped up. While it may take some time to practice, it is one of the best tricks to help improve your balance in the long-run.

Whether you’re just learning how to ollie or ready to tackle a Madonna (the vert trick, not the singer), the MasterClass Annual Membership can help you find confidence on your board with exclusive instructional videos from skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, street skater Riley Hawk, and Olympic hopeful Lizzie Armanto.