Let’s talk frontside flips. Everybody loves them, and for good reason. If you have a solid frontside flip, you can build an entire skate career around it. It’s stylish, technical, and endlessly fun to watch and perform.
But mastering the frontside flip isn’t just about flicking and hoping for the best. It’s about precision, positioning, and understanding how your body and board work together. Let’s break it all down.
Setting Up: The Foot Position That Matters
Your front foot should hang off the board a fair bit. You’ll want to see some space between your toes and the toe edge of the skateboard. How high it sits on the board is up to you. Surprisingly, it doesn’t affect rotation as much as you might think.
Your back foot should sit at the center of the tail or just slightly on the toe side. Never hang your toes completely off the board. The key is loading both sides of the board: your front foot pressing the heel side and your back foot pressing the toe side. If you place your front foot more on the board, shift your back foot toward the heel side instead.
This balance lets you roll in a straight line without falling into a heel-side turn and gives the board the torque it needs to flip properly.
Common Setback: Heel-Side Turn Trap
When setting up for frontside flips, one of the biggest issues is ending up in an aggressive heel-side turn. The spin and flick both want to pull everything off the heel edge. To counter this, use your back toe to keep the board flat while loading the heel side. This lets you stay in control, hold your line, and still load the flip properly.
Weight Distribution: Right in the Middle
Too much weight over your front foot and the board won’t rotate. Too much over the back, and you’ll lose stability. Your best bet is to keep your weight evenly balanced between both feet. You can even favor the back foot slightly, but be careful—it takes practice to control.
The goal is to make the board react when you pop. If the board sticks while your body spins, it won’t flip. Your positioning should help the board move with you.
Loading Phase: Where Power Meets Control
This might feel different than you expect. Really press the ball of your back foot into the toe side pocket of the tail. As you bend down, shift slightly toward the heel side. At the same time, press your back toe down to keep the board flat. This creates tension that can be released during your pop, allowing you to push the tail forward like a front shove to initiate the rotation.
If you fall forward during this motion, it’s hard to get the board to follow through. You’ll under-rotate and land in front of your board. Instead, aim for a backward-sitting position that flattens the board and sets up a clean spin.
Launch Phase: It’s Not a Front 180
Think of it like a front shove more than a front 180. Don’t obsess over rotating the board with your front foot. Instead, pop and push the board out in front of you with your back foot. If you’re struggling to get the board to move, practice ollieing and pushing the board forward on the toe side.
The shape and direction of your tail strike matter a lot here.
Tail Strike: Where the Magic Happens
The tail of your board has three zones: center, toe side, and heel side. Most skaters assume that since a frontside flip spins and flips, the heel side of the tail does the work. But in reality, it’s the center or toe side that strikes the ground.
Popping off the toe side presents the heel-side rail to your front foot, setting up a solid flick. Popping off the heel side makes the rail run away from you, making your flick miss.
Focus on striking the ground in a way that sends the board out toward the toe side. That’s the shape of a proper frontside flip.
Wind-Up: Less Is More
I’m a big believer in winding up for tricks. But with frontside flips, a big wind-up can hurt your kickflip. Twisting too much across your shoulders interferes with the movement needed for a proper flick.
Instead, set up more square and stay slightly open as you launch. This keeps your kickflip intact and allows the back foot to handle most of the rotation.
Footwork in the Air
Once you’re in the air, it’s a front shove plus a kickflip. Pop early and push the board forward with your back foot so the tail strikes toward the toe side. This motion turns the board and raises the nose, setting you up to flick.
Plant your front foot high up on the nose. You might even see streaks from your shoe across the top of the nose. The flick should be soft and out, not straight down. Think “lift and flick,” not “kick and pray.”
This method takes effort. It’s not the easiest trick to learn. Build consistency in your kickflips, front 180s, and front shoves first. That foundation makes this trick way easier.
Halfway Point: The Catch
Now you’re mid-air and catching the board. Where is it? Ideally, the board should sit a few inches off your toe side, slightly in front of your center line.
You don’t want your toes off the edge or your weight on your heels. Both of those scenarios kill your rotation. Aim to have your heels slightly off the board while keeping a balanced center.
Landing: Stick It or Slide It
There are two reliable landing methods:
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Front-Heavy Catch – Float and rotate with your front foot ready to plant the front wheels. This lets you step forward out of the trick.
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Back-Heavy Catch – Shift more weight to your back foot halfway through. This helps pull your front foot back to finish the rotation.
Most frontside flips are a mix of both. Choose what feels right for your body. If you’re goofy, for example, balance off the inside of your right foot, then land on the inside of your left. This keeps you from slipping out the back.
Perfect landings are ideal, but not always realistic. If you land too far toe-side, focus on completing the rotation more aggressively. If you’re back on your heels, accept a little under-rotation and slide it out.
Final Thoughts
Frontside flips take hard work and repetition. Don’t just throw yourself at the trick. Build the skills around it. Work on manuals, ollies, front 180s, half cabs, shove-its, and kickflips. These are the tools that make frontside flips possible.
With practice and a focus on technique, this trick will become one of the most rewarding in your arsenal.