How to Tail Slide

The tail slide is a skateboarding trick that was originally developed on the coping edge of pools and vertical ramps and later performed on ledges and rails as a street-skating trick. It's one of the more advanced slide tricks, as it requires precise weight distribution in order to start and maintain momentum in the slide. It can be performed either frontside or backside.

Things You'll Need

  • A rail or ledge that you can easily ollie over
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Instructions

    • 1

      Approach your obstacle at about a 30 degree angle. This makes mounting it a little easier. If you ride parallel to the ledge, you'll need to sidestep as well as pivot when you ollie. Approaching at an angle means that when you ollie, your momentum will take care of the sidestep and carry you over the edge of the obstacle, where you need to be. All you'll need to do is pivot the board under your feet.

    • 2

      Place your feet in the normal ollie takeoff position, with your back foot on the tip of the tail, front foot across the board behind the front trucks. Bend your knees and compress in preparation for the pop. When the nose of your board is close to the obstacle, pop your ollie and turn your shoulders as if performing a 180 ollie.

    • 3

      Guide the board upward to the peak of its ollie, just as you would with a 180. As it starts to descend, gently but quickly guide the tail toward the obstacle. This is the hardest part of the tail slide, guiding the board to just the right position and planting your foot on it without spinning it or kicking it away.

    • 4

      Slap the tail of your board onto the obstacle. Ideally, the trucks should barely be touching the side of the obstacle, as this will sap the momentum of your slide. But they should be close to the side; if you position them too far from the edge, you will have little to no board to stand on.

    • 5

      Transfer your weight through the ball of your back foot so the board points slightly upward. If you had enough speed and the board contacted the ledge correctly, you should start to slide. To exit, you can either pivot the nose toward the direction you are heading and let the tail pop off the ledge, or you can push your back foot forward to ride out fakie. Keep your feet over the truck bolts until you are safely on the ground.