A Complete Guide of Skateboarding Trick Names: From Beginner to Pro

Skateboarding is more than just a sport; it’s a culture, a lifestyle, and an art form. Central to this world is the vast vocabulary of skateboarding trick names. Whether you’re a beginner just learning to ollie or a seasoned pro landing complex combos, understanding the lingo is essential. This comprehensive guide breaks down the different categories of skateboarding tricks, providing you with a complete list of skateboarding trick names to elevate your game and impress your fellow skaters.

Skateboard Flip Tricks: Defying Gravity

Flip tricks are arguably the most visually appealing and technically challenging maneuvers in skateboarding. They involve rotating the board mid-air using your feet. Mastering these tricks requires precision, timing, and a solid understanding of board control. Here’s a breakdown of various flip tricks:

Alpha Flip: A rare and complex flip trick.
Anti Casper Flip: A variation of the Casper flip.
Backside Flip: An ollie combined with a backside 180 and a kickflip.
Backside Heelflip: An ollie combined with a backside 180 and a heelflip.
Big Heelflip: A bigspin combined with a heelflip.
Bigflip: A bigspin combined with a kickflip.
Biggerflip: A larger version of the bigflip, involving more rotation.
Bigspin: A 360 shuvit with a 180 body varial.
Biggerspin: A larger version of the bigspin, involving more rotation.
Bubble Flip: A creative and unique flip trick.
Caballerial Flip: A fakie 360 ollie combined with a flip trick.
Camel Flip: A visually distinct and less common flip trick.
Casper Flip: A stall trick where the board flips from a Casper position.
Daydream Flip: Another creative and less common flip trick.
De Comply: A no-comply variation.
Disco Flip: A stylish and uncommon flip trick.
Feather Flip: A light and airy flip trick.
Fingerflip: A trick where the board is flipped using a finger.
540 Flip: An ollie with a 540-degree rotation combined with a kickflip.
Forward Flip: A flip trick involving a forward rotation.
Frontside Flip: An ollie combined with a frontside 180 and a kickflip.
Frontside Heelflip: An ollie combined with a frontside 180 and a heelflip.
Front Foot Impossible: The board wraps around the front foot.
Gazelle Flip: A 360 flip with a body varial.
Gazelle Spin: A spinning trick with a body varial.
Ghetto Bird: A combination of a 360 flip and a varial heelflip.
Gingersnap: A unique and less common flip trick.
Grape Flip: Another creative and less common flip trick.
Handstand Flip: A flip trick performed while in a handstand position.
Hardflip: A frontside pop shuvit combined with a kickflip.
Haslam Flip: A modern and technical flip trick.
Heelflip: An ollie where the board rotates behind the skater using the heel.

Halfcab: A fakie backside 180 ollie.
Hospital Flip: A painful trick where the board hits the skater’s leg.
Illusion Flip: A visually deceptive and complex flip trick.
Impossible: The board wraps around the back foot.
Inward Heelflip: A backside pop shuvit combined with a heelflip.
Jesus Flip: A rare and visually striking flip trick.
Kickback Flip: A flip trick involving a kickback motion.
Kickflip: An ollie where the board rotates under the skater.
Kiwi Flip: A less common and creative flip trick.
Laser Flip: A 360 shuvit combined with a heelflip.
Nerd Flip: A humorous and creative flip trick.
Nightmare Flip: A visually chaotic and difficult flip trick.
No Comply: A trick where the front foot comes off the board.
Orange Flip: A creative and visually interesting flip trick.
Ollie North: Grabbing the nose of the board during an ollie.
Ollie South: Grabbing the tail of the board during an ollie.
Plasma Spin: A spinning trick with a unique visual effect.
Pop Shuvit: The board spins 180 degrees without flipping.
Pressure Flip: A flip trick initiated using pressure rather than an ollie.
Rail Flip: A flip trick performed while on a rail.
Semiflip: A partial flip trick.
720 Flip: An ollie with a 720-degree rotation combined with a kickflip.
Sex Change: A manual where the skater switches their feet.
Shuvit: The board spins 180 degrees without flipping, similar to Pop Shuvit
Sigma Flip: A modern and technical flip trick.
360 Flip: An ollie with a 360-degree rotation combined with a kickflip.
360 Shuvit: The board spins 360 degrees without flipping.
360 Ollie Heelflip: An ollie with a 360-degree rotation combined with a heelflip.
360 Ollie Kickflip: An ollie with a 360-degree rotation combined with a kickflip.
Toeflip: A variation of the kickflip using the toes.
Underflip: A flip trick involving an under rotation.
Varial Heelflip: A pop shuvit combined with a heelflip.
Varial Kickflip: A pop shuvit combined with a kickflip.

Grind and Slide Skateboard Tricks: Mastering the Edge

Grind and slide tricks involve riding along an edge or surface. These tricks require balance, control, and the ability to lock into a grind or slide. Here’s a list of grind and slide tricks:

Barley Grind: A less common and creative grind trick.
Bertleman Slide: A classic and stylish slide trick.
Bluntslide: Sliding on the tail of the board.
Boardslide: Sliding on the middle of the board.
Backside Lipslide: A lipslide performed on the backside of an obstacle.
Frontside Boardslide: A boardslide performed on the frontside of an obstacle.
Casperslide: A slide performed from a Casper position.
Crail Slide: A slide trick involving a Crail grab.
Crooked Grind: Grinding on the front truck at an angle.
Darkslide: Sliding on the top of the board.
50-50 Grind: Grinding on both trucks.
5-0 Grind: Grinding on the back truck only.
Feeble Grind: Grinding on the back truck with the front truck hanging off the edge.
Hurricane: A complex grind trick involving a 180-degree rotation.
Layback Grind: A grind where the skater leans back.
Lipslide: Sliding on the edge of an obstacle with the board behind you.
Losi Grind: A grind trick invented by Christian Hosoi.
Nail Slide: Sliding on the bolts of the board.
Noseblunt Slide: Sliding on the nose of the board.
Nosegrind: Grinding on the front truck only.
Noseslide: Sliding on the nose of the board.
Overcrook Grind: A variation of the crooked grind.
Overturn: A turning trick on an obstacle.
Primo Grind: Grinding on the edge of the board.
Salad Grind: Grinding on the back truck with the front truck over the edge.
Slash Grind: A quick grind used to change direction.
Smith Grind: Grinding on the back truck with the front truck hanging under the edge.
Suski Grind: A creative and less common grind trick.
Tailblock Grind: Grinding on the tailblock of the board.
Tailslide: Sliding on the tail of the board.
Willy Grind: A creative and difficult grind trick.

Grab and Air Skateboard Tricks: Taking Flight

Grab and air tricks involve catching air and grabbing different parts of the board. These tricks combine style, technique, and a good sense of timing. Here are some common grab and air tricks:

180: Rotating the board and body 180 degrees.
Frontside 180: Rotating the board and body 180 degrees frontside.
Backside 180: Rotating the board and body 180 degrees backside.
270: Rotating the board and body 270 degrees.
360: Rotating the board and body 360 degrees.
540: Rotating the board and body 540 degrees.
720: Rotating the board and body 720 degrees.
900: Rotating the board and body 900 degrees.
Airwalk: Grabbing the board while airborne and walking on it.
Backflip: Flipping backward while airborne.
Benihana: Grabbing the tail with the front hand while kicking out the back leg.
Body Jar: A trick involving a rotation of the body.
Caballerial: A fakie 360 ollie.
Cannonball: Grabbing both feet while airborne.
Christ Air: Grabbing the board with one hand while extending the other arm.
Crail Grab: Grabbing the nose with the back hand while kicking out the front leg.
Crossbone: Grabbing the board with both hands in a cross shape.
Delmar Indy: A variation of the Indy grab.
Double Grab: Grabbing the board with both hands.
Frigid Air: A grab trick with a unique style.
Frontside Air: Grabbing the board on the frontside while airborne.
Grosman Grab: A grab trick with a distinctive style.
Helipop: A trick involving a helicopter-like rotation.
Indy Grab: Grabbing the board on the toe-side edge between the feet with the back hand.

Japan Air: Grabbing the toe-side edge with the front hand while bending the knees.
Judo Air: Grabbing the nose with the front hand while kicking out the legs.
Lien Air: Grabbing the heel-side edge with the front hand.
Madonna: Grabbing the heel-side edge with the back hand while kicking out the front leg.
McTwist: A frontside 540 on a ramp.
Melancholy Grab: Grabbing the heel-side edge between the feet with the back hand.
Method Air: Grabbing the heel-side edge with the front hand while arching the back.
Mute Air: Grabbing the toe-side edge with the front hand.
Nosebone: Grabbing the nose of the board and extending the front leg.
Nose Grab: Grabbing the nose of the board.
Nuclear Grab: Grabbing the tail with the front hand while boning out the front leg.
Ollie to Fakie: An ollie landed in a fakie stance.
Roastbeef Grab: Grabbing the heel-side edge between the feet with the back hand while tweaking the board behind the back.
Rocket Air: Grabbing the toe-side edge with the back hand while extending the front leg.
Sacktap: A humorous and risky grab trick.
Sal Flip: A flip trick with a unique style.
Saran Wrap: A trick involving wrapping the legs around the board.
Seatbelt Grab: Grabbing the toe-side edge with the front hand while reaching across the body.
Slob Air: Grabbing the heel-side edge with the front hand while boning out the front leg.
Stalefish Grab: Grabbing the heel-side edge between the feet with the back hand.
Stiffy: A grab trick with a straight-legged extension.
Superman Grab: Grabbing the board and extending the body like Superman.
Tailbone: Grabbing the tail of the board and extending the back leg.
Tail Grab: Grabbing the tail of the board.
Tuck Knee: Bringing the knees up to the chest while airborne.
Varial: A pop shuvit with a body varial.

Ramp and Footplant Skateboard Tricks: Lip Service

Ramp and footplant tricks are performed on ramps, often involving using the coping (the metal edge at the top of the ramp). These tricks require a good understanding of ramp dynamics and board control. Here’s a list of ramp and footplant tricks:

Axle Stall: Stalling on the axle of the trucks on the coping.
Bean Plant: Grabbing the board and planting a hand on the ramp.
Blunt: Stalling on the tail of the board on the coping.
Boneless: Grabbing the board with one hand and taking a step off the board.
Crailtap: Tapping the tail of the board on the coping.
Creeper: A slow and controlled footplant trick.
Disaster: Landing on the coping with the board perpendicular to the ramp.
Egg Plant: Planting a hand on the ramp and extending the legs.
Fastplant: A quick and stylish footplant trick.
Gymnast Plant: A complex footplant trick with gymnastic elements.
Ho-Ho: A footplant trick with a unique style.
Layback Air: An air trick with a layback element.
Miller Flip: A flip trick invented by Wally Miller.
Nose Pick: Stalling on the nose of the board on the coping.
Nose Stall: Stalling on the nose of the board on the coping.
Noseblunt: Stalling on the nose of the board at an angle on the coping.
Pivot: Pivoting on the trucks on the ramp.
Pivot Fakie: Pivoting on the trucks and landing in a fakie stance.
Pull Up: Pulling up the board onto the coping.
Rock and Roll: Rolling onto the coping and back down.
Rock to Fakie: Rolling onto the coping and landing in a fakie stance.
Sad PlantFS Smith: A combination of a sad plant and a frontside Smith grind.
Staple Gun: A footplant trick with a unique style.
Sweeper: A sweeping motion with the board on the ramp.
Tailblock: Stalling on the tailblock of the board on the coping.
Power Ollie: An ollie with extra power and height.
Tail Stall: Stalling on the tail of the board on the coping.
Texas Plant: A footplant trick with a Texas-style flair.
Texas Two-Step: A footplant trick with a two-step motion.

Miscellaneous Skateboard Tricks: The Wildcard Category

This category includes tricks that don’t fit neatly into the other categories. These tricks often involve creative movements, unconventional techniques, and a bit of improvisation.

Acid Drop: Dropping into a ramp from a standing position.
Alley Oop: Approaching an obstacle backward and performing a trick.
Body Varial: Rotating the body 180 degrees while the board stays in place.
Casper: Balancing the board on its side with one foot.
Caveman: Jumping onto the board from the ground.
Coffin: Lying on the board with arms crossed.
Daffy: Riding with one foot on the nose and one foot on the tail.
Firecracker: Riding down stairs while making a loud noise.
Flamingo: Riding with one leg extended.
Hippy Jump: Jumping over an obstacle without the board.
Hang Ten: Riding with both feet on the nose of the board.
Invert: Balancing on the hands with the board in the air.
Kickturn: Turning the board by lifting the nose or tail.
Manual: Balancing on the back wheels.
Nose Manual: Balancing on the front wheels.
One Foot Manual: Performing a manual with one foot off the board.
One Wheel Manual: Balancing on one wheel.
Primo: Riding on the edge of the board.
Pogo: Bouncing the board on the tail.
Powerslide: Sliding the board sideways to slow down or stop.

Roll In: Rolling into a ramp from a standing position.
Tic-Tac: Using small kickturns to gain momentum.

Level Up Your Skateboarding Vocabulary

Understanding skateboarding trick names is vital for communication within the skate community and helps you better understand the mechanics and techniques involved in each trick. Whether you’re just starting or pushing your limits, this comprehensive guide to skateboarding trick names provides a foundation for growth and progression in the sport. So, get out there, practice, and start adding these tricks to your repertoire!