Skateboarding
Skateboarding
How to heelflip: A comprehensive guide
As you hone your skateboarding skills, mastering the heelflip is an important part of progressing to the next level.
Since the 1980s, expert skaters have been enjoying the thrill and challenge of the heelflip. The origin of this technically-complex trick is credited to famed skating innovator Rodney Mullen, creator of classic moves like the ollie and kickflip. It’s far from the easiest move to maneuver, but once you get it right, the payoff is sweet. After all, what fun is skating if you never push yourself? As Red Bull skater Felipe Gustavo says, “It’s good to experience pressure.”
Read ahead for a guide on how to heelflip. You’ll learn some useful tips for mastering each part of this impressive trick.
Zuzanna Bone does a heelflip at Warsaw, Poland
© Kuba Skorupski / Red Bull Content Pool
Understanding the heelflip
Once you’ve graduated to more advanced tricks, the heelflip is a must-have move to master. If you’re familiar with kickflips, the concept is pretty similar, but with an outward versus inward spin on your board’s axis. You’ll pop an ollie, kick toward the toe-side corner of your front foot, land, and roll on to your next move. Just as with a kickflip, this takes precise footing, balance, and plenty of practice to get just right.
Preparing for the heelflip
As with any new trick, the heelflip takes some trial and error before you can land it perfectly. Wearing proper safety protection gear is essential and, of course, a sturdy, well-cushioned pair of shoes. This way, if you do fall down, it’s no problem to get back up and try again. If you don’t have access to a skatepark to practice in, wide open spaces like an empty parking lot are your best friend.
Since heelflips can be one of the more challenging tricks to learn, it’s also a good idea to work on strengthening exercises between practices. Fundamental skateboard balance tips like focusing on ankle strength are important to remember when you want to grow your skating repertoire.
Torey Pudwill performs a nollie backside heelflip crooked grind in Prague
© Anthony Acosta / Red Bull Content Pool
01
How to heelflip: a step-by-step guide
Now, let’s break this trick down. When the moment arrives to try your first heelflip, here’s what you need to know.
Get in position
As you start to move on your board, you’ll place your front foot with your toes hanging off the board’s edge. Your back foot will be at the very end of the board’s tail, with the ball of your foot right at the deck’s edge, and your heel hanging off. Keep your stance low to the ground, with your shoulders in line with the board.
Pop, flick, kick
To start your heelflip, you’ll pop an ollie. As you pop the board, shift your weight back while maintaining balance. When the board starts to catch air, move your front foot to the edge of your board’s nose. As your foot starts to lift off the deck, flick the board with your front-foot heel and press down on the board’s front edge.
Vitoria Mendonça does a heelflip in Sao Paulo, Brazil
© Gaston Francisco / Red Bull Content Pool
Landing your skateboard
Watch the board as it rotates on its axis, and then use your back foot to catch the edge of the board. You may need to bring your knees up to your chest before dropping your feet back down as the board spins. Be sure to bend your knees when you land, with your board parallel to the ground. From there, you’ll roll away, and voila — you’ve completed your first heelflip.
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How to heelflip: practice and progression
If your first heelflip didn’t turn out exactly as described above, don’t sweat it too much. Getting the hang of this trick takes time and consistent practice. It can also take a minute to learn how to apply an even amount of pressure as you find your footing. And of course, training your feet to go back instead of forward to catch the board as it lands takes some extra attention. It’s totally normal if the board gets away from you the first few tries. Even Natas Kaupas didn’t land on the board when he made the first heelflip attempt ever recorded on film in 1986.
If you want to build muscle memory one step at a time, you can break down the different parts of a heelflip first. Warm up with some ollies, then stand stationary with the front of your board up and practice flicking your front foot along the deck. Once it’s time to put it all together, make a point to practice leaning back toward your heels. This way, the board lands underneath your feet, not behind you.
The most important thing is to stay patient and persistent — the heelflip is one of the more advanced skateboarding tricks to master. If you’ve made it to the heelflip, you’re already in good shape. After you’ve spent some time practicing, you’ll be ready to show off your new move before you know it.
Make an impact with the heelflip
As you hone your skating skills, mastering the heelflip is an important part of progressing to the next level. Once you’ve aced this trick from start to finish, you can push yourself even further with variations like the double or switch heelflip. It takes some practice, but it’s well worth it in the end. There’s nothing quite like that feeling of watching your board spin and landing perfectly for the first time.
