Skater's Lounge

[jason.richardson]

Hey, do you guys have any advice on trying frontside airs?

//H

Hey man - I can offer a few suggestions:

- this will be easier if you are skating a ramp with good coping. The coping needs to stick out at least half an inch. This allows you to "bang" your back wheels off the coping and pop your deck in your hand. This is a lot like a nocomply trick on street.

- approach the lip at an angle. You don't want to try frontside airs straight up and back down. That's hang-up city. You want to travel across the ramp.

- try and resist the urge to ollie out of the ramp. Try and bounce your board off the coping and grab your deck once you've popped away from the lip. Your momentum "should" continue to rotate you so you can re-enter. Should.

- Guess what? You're going to hang up. A lot. And hanging up is one of those things you just can't really control. Wear knee pads and practice dropping to your knees as soon as you feel like you're going to hang. Remember that there is no crying in skateboarding.

- you'll naturally know when to let go of your deck. You can hang on until you land, but that's kinda sissy.

Okay, go fast. Speed is your friend here and the best set-up trick you can do on the opposite lip is a tail stall.

GOOD LUCK and let us know how this goes.

jason

[Harley Stroh]

Can it be done on a mini? Or do I need a full 6 ft. very ramp?

//H

[Harley Stroh]

- this will be easier if you are skating a ramp with good coping. The coping needs to stick out at least half and inch. This allows you to "bang" your back wheels off the coping and pop your deck in your hand. This is a lot like a nocomply trick on street.

Wow. I never realized this.

- try and resist the urge to ollie out of the ramp. Try and bounce your board off the coping and grab your deck once you've popped away from the lip. Your momentum "should" continue to rotate you so you can re-enter. Should.

Nods. Do I need rails? This whole "grab the board" thing is pretty foreign.

//H

[jason.richardson]

Can it be done on a mini? Or do I need a full 6 ft. very ramp?

//H

Well, the only way I've ever pulled airs on a mini ramp required me to ollie. The transition on a mini usually isn't enough to pop you up. Usually you just go off over the platform, like a jump ramp. I'm sure it could be done, but you'd have to be a very skilled ramp skater - which I ain't!

[jason.richardson]

- this will be easier if you are skating a ramp with good coping. The coping needs to stick out at least half and inch. This allows you to "bang" your back wheels off the coping and pop your deck in your hand. This is a lot like a nocomply trick on street.

Wow. I never realized this.

- try and resist the urge to ollie out of the ramp. Try and bounce your board off the coping and grab your deck once you've popped away from the lip. Your momentum "should" continue to rotate you so you can re-enter. Should.

Nods. Do I need rails? This whole "grab the board" thing is pretty foreign.

//H

Haha, rails are sooo 80s!

I haven't skated with rails in years. However, boardslides on pool coping really eats away at your deck.

[Harley Stroh]

*laugh* See? Both my rpgs and my skating are about 30 years old.

//H