Power Slide

All three coaches treat the powerslide as a riding and balance skill rather than a pop trick, and all three start with frontside because backside is significantly harder. They agree the turn is driven from the head and shoulders with the hips following, and that the back wheels are the ones being dragged while the front truck pivots. Foot and weight placement is the central theme: Skate IQ wants the toes set back off the toe-side rail and the hips sitting well behind the board, while Braille frames the same idea as a narrow balance window where leaning too far forward stops you over the nose and too far back slides the board away. Skate IQ is the only one who insists on a slight jump to unweight the wheels into the 90 degree turn, and the only one who stresses that the slide is active and must be pushed the whole way. Braille offers the best drill for beginners, pivoting on the front truck while audibly dragging the back wheels, and links each direction to the matching 180. Spencer Nuzzi differs mainly in framing, treating it as a loose shoulder and hip motion and recommending wet ground to make sliding easier. All agree that once you break the grip threshold, more speed actually makes the slide easier and more predictable.

• →Learn frontside first; every coach treats the backside powerslide as much harder and recommends having backside 180s dialled before trying it
• →Keep your toes back from the toe-side rail and sit behind the board on your heels; if you cross over to the toe side the wheels grip and throw you off the front
• →Turn the head and shoulders first and let the hips and back leg follow, then let the back wheels drag while the front truck pivots
• →Unweight the wheels with a slight jump into the 90 degree turn instead of pressing down, otherwise there is too much traction to break loose
• →Keep pushing your feet forward through the slide; it is active, not a coast, and stopping the push lets the wheels stick and roll again
• →Once you can break the wheels loose, adding speed makes it easier and more predictable, and slick or wet ground helps while learning

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