Freestyle Skateboarding Trick Tip: How to Gazelle with Jesse Whalen

What this video teaches

Jesse Whalen teaches the classic freestyle gazelle, done off the nose backside, which he breaks down as a 540 shove-it with a 360 body varial but in practice feels like a nollie backside big spin with an extra pivot at the end. Foot placement follows the nollie back big spin: front foot up on the nose, back foot somewhere between the centre of the board and the tail, and both feet rotated slightly toward the direction you are spinning so your body opens up when you jump. His key difference from a plain big spin is where you look: instead of watching the ground you turn your head and shoulders toward the direction of the spin first, and the hips and legs follow. Coming out of the big spin you catch the board in a fakie pivot, and he says the momentum you already have will carry you through the last part as long as your timing on the catch is right.

Key tips

• 1The freestyle gazelle is a nollie backside big spin with an extra pivot, technically a 540 shove-it with a 360 body varial
• 2Front foot up on the nose, back foot between the centre of the board and the tail, both angled slightly toward the direction of the spin
• 3Look toward the direction you are spinning instead of down at the ground; this is the biggest difference from a normal big spin
• 4Turn the shoulders first and let the hips and legs follow, as with any 360 rotation
• 5Catch the board in a fakie pivot as it comes back to you; the momentum finishes the trick if the timing is right
• 6The two main problems are under-rotating the board and catching it at the wrong moment, so landing a big spin, rolling a little, then pivoting fakie is a normal in-between stage

Summarized from the video transcript.