How To: BACKSIDE 180 | Backside 180 Tutorial

What this video teaches

Tom Rohrer teaches backside 180s by distinguishing two styles: the scoop way (stylish, lower) and the pop way (more height, better foundation for backside flips and big spins). The core mechanical instruction is to twist your shoulders backside before you pop, since rotating your torso causes your feet to follow automatically, reducing how much deliberate foot scooping you need. He also covers the back-foot ollie position (shifted slightly toward the heel-side for a backside scoop) and front-foot behavior mirroring a standard ollie.

Key tips

• 1Learn frontside 180s before backside 180s: they are typically easier and build the rotation fundamentals
• 2Two styles: scoop way (stylish, low) vs pop way (centered toe on tail); learn the pop way for progression into backside flips and big spins
• 3Back foot shifts slightly toward the heel-side of the tail (not centered), enabling the board to scoop backside; beginners can hang the foot off more initially
• 4Twist your shoulders backside before you pop: your feet and the board follow the torso rotation automatically
• 5Your face turns with the shoulders: look backside before the pop, not just twist the shoulders
• 6Front foot slides forward like an ollie as you pop, and the back foot lifts to level the board, just like an ollie
• 7Practice half-rotations first: get comfortable with the backside shoulder twist and board scoop before committing to a full 180
• 8Eventually work toward keeping the back toe more centered on the tail for better pop and a level board through the rotation

Summarized from the video transcript.