Skateboarding Tips: How to do a Frontside Ollie Tailgrab from Greg Lutzka

What this video teaches

Greg Lutzka walks through the frontside ollie tailgrab on a mini ramp, starting with speed: pump for a lot of it, because the trick needs air to happen. He pops like a frontside 180 with the shoulders kept turned and the head looking over the shoulder, bonking slightly off the coping on the way up, and grabs the tail near the top of the air. His key idea is that grabbing the tail lets you pull the board and yourself back toward the ramp, which is why he calls it easier than a melon where you have to reach under your front foot to the middle of the board. Coming back in, guide with the back hand and release about a foot before the coping, landing with the wheels as close to the coping as possible.

Key tips

• 1Pump for real speed first; without air there is no time to reach the grab
• 2Pop like a frontside 180 and keep your shoulders turned, looking over your shoulder so you do not hang up on the way in
• 3Grab the tail at the top of the air with the back hand, which is already close to it, then pull it in with you toward the ramp
• 4Easier than a melon because you are not reaching under your front foot to the middle of the board
• 5Guide with the back hand and let go about a foot before the coping; land close to the coping, not at the bottom, or you lose all your speed

Summarized from the video transcript.