Tech Deck Tricks for the Beginner

Ollie

• The Ollie is your bread-and-butter fingerboard trick. Most of the more advanced tricks require an Ollie to provide the air necessary for the rest of the trick. To Ollie your fingerboard, place your pointer finger on the middle of the board over the Tech Deck logo and your middle finger on the board's tail. Move your hand horizontally to gain some speed. Simultaneously press down on the board's tail with your middle finger while lifting up your pointer finger. Lift your hand away from the skating surface and slide your pointer finger up the board towards the nose. Once your board is a few inches aloft, level out the board with your fingers and ride it down to the ground.

  With practice, you'll be able to Ollie without much thought. Continue working at it until you can consistently lift the board three or four inches above the skating surface. With a strong Ollie foundation, future tricks will be much easier to pull off.

Heelflip

• The Heelflip is one of the most impressive Ollie-based tricks a beginner can pull off. Essentially, you will be spinning the board horizontally on a central point in the middle of the board, much like a helicopter rotor. To begin this trick, start with a powerful Ollie. Once your board is in the air, flick your middle finger towards your palm, thereby spinning the back of the board towards you. Keep your pointer finger on the center of the board, as doing so will cause the board to rotate around this point of contact. Once the board rotates 180 degrees, place your middle finger on the new tail (formerly the nose) and ride the board down to the ground.

  The Heelflip will take some practice, but it is certainly an attainable trick for a Tech Deck beginner. Once you've mastered the 180-degree rotation, begin working on a 360-degree version.

Nose Grind

• The Nose Grind is one of the basic rail grinds, during which you ride your fingerboard down a rail on your board's nose. The trick has two main components: mounting the rail and dismounting the rail. Start this trick with your fingers in the standard Ollie position and gain some speed as you approach the rail. Ollie into the air and land on the rail. Quickly move your pointer finger onto the board's nose and press down, thereby lifting the tail from the rail. Slide the board down the rail on the nose until you reach the bottom of the rail. Quickly press down with your middle finger and lift up with your pointer finger to shift the board's weight to the rear. With the board's nose in the air, ride down to the ground and then bring down the nose.

  For a simpler grind, ride down the rail on your board's tail trucks. Alternatively, you can ride down the rail with your rear wheels on one side and your front wheels on the other. For a truly impressive trick, Ollie into the air, perform a Heelflip and then finish with a Nose Grind.