How to Ollie on a Skateboard 

The Ollie is the first trick that most skateboarders learn. Learning to ollie makes sense – the ollie is the foundation of almost all flatland and park skateboarding tricks. Once you learn how to ollie, you’ll be able to move on to learning all kinds of other skateboarding tricks, or inventing your own skateboarding tricks. Have fun and remember it is always a good idea to wear some type of head, knee and elbow protection when skateboarding.

If you are brand new to skateboarding, you may want to take some time getting used to riding your skateboard before learning to ollie. Of course, it is totally up to you – if you are aggressive and want to learn to ollie on your skateboard before learning how to actually ride, that’s up to you!

Make sure you read all of these instructions before you try to ollie. Once you are familiar with them, jump on your board and ollie!

The Stance

You can learn to ollie while standing stationary, or while your skateboard is rolling. Ollying while standing still works the same way as while rolling, but I think rolling ollies are easier than stationary ollies. If you would like to learn to ollie with your skateboard stationary, you can place your skateboard on some carpet or grass to keep it from rolling. If you prefer to learn to ollie while your skateboard is rolling, don’t go very fast at the start. Whichever way you learn to ollie, once you feel comfortable you should try to ollie the other way as well.

The Pop

When you are ready to ollie, bend your knees deeply. The more you bend your knees, the higher you will go.

Slam your back foot down on the tail of your skateboard as hard as you can. At that moment, you want to also jump into the air, off of your back foot. This part is key, and takes practice. The trick is in getting your timing right. You want to slap the skateboard’s tail down, and as it hits the ground, jump off of that foot into the air. Make sure to pull that back foot high into the air. It's a quick, snapping motion.

Front Foot Motion

As you jump into the air, your front foot needs to roll slightly inward, and with the outside of your foot, you want to guide the skateboard as it flies into the air. Some people describe this as dragging the side of your front foot up the skateboard that’s more or less what is happening, but what you are doing is using your shoe and the griptape on the board to pull the skateboard higher into the air with you.

Leveling Out the Deck

When you jump, pull your knees as high as you can. Try to hit your chest with your knees. The deeper you crouch down before the ollie, and the higher you pull your feet, the higher your ollie will be.  

All during the ollie, try and keep your shoulders and body level, as in don't lean toward the tail or nose of your skateboard too much. This will make the whole ollie easier, and it will make it easier to land on your skateboard after the ollie.  At the apex (top) of your jump, when you are as high in the air as you will go, you want to flatten out the skateboard underneath you. Make both feet level on the top of the skateboard.

Land and Finish Roll