Not too long ago, Gabe and Nigel caught up with Andy Anderson and Nicole Hause at the California Training Facility for a day filled with incredible skateboarding. Braille was on the scene to witness history in the making, as Andy Anderson attempted to learn how to backside ollie on a vert ramp. Luckily, Nicole Hause, a member of the USA skateboarding national team was there to show everyone how it’s done. Check out the video below to see Nicole and Andy tear up the CA Training Facility. If you’ve been working up the courage to blast some backside ollies over the coping then this video is for you. With Nicole and Andy’s help, full commitment, and a lot of practice, it won’t be long before you’re doing backside ollies with the best of them!

How to Backside Ollie

1. With a good amount of speed, approach the coping riding straight on, with little to no angle.
2. Push down slightly on the tail to lift your front wheels up so they don’t hit the coping on the way up.
3. Bonk the coping with your back wheels and scoop with the tail
4. As your back wheels come up over the coping, slowly turn your shoulders backside and roll your front foot like an ollie, using your front foot to push the nose down back into the ramp.
5. Don’t forget to turn your head, look down into the ramp, and spot your landing.
6. Roll away… FIRST TRY!

Work your way Up

When you’re learning to backside ollie over the coping on a bigger ramp, you shouldn’t just rush right into it. You’re going to want to work your way up by first riding up the full length of ramp and practice doing a kick-turn right at the coping. Once you’re comfortable with kick-turning near the coping, start popping small backside ollies about halfway up the ramp to start getting a feel for the trick. Next, you can try approaching the coping at a slight angle and traveling with your backside ollie, rather than approaching the coping straight on and doing the backside ollie straight up and down. By this point, you should have built up the confidence to bonk off the coping and backside ollie legitimately. We also recommend some knee-pads so you can bail at the last second with a nice knee-slide if needed. Who knows? A pair of knee-pads alone may give you that extra bit of confidence for the full send!

Common Issues 

Keeping your feet on the board seems to be the biggest issue with backside ollies. It’s important to keep your body over your front foot and use your head to look at where you’ll be landing. Turn your shoulders slowly as your back foot comes over the coping, roll your front foot and point it down, keeping your body over your front foot as you spot your landing, apply pressure with the front as you come back into the ramp then roll away. It’s all about committing. You’ve got this!

We hope the video inspired you to work on your transition skills and start blasting some backside ollies at your local park! We always have an amazing time working with Andy Anderson and it was an honor to spend the day with him and the incredible Olympian Nicole Hause, who we are very excited to watch and support at the 2021 Summer Olympics. Now get out there and SKATE!