Talk about a masterclass. Professional skateboarder Neen Williams, known for having the best heelflips in the game, stopped by the Braille house to teach us how to land heelflips the easiest way. With Neen’s guidance, you’ll be heelflipping in no time!

Before you learn how to heelflip, Neen recommends being comfortable with riding your skateboard and being able to land ollies consistently.

Foot Position

For heelflips, your feet should be in a position similar to your ollie foot position. The main difference is that your big toe on your front foot will hang slightly off the board. Neen prefers keeping that toe on the board, but when you’re learning to heelflip, it may benefit you to keep it hanging off the board a little bit. 

Pop your Heelflip

To start this trick, use your back foot to pop down on the tail as if you are doing an ollie. Then, like an ollie, slide your front foot up the board. As your foot slides up the board with the ollie, kick forward with your heel off the toe side corner of the nose of your board. This forward flicking foot motion will cause the board to rotate like a heelflip. Next you’ll need to catch the heelflip and roll away…FIRST TRY!

Where to Look

Another thing that Neen pointed out was where you should be looking and what direction your body should be facing when you heeflip. If you’re a bit more squared off and facing the same direction that your toes are pointing, you may find your heelflips will be better. If you’re looking forward towards the nose, your heelflip may rotate backside, or end up behind you. 

Common Problems

Make sure you’re not flicking your heel downwards. This could make your heelflip flip faster, which may work, but it’s a lot harder to do them this way. The best way to learn how to heelflip is to ollie, then flick off the nose with your front foot. This ensures the heelflip will flip nicely and be easier to catch, instead of flipping really quickly or “rocket” style. 

Commitment and perseverance are also very important when learning to heelflip. You’ll need to try, try, try, and try some more, so don’t give up!

How To Heelflip

1. Focus on your foot position, hang the big toe of the front foot off the board
2. Pop down with your back foot on the tail
3. kick forward with your heel off the toe side corner of the nose of your board
4. Make sure you’re shoulders are square while heelflipping
5. Spot your landing and look forward

Practice Tips

Hold on to something, such as a fence, while you try your heelflips. By holding onto the fence you can hold yourself up as you jump to heelflip, giving you some time to let the board flip and to develop the feeling of catching the board and putting it down.

You can also practice heelflips while stationary, even on carpet! Try popping the trick and flipping the board, then putting your back foot down on the ground and only landing the trick with your front foot. Again, this will help you get the feeling of how to flip the board and how to land on it. From there you would just need to add in the back foot to start landing legitimate heelflips, and you can start going for it with full commitment. Don’t worry about landing primo, it’s normal and it happens to everyone. Just keep practising and doing what works best for you to keep the board under you for the perfect heelflip. 

We’re extremely grateful for Neen Williams taking the time to teach us all how to heelflip. Follow him on instagram at https://www.instagram.com/neenwilliams/  and don’t forget to check out his new signature shoe, Intercept from FP footwear. https://www.fpfootwear.com/home/skateboarding/

Now get out there and land some heelflips!