Every skater remembers their first clean heelflip. It’s that moment the board finally spins beneath you, you catch it mid-air, and roll away knowing you’ve just unlocked one of skateboarding’s most iconic flip tricks. The heelflip sits right alongside the kickflip as a true test of control, precision, and patience — it’s a milestone that marks the jump from beginner to intermediate skater.
Before you throw yourself into landing one, it’s worth breaking down what the trick actually is and what you need dialled in beforehand.
So, what is a heelflip?
A heelflip is a flip trick where you start with an ollie, then flick your front foot’s heel off the toe-side edge of the board, making it spin forward beneath you. It flips the opposite way to a kickflip, which uses the toes and spins backward. The heelflip feels snappier and cleaner when done right — your board spinning crisply under your feet while you stay centered above it, ready to stomp it down bolts-first.
You’ll want a few basics locked in first. Make sure you can comfortably ride, pop ollies, and control your balance. A confident ollie is essential since the heelflip starts with that same upward motion. If you’ve already got a frontside 180 or kickflip, even better — those tricks teach timing, flick control, and awareness of how the board moves under your feet.
Why Learn the Heelflip?
Because it’s one of those pure skate tricks — all style, feel, and finesse. It’s not just about adding a new move to your bag; it’s about levelling up your coordination, timing, and overall board control. The heelflip opens the door to more technical combos like varial heelflips, inward heels, and double flips down the line. Plus, nothing beats that smooth forward spin — it just looks clean.
Heelflip vs. Kickflip:
They might seem like twins, but they’re actually mirror opposites. With a kickflip, you flick out and back with your toes (the board flips toward your heelside). With a heelflip, you flick out and forward with your heel (the board flips toward your toeside). That difference changes everything — from how you position your feet to how you balance mid-air. We’ll break all that down step by step later.
No one lands a heelflip first try — not even the pros. This trick demands patience, repetition, and confidence. Expect to bail. Expect a few toe scrapes. Expect to chase the board across the park. That’s all part of it. Every failed attempt teaches your feet something new. The more you commit, the quicker it clicks. Stay loose, stay focused, and remember: it’s better to go all in and slam than to half-commit and stall.
The heelflip is more than a trick — it’s a rite of passage. Once you get it down, it becomes muscle memory, something you can throw mid-line without even thinking. Let’s break down how to actually make it happen.
Before you even pop the tail, your stance determines whether your heelflip is clean, sketchy, or nowhere close. Every skater has their own slight variation, but getting the fundamentals locked in gives you the foundation to make the trick your own. A proper setup means your board flips straight, your feet stay centred, and your body stays balanced through the motion.
Back Foot Placement
Your back foot does the heavy lifting — it’s the pop that launches the trick.
Position it right in the pocket of the tail, just like an ollie.
The ball of your foot should sit on the curve, ready to snap the tail down with force.
Let your toes hang off slightly; this helps create that crisp pop and gives your board a cleaner rotation.
Think of your back foot as the engine of the trick. The sharper the pop, the more airtime you get, and the easier it becomes to control the flip mid-air.
This is where the heelflip gets its name — and its magic. Your front foot is responsible for that flick that sends the board spinning forward.
Place it just behind the front bolts, angled slightly forward (around 30°).
Let your toes hang off the toe-side edge — this is key. You want just enough of your foot off the board so that when you slide up and out, your heel can strike the edge cleanly.
Keep your heel above the deck, not dangling — this is the “loaded” position for your flick.
This placement gives you leverage and space to roll your front foot up and out smoothly. If your toes are too far on, your heel won’t connect; too far off, and you’ll lose stability. Find that sweet spot where your heel feels ready to snap the board over.
Shoulders and Balance
Your shoulders control your balance and the board’s trajectory.
Keep your shoulders square with the board, facing the same direction.
Avoid leaning too far back — that’s how boards shoot out from under you.
Try keeping your chest slightly forward and your eyes on the nose. This naturally centres your weight and helps the board stay beneath your feet during the flip.
Good heelflips are all about being stacked over the deck — shoulders, hips, knees, and feet working as one line.
Foot Pressure & Body Tension
Both feet matter here.
Your back foot presses down, loading the tail for the pop.
Your front foot should feel light, ready to slide and flick the moment the board rises. Keep your knees soft, not locked. You’re aiming for control, not stiffness. The more relaxed your legs, the more naturally the flick and pop flow together.
The Setup Posture
Before you even pop, take a second to lock in:
Crouch down — this is your spring. Bend your knees evenly.
Keep your back straight and arms out naturally for balance.
Feel the tension building in your legs. You’re coiled and ready to explode upward.
This posture gives you both balance and power. When you release that crouch, the upward motion gives your heelflip the airtime it needs to spin cleanly.
Dial It In Before You Flick
Before going full send, just stand in the stance and rock gently back and forth on the board. Feel where your balance naturally sits. Your weight should be centred enough that the board doesn’t tilt or move too much. Get comfortable with this feeling — it’s the exact control you’ll need mid-trick.
Once you’ve mastered this setup, you’re ready to move into the real action — popping and flicking the heelflip. But remember: if your stance is off, your trick will be too. Lock it in, stay balanced, and trust the setup. The cleaner your foundation, the cleaner your heelflip.
Explode off the tail. Stomp the ball of your back foot into the pocket and drive the tail down hard.
Jump straight up. Think up, not forward. Your jump creates the airtime the board needs to rotate.
Stay stacked. Hips over the deck, eyes near the nose. A sharp, vertical pop = time to flip and time to catch.
Coach’s cue: Hear the pop. If it’s dull, you’re cushioning the tail. Snap it.
2) Front-Foot Flick (the Kick-Out)
Slide, then strike. As the board rises from your pop, slide your front foot up the grip and flick off the toe-side edge with your heel.
Flick path: Quick, diagonal and forward toward the nose. Aim to “cut” off the corner of the deck, not kick down through it.
Timing: The flick happens just after the pop as the board is on the way up — too early and you’ll smother the pop, too late and you’ll chase the board.
Coach’s cue: Think heel snap off the toe edge. Contact is a whip, not a shove.
3) Jump & Suck Up Your Legs
Rise and tuck. After the flick, pull both knees up. Give the deck space to flip beneath you.
Stay centred. Resist the urge to kick your legs away — keep them hovering over the board so you’re in position to catch.
Relaxed tension. Core tight, legs loose. You’re guiding, not wrestling.
Coach’s cue: If the board tags your shins, you’re not tucking enough or you’re kicking forward instead of up-and-out.
4) Watch the Board Flip
Eyes on the prize. Track the rotation: graphics → grip returning to the top.
Hover control. Keep your feet close to the board so you can “feel” its path even in the air.
No starfish. Don’t spread your legs wide; it kills your ability to react and catch.
Coach’s cue: Count “one” in your head — most clean heelflips are a single, crisp rotation.
5) Catch on Bolts & Ride Away
Catch high if you can. As soon as you see grip coming back, pin it with your feet over the bolts (front over front trucks, back over back trucks).
Absorb the drop. Bend your knees on impact to stay centred and stop the board from squirting out.
Roll out clean. Shoulders square, weight even. Own it.
Coach’s cue: If you’re landing nose- or tail-heavy, re-centre your eyes on the nose during take-off and aim to catch flat.
No one nails the heelflip straight away. It’s one of those tricks that feels just out of reach until, suddenly, it clicks. Every missed flip, every board shoot-out, every one-footed bail is your brain and body figuring out the timing. The key is spotting what’s going wrong, correcting it, and staying patient. Here’s a breakdown of the most common heelflip mistakes — and how to fix them, The Supply Network way.
1. Under-Rotation (Board Doesn’t Flip Enough)
If your board only half-flips or you keep landing with the grip tape down, your heel flick isn’t doing enough work. You’re either not connecting cleanly with the toe-side edge or not giving the board enough airtime to rotate.
Focus on a sharper, faster flick with your heel — kick out and slightly down off the toe-side edge.
Make sure your front toes hang off the edge during setup; if too much foot sits on the deck, your heel can’t catch the edge cleanly.
Jump higher. The more height you get, the more time your board has to rotate under you.
Keep your ankle loose — the flick should feel like a quick snap, not a stiff kick.
Think “whip,” not “push.” The cleaner your flick, the more consistent your flips.
2. Over-Rotation (Board Flips Too Much)
If the board is doing a full flip and a half before it lands, your flick’s a bit too heavy or mistimed. It’s a precision trick, not a power trick.
Flick after the pop — at the peak of your jump, not the instant your tail hits the ground.
Ease back the force; focus on direction instead of strength.
Try practicing gentle flicks from a standing position until you find the “one full spin” motion.
Remember, the goal is control. Smooth and timed beats fast and wild every time.
3. Board Shooting Out in Front
If your board keeps flying ahead of you and you’re landing behind it, you’re probably leaning back or kicking too far forward.
Keep your weight centred over the board, maybe even slightly forward.
Focus your flick downward and outward, not straight forward.
Keep your shoulders parallel with the board — don’t twist or open up mid-air.
Try filming yourself. If your chest is leaning back during the pop, you’ll see exactly why the board shoots away.
Your board goes where your shoulders go — keep them square and you’ll stay above it.
4. Landing One-Footed
Every skater knows this one — you finally get a clean flip, but only one foot lands on the board. Usually, it’s a confidence issue. You’re subconsciously pulling one leg away out of fear of slipping out.
Commit. Tell yourself before each attempt: both feet or none.
After you flick, keep your feet together in mid-air. That way, either both hit or both miss — it trains your brain to commit.
Start on grass or carpet so the board doesn’t roll. Once you’re comfortable landing both feet, move back to flat ground.
Visualise landing bolts before every try. Confidence shapes your outcome more than you think.
The best way to land a heelflip is to stop worrying about the bail and start expecting the catch.
5. Losing Balance on Landing
You’ve done the hard part — the board flipped, you caught it — but then it slips out or you wobble on impact. That’s usually down to balance, knee bend, or foot placement.
Land over the bolts with knees bent and weight evenly distributed.
If you’re slipping backward, you’re too tail-heavy — lean slightly forward during the pop.
If you’re pitching forward, you’re landing nose-heavy — stay more centred when catching the board.
Practice absorbing impact by exaggerating your knee bend as you land; it keeps your balance tight and stops the board shooting out.
Every good landing is a controlled fall — bend low, stay relaxed, and ride it out.
Every skater goes through these same mistakes learning a heelflip — the only difference between landing it and giving up is how you handle the fails. Each attempt teaches you what not to do, which is just as important as learning what to do right. Watch your foot angles, tweak your timing, and film your sessions if you can — those little adjustments stack up fast.
Landing your first heelflip is one thing — landing it consistently is what makes it real. Like every great trick, repetition, patience, and confidence turn chaos into control. Here’s how to train smarter, stay motivated, and keep pushing your progression once the flip finally sticks.
Practice the Motions Stationary
Start simple. Forget rolling speed for now — your goal is to build muscle memory.
Find a patch of grass, carpet, or a rubber mat where the wheels won’t roll.
Practice the pop and flick sequence repeatedly while holding onto a wall, rail, or ledge for balance.
Focus purely on timing the heel flick — feel the board flipping beneath you and learn what a clean rotation looks like.
Watch your board flip fully and reset after each try. Don’t rush.
This phase trains your feet and brain to sync up without the stress of balance or movement. You’re wiring your flick and pop into instinct.
Gradual Progression
Once you’ve got the flick down stationary, start adding a bit of motion.
Roll slowly on flat ground, just one or two pushes.
Try the full heelflip motion at this low speed — you’ll find the board often flips cleaner while moving.
As you start landing them, increase your speed gradually.
Movement adds stability and teaches you to catch and ride away cleanly, which is where a true heelflip lives — in the roll-out.
Use Markers for Foot Placement
A smart trick for consistency: mark your setup spots.
Use thin strips of tape or a paint marker to note where your front foot starts and where it should land over the bolts.
These visual cues train you to recognise your ideal stance spacing and build consistent foot memory.
Once it becomes second nature, you won’t need the marks — your body will know exactly where to be every time.
Consistency Through Repetition
Repetition is where every pro starts.
Set mini goals: 10 clean flips in a row, or 5 bolts-down landings without slipping out.
Don’t stop after you land your first — keep going while it’s fresh.
The more you repeat, the more your timing and flick power sync up naturally.
Consistency breeds confidence. Once you’ve landed it a few times in a row, your muscle memory takes over and it becomes your trick — not a lucky shot.
Stay Relaxed and Commit
The biggest barrier between trying and landing is fear.
If you catch yourself freezing mid-flick, reset. Take a breath.
Remind yourself that committing is safer than bailing halfway — half-commits cause more slams than full ones.
Keep your upper body loose and relaxed. Tension kills pop and timing.
Skating’s mental as much as physical — when you fully commit, your body does the rest.
Learning in Steps
Breaking the trick down into smaller parts helps you refine each movement:
Pop high ollies until you’re comfortable with height and board control.
Practice flicks without the pop — just getting the board to rotate under your heel.
Combine both once you feel confident with each motion individually.
Think of it like programming — isolate the moves, then run the full sequence.
Advanced Variations (Next Challenges)
Once your heelflips are consistent, it’s time to level up.
Heelflip while rolling faster — speed exposes weaknesses in timing and balance.
Pop off curbs or small drops to test control mid-air.
Move into varial heelflips (heelflip + frontside shuvit) or inward heelflips (heelflip + backside shuvit).
Each variation builds on your base heelflip control, forcing you to tighten timing and board awareness.
Never Stop Practicing
Even after you’ve “learned” the heelflip, keep throwing them into sessions.
Use them in lines, after grinds, or as a warm-up trick.
Experiment with different foot angles and heights to find what feels most natural.
Over time, your heelflip will get cleaner, higher, and faster — and you’ll start catching it mid-air with style.
Every session’s a chance to sharpen it. The heelflip might start as a battle, but once you own it, it becomes one of the cleanest, most expressive tricks in skateboarding — pure style, precision, and control.
Keep flicking, keep progressing, and remember: every perfect heelflip started with someone missing a hundred of them first.
The Heelflip is a classic flip trick where you ollie, then flick your front heel off the toe-side edge to spin the board forward beneath you — the mirror opposite of a kickflip.
Before learning a heelflip, every skater should have a strong ollie, solid board balance, and basic pop control. Optional tricks like frontside 180s or kickflips help but aren’t mandatory.
The flick should happen just after the pop — at the board’s rise, not too early or late. Perfect timing makes the flip clean and controlled.
Common mistaker are under-rotating, over-spinning, one-foot landings, the board flying away, or sloppy balance. Each issue can be fixed by adjusting flick strength, body lean, and commitment.
Begin stationary on grass or carpet, focus on the flick, then progress to slow-rolling heelflips. Use repetition and visual markers to refine foot placement and timing.
Heelflip FAQ's
How hard is it to learn a heelflip?
The heelflip is considered an intermediate-level trick, but most skaters can learn it with consistent practice. If you already have a solid ollie and board control, expect it to take a few weeks of focused sessions to land your first one.
What tricks should I learn before trying a heelflip?
You should be comfortable with riding, popping ollies, and balancing mid-air before attempting a heelflip. Tricks like frontside 180s or kickflips can help you understand timing and foot control, but they’re not essential prerequisites.
Why does my board not flip all the way?
If your board isn’t flipping fully, your heel flick isn’t catching the edge cleanly or you’re not jumping high enough. Try hanging your front toes further off the board and flicking faster and sharper while popping a strong ollie.
Why does my board keep shooting forward when I try to heelflip?
You’re probably leaning too far back or kicking straight forward. Keep your shoulders parallel to the deck and flick out and slightly down instead of pushing straight ahead. Staying centred keeps the board under you.
How do I stop landing one-footed on heelflips?
That’s a common issue caused by hesitation. You’re likely pulling one foot away subconsciously. Focus on keeping your feet close together in the air and commit fully to both landing on the board — even if you bail, you’ll progress faster.
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