In skateboarding, there are some tricks that don’t really look the best, and then there are other tricks that look absolutely amazing.
In this post, we’re going to go over the best looking tricks in skateboarding.
Nollie Inward Heel
Nollie inward heels, along with their fakie counterpart are one of the sickest looking tricks out there.
There’s something about both nollie and fakie inward heels that just works perfectly.
When people do them, the roll up always looks cool, it seems like it’s impossible not to pop them super high, and because of the way it flips, the board is automatically tweaked right before it gets caught. Out of all of the tricks on this list, nollie inward heels are probably the most slept on.
I guarantee that if you were to ask a group of people what the best looking skate tricks are, the majority of them wouldn’t mention nollie inwards heels.
This isn’t to say that the majority of people don’t think they look good, it’s just that a lot of people don’t think about it right away. It’s somewhat understandable because it is a pretty uncommon trick. They’re one of those tricks that people either can’t do at all, or they’re super easy for the people who can do them, but either way, you have to give someone props when they do a good one.
It’s not a super popular trick, but it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that most people respect it.
Kickflip
Aside from being one of the best looking skateboarding tricks, Kickflips are also one of the most popular. After all, no one ever yells “do a shuv it” out of a car window. That’s partially because it’s the only skate trick people who don’t skate know about, but still, even within skateboarding it’s a really popular trick, and it’s always nice to see one done properly.
Since they’re usually the first flip trick most people learn, the average skater has years to develop their kickflips, which leads to a wide variety of kickflip styles. There are kickflips that are lofty, kickflips that tweaked, there’s shifty kickflips, and everything basically in between.
Compared to most other flip tricks, kickflips are pretty standard, but that’s also why they’re such a solid-looking trick. They’re the go-to flip trick for gaps, flipping into grinds, or even flipping out of grinds, and there are countless styles of kickflips out there.
Treflip
When it comes to the best looking skateboarding tricks, tre flips are definitely high up on the list. The same also goes for fakie tre’s, but it would be a bit redundant to mention them separately so for the sake of this list we’re going to group them together.
A tre flip, also known as a 3 flip, also known as a 360 flip, is one of the more common flatground tricks out there.
The weird thing about treflips, is that because they’re such a good looking trick, people do them all the time, and because people do them all the time, they actually get hated on. I know a lot of you are probably wondering, how can you hate on a treflip, and trust me, I completely agree. With that said though, it does make sense why some people think they’re a bit overdone.
Tre flips are a great looking trick to throw in a line, or down a gap, since they’re easy to catch when you’re going fast, so they are done a lot more than most other flip tricks. Considering how common treflips are, it’s understandable why some people think they’re a bit played out, but that doesn’t take a way from the fact that they’re one of the best looking skate tricks.
Treflips are one of those tricks that are so good that even if you’ve seen it done a thousand times, it still looks sick.
Varial Heelflip
Another one of the best looking skateboarding tricks are varial heels.
Varial heelflips take two of the most basic skate tricks, a heelflip and a front shuv, and turns them into a beautiful creation that’s perfect for doing down gaps. Compared to a lot of other tricks, varial heelflips are pretty easy to pop high, so a lot of times they can look nice even if you’re not that good at them.
Generally speaking, most varial heelflips look somewhat similar, and you can’t really add your own style to them the same way you can with other tricks, but it’s always nice to see a solid one done, especially when the front shuv is just a little over rotated and then brought back.
The weird thing about varial heel flips is that most people agree it’s a good looking trick, but a lot of people hate on varial kickflips, which is basically just the same thing in reverse.
As a matter of fact, let’s just end the hate on varials right now, and agree that all varials can look good in their own way.
Impossible
It’d be wrong to make list of the best looking skateboarding tricks without mentioning impossibles.
The way impossibles wrap around before you catch them always looks super sick, especially if you can pop them high. It’s also really cool how a lot of time your feet land close together, which in a weird way makes them stand out from a lot of tricks where you naturally land bolts.
One thing worth clearing up here is the difference between an impossible and a 3 shuv. Most people know that impossibles tend to go hand in hand with 3 shuvs since the board does the same motion, but despite what some people may say, there is a difference between the two.
People have different standards for each, but usually impossibles are scooped, and they wrap around your back foot, while with 3 shuvs are popped, and your back foot stays above the grip the entire time.
So there is a difference, and if someone tries something slick in a game of SKATE you should definitely call them out. 3 shuvs can look good, but most people would agree that impossibles look way better, and depending on who you ask, they can also be a lot harder.
Nollie Flips
Another one of the most stylish tricks are nollie flips.
This is kind of cheating, but it was too hard to choose between nollie kickflips and nollie heelflips, so we’re going to group them together for this one.
When they’re done right, nollie flips look really sick, and similar to normal kickflips and heel flips, there’s a ton of ways to do them.
The cool thing about nollie flips is that even though they’re a bit harder to level out or tweak, it’s a lot easier to shifty them both frontside and backside, which looks just as sick. With that said, even though nollie flips can look absolutely amazing, if they aren’t done properly, they can also look absolutely terrible, and if you happen to be unlucky enough to rocket flip a nollie heel, it can also feel pretty terrible too.
Ollie
Even thought they’re a bit basic, when they’re done properly, an ollie is definitely one of the best looking skateboarding tricks.
Ollies are essentially the bread and butter of skateboarding, and it’s the foundation of almost every other trick, so it’s one of those tricks that have to appreciate.
Some people might think ollies are bland and boring, but realistically, a lot of the biggest moments in skateboarding were ollies. Moments like Jeremy Wray ollieing the water towers or jaws ollieing the Lyon 25 are things that every skateboarder knows about.
Since they’re the foundation of basically every other skateboarding trick, it’s usually the go-to for jumping down anything that’s big.
There are also so many different styles of ollies, so they’re not like other tricks where there’s only one or two ways to do it. A person’s ollie is almost like their handwriting, because just about everyone does them a little differently.
Regardless if they’re considered basic, Ollies are without a doubt one of the best skateboarding tricks.
Backside 360
Back 3’s are easily one of the better looking flatground tricks out there.
A back 3, isn’t just one of the best looking skate tricks, but it’s also one of the hardest skate tricks, at least when it comes to flat ground.
Of course, there are hundreds of flatground tricks that are way harder, but when it comes to just normal tricks that aren’t variations, as in no gazelle flips or merlin twists, or anything weird like that, back 3’s are definitely one of the hardest tricks on flat. Back 3’s are especially hard when you’re going fast, which is why they get so much respect when someone can do them properly.
There are a few different styles to back 3’s, but they all essentially fall under one of 2 categories. There’s the kind where someone scoops most of it and reverts the rest of the way, and there’s the kind where someone does the full 360 and lands with all 4 wheels at once. Most people prefer the latter, but realistically, both styles look pretty sick, and it’s rare that you’ll see a back 3 that doesn’t look good.
Frontside 360
It wouldn’t be fair to mention back 3’s as one of the best looking skate tricks without also mentioning front 3’s as well.
Even though front 3’s look completely different from back 3’s they’re still really sick in their own way. Front 3’s aren’t nearly as common as back 3’s, but when they’re done they almost always look super proper.
It seems like the biggest reason front 3’s aren’t more popular is because for most people, front 3’s are a lot harder. With frontside 360’s, you have to push the board in front of you rather than behind you, so it takes a lot more work compared to a back 3 where you can just scoop it around.
Similar to back 3’s there’s a few different style of front 3’s, but the two main types you’ll see is where people slide it on the ground, or do the full 360 and land with all 4 wheels at once.
Again, both versions can look cool, but most of the time people prefer when the board is popped and you get full rotation before landing.
Backside Bigspin
Over the past few years, backside bigspins have become super popular, and it’s widely agreed that they’re one of the best looking skate tricks.
As far as flatground tricks go, there aren’t really any other tricks that look similar to big spins. Well maybe bigger spins, but that doesn’t really count.
Backside bigspins are one of those tricks that can be done on almost anything. They’re great as a flatground trick, down a set (down a gap), or even into a rail or ledge trick.
Nowadays then can be a little overdone, but either way they still look amazing. The way people scoop them around always looks super sick, and honestly, if you can do back bigspins, it’s pretty hard not to make them look good.
Best Skateboarding Tricks
When it comes to deciding which skateboard tricks look the best, it’s really all subjective, and everyone is going to have a different opinion, so you should just do whatever tricks you want to do.