There are many skateboard tricks in boarding that a skater will learn at different levels of their career. Usually, the level of difficulty is synonymous with how visually pleasing the trick is. However, this is not always the case.
There’s one trick that is fairly easy to learn but is one of the most visually pleasing tricks in all of skateboarding. For skaters, it’s a stretch even to consider this maneuver a trick.
Despite this, the seamless flow of this trick is enough to leave many fans in awe of how seamless the appearance is. This maneuver is known as the revert.
This move can be a great base to learn other tricks or brush up on your switching ability. If you’re not familiar with the trick or haven’t learned it yet, this is how to revert skateboards.
What Is the Revert?
A revert is a maneuver where the skater slides their wheels to the side while in motion, going against the natural motion of the board. Essentially this is a stylish way to reverse the front and back of the board. Basically, the front wheels and front truck will trade places with the rear truck and wheels.
This trick can be pulled off backside or frontside. The method of completion is the same either way. Regardless of how it’s pulled off, the most important part is to complete the trick in motion or before ending a series of tricks.
Many skaters will use this maneuver to add more style points to their score during competition. The revert is also a stylish way to switch directions at the last minute or just add a cool visual element when you’re cruising.
Although this is considered more of a technical switch instead of a trick, if you don’t know the basics, it can be hard to perform. Let’s break down the steps on how to revert on a skateboard.
Learn How to Revert Skateboards
This trick takes a little practice, but mastering it is a great way to improve your balance and legwork on a skateboard.
1. Movement
Make sure you’re moving at a decent speed. Performing this trick in motion is what makes it so beautiful.
2. Foot Position
Plant your feet closer together on the board. This relieves weight on the side of the board you want to revert.
3. Dragging the Back Foot or Front Foot
With your knees bent, crouch into the lowest stance possible. This will look similar to the ollie position. Unweight one end of the board by lifting your foot off that particular side. Don’t lift your foot fully, just enough to affect the weight of that side of the board. Leave enough of our foot in contact to allow you to drag the back wheels across the ground. It’s important to have clean grip tape to perform a good revert.
4. 180
After beginning the drag, complete the trick by moving the end of the board you’re moving into a complete 180-degree turn. The rear wheels will be dragging the ground. You should now be leading with the opposite end of the board from when you started. Return to your normal stance and keep riding like normal.
You’ll know the trick was completed properly when you return to your normal stance. There will be a trademark screeching noise coming from the back wheels after they begin to grip the surface again when the turn is done.
One of the most important elements of the trick is the speed at which it’s completed. This is what makes the trick so visually stunning and gives it the element of smoothness. You shouldn’t be at a breakneck speed, but more of a moderate glide.
The trick should look seamless, but your pace should be slow enough to where what you’re doing can be broken down. If you’re moving too fast, the board dragging will turn into you eating pavement because your momentum will be too much to handle. It’s important to find a good, medium pace for this trick.
Remember there are three basic steps to this trick.
- The unweighting of the correct side
- The drag and spin with the back foot or front foot
- The plant and screech
The screeching sound at the end is what you’re looking for. That’s the indication of a perfect revert.
Conclusion
Even though it’s not one of the more difficult skateboarding tricks with a lot of steps involved, the graceful floating movement of revert is still something to behold. Regardless of its difficulty, learning this trick has important benefits.
Use this trick as a base to build on other moves in the future and a means to improve your balance. Unweighting the board can be a great way to build on learning more difficult tricks such as the nose stall revert.