The ollie is the most important trick you can learn on a skateboard. Although it is a basic trick, it is essential that you learn how to ollie for progressing into just about all other tricks on a skateboard. Some of the tricks you can advance onto after learning to ollie include the pop shove-it and the kickflip.

Before you learn to ollie you need to be able to ride your skateboard well without falling off. The ollie along with all other skateboard tricks requires balance and the ability to ride the skateboard into and out of the trick.

When you first start practicing how to ollie, it is best to practice in a stationary position on a flat surface. Grass or carpet is a great spot to learn the ollie trick and is much safer than practicing on concrete. Once you have mastered the ollie on these surfaces and are feeling confident, you can take it to the street.

Before we cover the steps on how to ollie, let’s take a quick look at who invented this trick so that you know a little bit about skateboarding history. The ‘ollie’ was originally invented by Allan ‘Ollie’ Gelfand who actually completed the skateboarding trick on a ramp in 1976. Gefland wanted to air above the ramp coping without grabbing his board and consequently this is how the ollie was invented and came to be.

A few years later, skateboarding legend Rodney Mullen was so impressed by the ollie trick that he learned how to do it on flat ground and then incorporated it into his freestyle skateboarding, which consequently led to the birth of street skating.

As mentioned earlier, the ollie is the most essential trick to learn as a skateboarder and one of the first tricks you should learn when you are starting out, followed by these other beginner skateboarding tricks. But you need to learn how to ollie first so let’s take a look at the steps below that will have you ollieing in no time.

How To Ollie On A Skateboard

The 5 Steps Of An Ollie

Foot Position
Popping The Tail
Sliding The Front Foot
Level Out
Landing

1. Foot Position On Your Skateboard

Place your front foot just below the bolts on your skateboard. If your stance is “regular” this will be your left foot, and if you’re “goofy” it will be your right foot.

Place your back foot on the tail of the skateboard with the ball of your foot at the middle of the tail. Now that your feet are in the ollie position, you must square your shoulders with the skateboard and keep your head looking forward.

2. Popping The Tail While Completing An Ollie

To pop the tail of your skateboard off the ground you need to bend your front knee and push down on your back leg. Your back foot will push down on the tail creating a snap motion. It is important to perfect this motion so you should repeat it several times to get comfortable with it.

3. Sliding / Kicking The Front Foot

All of your weight should now be on your back foot and your tail will be on the ground so it is now time to slide the front foot forward. Your front ankle will roll forward and the sole of your foot will be vertical on the skateboard.

Your front foot needs to slide up the skateboard towards the front in a kicking motion. This is a very fast motion and your front foot will pull the board up into the air. You then want to rise up with the skateboard in a jumping motion. Remember to keep your shoulders square with the skateboard.

This is the most difficult step of the ollie and will take a lot of practice to master. You will need to practice this step a lot to gain muscle memory and insure you have the motion down pat.

4. Level Out The Ollie

Once your tail has popped and you have slid your foot towards the nose and jumped upwards with the skateboard under your feet, you have officially popped an ollie.

This step is very important and you will need to perfect it to increase the height of your ollie. Now you need to level out and prepare for the landing!

How To Do An Ollie On A Skateboard - ollie-level-out

5. Landing The Ollie

The best way to land your ollie is to have your knees slightly bent. Do NOT land with your knees fully extended or you may injure yourself due to the impact. Your knees act as your shock absorber just the same as when you jump up and down.

Your feet should be in a similar position to what they were in when you started your ollie. Your front foot may be slightly more towards the nose due to the kick but this is perfectly fine.

Did You Have Success With Learning How To Ollie?

Hopefully you can now celebrate landing your first ollie! Just remember skateboarding takes a lot of practice so do not give up!! Leave us a comment below telling us about your progress and success with learning how to ollie.

How To Ollie On A Skateboard

How To Ollie On A Skateboard