Backside 50-50 is one of the most basic tricks and isn’t as hard as you may think. It’s useful to learn because it will lead you onto loads of other ‘backside on’ tricks. Once you’ve mastered the straight version, the frontside 180 out will feel natural after a few goes.

1. APPROACH

Find a rail, box or (in this case) an old corrugated metal pipe that you’re comfortable with. Remember, it’s easy. YOU CAN DO IT! Roll in with enough speed to pop on, staying fl at based with your knees bent and your eyes on the rail.

2. POP

OK, commitment time. As you hit the take-off you need to pop from the tail of your board. At this stage you should be crouched low, still fl at based and looking at the end of the rail. Don’t ride in at too much of an angle or you’ll pop over the whole thing. Remember, lift those legs up – you don’t want to ride down the rail on your arse! It’s not fun but don’t worry too much if this happens, we’ve all been there.

3. POSITIONING

As you touch down on the box or rail you should think about slightly moving your back foot over the feature and staying fl at based – this will lock you in. Once locked, you can’t start to think about the frontside 180. As you can see, towards the end of the pipe I shift my weight to my back leg; this makes it easy to spin out.

4. STYLING

Stay low, looking at the end of the feature, and try not to wave your arms about!

5. LANDING

OK, you’ve come this far, now for the hard part. Once at the end, pop off your tail, lifting up your legs and rotating your shoulders and hip 180 degrees – all the while looking at your landing. Once the rotation is complete, touch down with your knees bent and ride away switch. It helps to land fl at based with your weight slightly over your toe edge (if you land on your heels it’s easy to wash out).