Nollie

In skateboarding, a nollie, short for "nose ollie", is an ollie executed at the front of the board while the rider is positioned in their natural stance. Professional skateboarders Karl Watson, Shuriken Shannon, Tuukka Korhonen, and Sean Malto have been recognized for their ability to perform the nollie trick.^[1][2][3][4] A nollie can be easily confused with a fakie ollie, whereby the rider uses their original foot position but is instead riding backwards ("fakie" is the skateboard term for riding in a backwards direction, in your usual stance, while riding the opposite of your usual stance is referred to as "switch"^[5]).

Initial stage of a nollie. Alameda Central, Mexico City, 2015.

Description

A nollie is a variation of the ollie, where the skateboarder uses the front foot to push the nose of the skateboard down and the back foot is slid in a backwards direction to achieve lift-off from the ground; this is the opposite of an ollie, whereby the rider uses the back foot to push down the tail and the front foot to slide forwards. It is similar to a switch ollie riding backwards and Malto has stated in an instructional video: "It's more a like a switch ollie, but from the front."^[4][6]

Execution

The forward rolling motion that is required for the execution of a nollie can make it easier to push the nose of the skateboard down towards the ground than when executing an ollie.^[6]

Variations

Like ollies, a nollie can be combined with other tricks to form variations. For example, a nollie can be combined with a kickflip to create a nollie flip,^[7] or a nollie can be combined with a 360-flip to create a nollie 360-flip.^[8]

Nollie 180

A nollie whereby the skateboarder and the skateboard rotate 180-degrees after leaving the ground. Both the skateboarder and the skateboard rotate in the same direction, and frontside and backside variations can be performed.^[9] After landing the trick, the skateboarder will be facing in the opposite direction.^[10][11]

 

 

 

Nollie 180. Alameda Central, Mexico City, 2015.

Nollie heelflip

A heelflip that is executed at the front of the board, whereby the heel of the back foot executes the flip. Professional skateboarder Josiah Gatlyn has stated that the variation is "basically, just like a backward switch heel[flip]".^[12]

Helipop

Also known as a 'nollie backside 360' (not caballerial, caballerial is fakie), this is a nollie variation whereby the skateboarder and the skateboard rotate 360-degrees after leaving the ground. The trick was invented by Rodney Mullen and can be seen in the Almost: Round Three video during the section when Mullen is skateboarding on the Hollywood Stars in Los Angeles, California, United States (US).^[13][14]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nollie backside 360. Alameda Central, Mexico City, 2015.

Notable nollies

Professional skateboarder Danny Way executed a nollie down the famous Carlsbad Gap (no longer in existence), located in California, United States (US). The location was notorious for its degree of difficulty due to the upward angle of the landing area.^[15]

See also

• Skateboarding
• Rodney Mullen
• Skateboarding trick
• Flip tricks

References

1. Steve Cave; Michael Andrus (2012). "Nollie". About.com – Sports: Skateboarding. About.com. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
2. RIDEChannel (11 June 2012). "How-To Skateboarding: Nollie with Shuriken Shannon" (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Archived from the original on 2021-12-14. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
3. TrEfLiPz (22 December 2009). . YouTube. Google, Inc. Archived from the original (Video upload) on 2011-06-09. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
4. Chris Morrow (22 June 2010). "How To Nollie by Sean Malto" (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Archived from the original on 2021-12-14. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
5. "Skateboarding Glossary". exploratorium – skateboard science. Exploratorium | The museum of science, art and human perception. 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
6. Nan Adie (2012). "Nollie". skateboardhere.com. skateboardhere.com. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
7. TheBerrics11 (12 January 2009). "The Berrics - Trickipedia-nollie flip with benny fairfax" (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Archived from the original on 2021-12-14. Retrieved 8 December 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
8. skatemoviesking (12 March 2012). "The Berrics Trickipedia Paul Rodriguez Nollie 360 Flip" (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Archived from the original on 2021-12-14. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
9. RIDEChannel; Shuriken Shannon (11 May 2012). "How-To Skateboarding: Nollie Backside 180 with Shuriken Shannon" (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Archived from the original on 2021-12-14. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
10. twelvedaimonds (5 July 2008). "how to nollie 180" (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Archived from the original on 2021-12-14. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
11. RIDEChannel (10 October 2012). "How-To Skateboarding: Nollie Backside 180 With Brian Downey" (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Archived from the original on 2021-12-14. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
12. RIDEChannel (15 March 2012). "How-To Skateboarding: Nollie Heelflip with Josiah Gatlyn" (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Archived from the original on 2021-12-14. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
13. Nan Adie (2012). "Helipop Trick Description". Skateboardhere.com. Skateboardhere.com. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
14. TheLaybackRollout (7 February 2012). . YouTube. Google, Inc. Archived from the original (Video upload) on 2012-12-22. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
15. thebaconskater (4 November 2010). "Best Carlsbad Gap Montage Ever Made" (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Archived from the original on 2021-12-14. Retrieved 9 December 2012.