It took Tony Hawk, the most legendary skateboarder ever, about 10 years, a few broken ribs and a couple of thrown-out backs to figure out how to successfully land a 900. (That’s two-and-a-half spins off the ramp.)
The first man to do it, on his 10th attempt at the ’99 X Games, breaks down how the average skater can get it done. OK, that’s impossible. But here’s his advice anyway.
“Um, let’s see. The first recommendation I have is to learn how to at least do a 540, which is one-and-a-half spins, because that teaches you what it’s like to do a spin in which you’re blind to the landing at least one time, ’cause when you do a 540, you spin and your back is to where you’d be landing at some point in that trick. When you do a 900, that happens twice.
“So for a 900, the key is in the takeoff, when you snap. You have to snap off the wall more than you would for a 540 to compensate for the double somersault that happens. And generally you’re not gonna see your landing—you just have to feel it. Wear a helmet for sure. [Laughs]
“My best advice for the 900, this is in all honesty, is that if something goes wrong—you lose your board or you think you’re not gonna land properly—don’t stop. Keep spinning. ’Cause if you open up in that place, you’re gonna be way farther out than you wanna be and you’re gonna drop straight down. If you continue spinning, you’re gonna at least hit the curvature of the wall to come back down. That would be a nicer fall.”
This story originally appeared as part of the How-To package in the March issue of Sportsnet magazine.