Don’t let the weakest chain be your skateboard. If your skateboard is crap, no amount of practice is going to be enough to bust that 360 flip. Make sure to choose a good deck, bearings and trucks to ensure that you don’t hurt yourself trying to do tricks.

If you want to pull off some sweet tricks, you need a a good deck. Darkstar skateboards offers a deck that is strong and durable. Darkstar combines innovative techniques to prevent their skateboards from breaking, warping or delaminating. Their wheels are made to endure your punishment and never develop flats.

If you want to do advanced flip tricks, then you need to go in for one with 7.5” or 7.75,” depending on how comfortable you feel riding. Having a thinner board is better for quick rotations need for flip tricks. If you find that the seven inchers are too small, then you may favor the 8.0” that has a wide and heavy board that feels steady under your feet.

Canadian maple concave decks feature tight wood grain that allows for air when ollieing. It’s better to try out the Ollie, kickflip, boardslide and heelflip, or the 10 sec manual before trying out the harder ones like hardflips or 360 front flips.

Your skating style will determine the design and kind of skateboard you eventually buy. Artists have used various designs and textures on skateboards, ranging from heavy textures and graphics, illustrated characters and motifs to comic book style drawings. Some even have a vintage look and style. So pick your style and nail that boardslide!