In this solo tutorial, Julian Christianson walks viewers through the switch heel flip, a skateboarding trick he favors. He begins by describing his preferred foot placement: the front foot positioned just before the bolts with toes over the side for a side‑grip, and the back foot centered on the tail to generate a solid pop. He explains how to flick the back foot outward and down in a corner while keeping the motion smooth, emphasizing the importance of a strong pop versus a low‑truck push. Julian notes variations in foot angle and grip (e.g., monkey‑grip vs. heel‑grip) and warns against common pitfalls such as popping too early or insufficient pop height. He advises beginners to first master regular ollies and switch ollies, then experiment with foot positioning on flat ground before progressing to small drops, rails, ledges, and eventually larger gaps. The tutorial ends with a call to like, subscribe, and a friendly sign‑off.
Chapters
What's up, my name is Julian Christianson, and today I'm going to teach you guys how to do one of my favorite tricks, the switch heel. You're going to set your feet up sort of like so, and then boom, and that's it. No, but for real though, so you're going to want to put your front foot about here. Some people like it a little further back, some people more forward. Everyone's going to find their spot, but for me, it's before the bolts. I like to have it so that my toes are kind of like doing this over the side and I can kind of grip around the side of it. And so when I'm ready, I'm going to have my back toe about here. I want to be able to get the center right here, pop in here, and then this foot I'm going to have to flick out and down a little bit, but right in that corner. And then all in a smooth motion. All right, so you're going to want to have your toe in the right spot so that you get a solid pop here. I know some people like to switch heel in here, but I feel like that doesn't give you a lot of pop. It makes— you're kind of pushing more down on the truck here, and you're going to be popping off side of the board versus here. And then with the front foot, you can mess around with it, point it a little that way. Some people I see kind of do it this way, more straight. And you know, sometimes you're going to do the trick and it's not always going to be the same, but essentially it's about right here. And you just really find that right spot. Sometimes you just have to go and figure it out. Maybe you're kicking down too early and you're doing that. Sometimes you just have to make sure you're popping high enough, make sure that tail is popping or the nose is popping on any trick. And if you, you stop here and you're about here, you can tell my knee is up here. So when I'm jumping, by the time the nose pops, I'm gonna have to have my leg about here. Like, that's already a foot, foot and a half off the ground. So when you're learning it, you You got to practice, you know, doing a couple ollies maybe first, switch ollies, you know, and then just experiment. Sometimes people like to switch heel on here, maybe it grips the foot a little better. For me, I've always liked to get that monkey kind of grip around the side of it, and then, you know, you just learn it. Maybe in the beginning you'll kind of rocket it and it'll just You know, do that, maybe not flip all the way over, but you just find the right motion and timing and just make sure it's smooth. You know, just experiment sitting still. Sometimes it starts to roll like a nollie, but eventually you just start to get it. And then do it rolling. Oh, see, see, you got him! First tee!
So the more you practice on flat ground, then you can take it over little things on flat or off a small drop, then maybe even over a rail on a small drop, over a taller ledge, and then eventually you'll be doing it down bigger gaps. So there it is, my tutorial on switch heel flips. This is Julian Christianson. Like and subscribe, and I'll see you next week.
