How to Drop In

Dropping in is all about being confident. It’s not even really a trick. The mechanics are simple. The hard part is committing.

Foot position

Set the board up on the coping with your tail on it. Put your feet in the most comfortable position you can, where you have the most control. Don’t worry about the trick you want to do at the bottom or anything else.

• Back foot: covering as much of the tail as you can.
• Front foot: I put mine on the front bolts. Some people go a little farther back. It depends on you.

Keep a nice wide stance so you’re stable and don’t have to worry about wobbling or adjusting your feet on the way down.

How to drop in

Lean completely forward so your front wheels touch the ramp, and roll down. That’s it.

The catch is your body has to be perpendicular to the ramp. If the board goes down and your body stays straight up, you’ll slip out.

There are no shortcuts:

• Don’t drag your tail to go slow. At that angle, the tail just slides and shoots out.
• Don’t try to step off partway. You’ll shoot out.

You have to commit to the whole thing.

Getting past the fear

If you stand up there looking, watching and waiting, you’ll psych yourself out. Come up, set the board down and go.

The simplest way I know to get there is to do something you can already do a lot. If you’re at a skatepark, do a trick off a box over and over until you’re psyched up. Then go put the tail down, put your foot on and go for it.

One trick that worked for a friend

When my friend learned, he hung his back heel off the tail. On the way down, he dragged his heel to slow himself down, then dragged it less and less until he could do it for real. I didn’t learn that way, and I can’t even do it on purpose now. It’s something to try if you’re having a lot of trouble, but I wouldn’t really recommend it.

Wear pads for this one. A lot can go wrong, but if you stay confident, you’ll be fine.

What’s next

Once you can drop in, try the axle stall and the nosestall.