Ever since Ricky Glaser joined the Braille team, we’ve been asking him to darkslide everything in sight. For those of you in the comments asking for a darkslide tutorial; we’ve heard you loud and clear. In the video below, Ricky Glaser shows us the darkslide fundamentals and helps Chris McNugget to land his first proper darkslide. So be sure to watch the video and join along in the darkslide fun by learning from a modern master of the darkslide and beloved Braille team member, Ricky Glaser.

How to Darkslide the Easiest Way

1. Approach the box or rail backside at a decent speed with your feet in the appropriate position.
2. To get on the obstacle in the darkslide position, pop a half-frontside flip onto the obstacle (a frontside 90-degree half-kickflip, to be more specific).
3. Land on the board with your feet on the nose and tail, on the outside of your trucks. (The trucks should be between your feet).
4. Lean forward as you slide. This will help prevent you from slipping backward and it will also prepare you to exit the darkslide properly.
5. To exit the darkslide, push down and back on the tail and lift your front foot out of the way. Apply some pressure on the trucks to get the board to roll over and be sure to get your feet out of the way so the board has room to flip back over, then roll away fakie. 

Pro Tips

1. WAX! You’ll need a lot of wax on the obstacle you’re darksliding so your griptape slides across without too much resistance. We can’t stress this enough. Wax and going fast are your friends!
2. GET THE FEEL FOR IT! Practice setting your board up grip-side down on the ledge or rail you’ll be darksliding, then simply take a run at the board and hop on to get a feeling for the slide. This will also give you an opportunity to work on getting out of the darkslide.
3. START SMALL! Before you even try darkslides at all, try some dark-stalls on something small first! Even a curb will work. Ride up slow, get into the darkslide, minus the slide, then just pop out. When you’re comfortable with this, then you can start adding in some speed and using a ledge or flat-bar.
4. GET A BOARD SPECIFICALLY FOR DARKSLIDES! Don’t obsess over the darkslide or worry about ruining your board. Get yourself a deck that you only use for darkslides so that you can fully commit to learning this trick without stressing about thrashing the griptape on a fresh set-up. 

Have Fun

As you could see from the video, the guys had a lot of fun filming this tutorial. At the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about. Learn your dark-stalls, then progress them into darkslides, and challenge yourself to take it to the streets! Dedicate a board to darkslides so you can huck some darkslides whenever you feel like it without a care in the world. Like Ricky says in the video, after you’ve watched the tutorial try some darkslides out, then re-watch our tutorial, then try some more darkslides. You won’t learn this trick overnight and it’s a trick you’ll refine more and more every time you attempt one. Remember to head on over to the Braille Shop for anything you might need whether it’s a new deck, a new hoodie, or full-length skateboarding tutorials. We’ve got everything you need to get started and to progress in skateboarding. Now get out there and SKATE!