Frontside Pop Shove It Definition

The Frontside Pop Shove It is achieved by combining an Ollie and a quick forward-scoop motion of the back-foot to make the board spin 180 degrees, all while remaining neutral in the air.

A Brief History of Pop Shove Its

As the legend goes, the Frontside Pop Shove it was invented by Steve Rocco in the late 1970s. According to this likely-to-be-true legend, the first-ever Pop Shove Its were actually done Frontside, with Backside Pop Shove Its starting to be landed a while later.

The first Frontside Pop Shove It was landed by Steve Rocco at the Super Skate Show in Caracas, Venezuela, 1979.  The Super Skate Show event was held in the local arena, “The Poliedro”. Other notable skateboarders at the event included Tony Alva, Ellen O’Neal, Mike McGill, Tim Scroggs, and Alan Gelfand. At the event, a 3″ pipe was apparently laying on the ground in an attempt to stop the skateboarders from skating across the arena floor.

Alan Gelfand (inventor of the Ollie) and Steve Rocco took it upon themselves to try to Frontside Pop Shove It over the pipe without losing any speed. Although both are said to have made it over eventually, Steve is credited with landing it first. 

Other notable skateboarders at the event included Tony Alva, Ellen O’Neal, Mike McGill, Tim Scroggs, and Alan Gelfand. At the event, a 3″ pipe was apparently laying on the ground in an attempt to stop the skateboarders from skating across the arena floor.

Now that you’ve had a little history lesson, it’s time to get down to business.

Before we get there…

Before attempting to learn this trick, Braille Skateboarding recommends being very comfortable with riding your board. You should learn Ollies, Frontside 180s, Backside 180s, and Pop Shove Its before moving on to this trick.

Once you are fairly consistent with these tricks, check out the tutorial below. After you’ve watched the tutorial, read all the Frontside Pop Shove It tips and information we’ve included on this page, then GO SKATE! You’ll be landing Front Shoves in no time at all. 

Frontside Pop Shove It Tutorial

We hope you enjoyed the video and found it useful. If you’re still having trouble, reviewing these 5 simple steps will help you master the Frontside Pop Shove It.

1. Foot Position
2. Practice Steps
3. Back Foot Pop
4. Front Foot Catch
5. Landing

Foot Position

For the Frontside Pop Shove It, place your front foot just below the front bolts of your board. Position your front foot fairly straight. A slight angle is okay if it helps you, but for the most part, your front foot should be straight on the board and just below the front bolts.

The placement of the back foot is more important for the Frontside Pop Shove It. Place your back foot on the tail near the tip of the board. Your back foot should be in the middle of the tail and slightly angled, but then bring it back a bit, so the ball of your foot is more on the heel-side of the tail rather than the toe-side.

Practice Step #1

For the first practice step, you won’t be standing on the board. Stand with your board in front of you and simply place your back foot on the tail, in the proper Frontside Pop Shove It back foot position. With your back foot in the proper position and your front foot standing on solid ground, practice popping straight down.

Give the board a slight nudge forward as you pop it down with your back foot. When done properly, this will cause the board to turn 180-degrees as it would for the Frontside Pop Shove It. You’re not moving, only the board is doing the Front Shove motion.

It’s important to keep the board flat when doing this practice step. This will prevent you from landing primo or having the board flip when you start landing Frontside Pop Shove Its. Play around with the foot position, the downwards pop, and the forward nudge of the back foot until your board is consistently staying flat and doing the full frontside 180-degree rotation.

Practice Step #2

The next practice step requires both of your feet to be on the board, positioned as they would be for the Frontside Pop Shove it. Repeat the back foot motion from the first practice step, but after you’ve popped with your back foot you will step off the board. Once you’ve stepped off with that back foot, leave your front foot on the board.

Your board will pop, rotate around and you will land with your front foot on the board and your back foot on the ground. The emphasis of this practice step is to leave your front foot as close to the board as possible as it rotates 180-degrees. The front foot being close to the board will act as a stopper, preventing your board from flipping as it rotates. When the rotation has finished, your front foot will drop down with and land on the board.

With these 2 practice steps mastered, the last thing you need to do in order to land a Frontside Pop Shove It is to bring your back knee up as the board turns, then stomp your back foot down on the bolts after your front foot has caught the board. 

Back Foot Pop

With your back foot slightly in the tail’s heel side pocket, bend down then pop your tail straight down. This is the most important step of the Frontside Pop Shove it. Though the Front Shove rotates behind you, you should try to pop the tail straight down and push it slightly in front of you.

Unlike the Backside Pop Shove it where your back foot uses a backward scooping/sliding motion. With the Frontside Pop Shove It you need to pop straight down and nudge your back foot forward.

Front Foot Catch

Your front foot should stay close to the board after you’ve popped the trick, acting as a point of control. The front foot will guide the board around smoothly and prevent the board from going primo. As the rotation completes, your front foot should make contact with the board. Catch it and bring it down for the landing. BOOM!

Landing

Moving too slowly or not moving at all will make this trick more difficult to land. Attempt the Frontside Pop Shove It with a little bit, or, a medium amount of speed.  With speed, bend your knees then pop your back foot straight down and nudge it forward.

Keep your front foot close to the board, catch it in the air, bring it down, then place your popping/nudging foot back on the board. Bend your knees again upon landing, then roll away clean!

Have fun with the Front Shove. Though it may seem basic, it’s a great trick to do in games of S.K.A.T.E. It looks great over gaps, down stair sets, and even coming out of slides and grinds.

Now that you’ve got them dialed in, Braille Skateboarding wants to see you land this awesome trick! Film a quick clip of you doing it. Post it on Instagram tagging @brailleskate, #brailleskate, and #brailleskateboarding. Let us know which piece of advice helped you the most so we can highlight that part. We want to get more people landing Frontside Pop Shove Its…FIRST TRY!

As you progress through skateboarding, you’ll want to learn more and more tricks. You should pick up Skateboarding Made Simple! It’s easily the most detailed skateboarding tutorials out there. Countless skaters have progressed in their skating abilities through Skateboarding Made Simple. YOU can too!