Backside 360

The backside 360 is one of the most elegant tricks in freestyle snowboarding: you spin 360° backside and land facing the same way you started. It’s considered more technical than the frontside 360 because you can’t see the landing during the first half of the spin, and that’s exactly what gives it its signature style: you trust the movement even while you’re spinning blind.

How to Do It

1. Come in with more speed than for the backside 180. The higher you go, the cleaner the trick.
2. On the lip, wind up the backside rotation with commitment: shoulders opening toward your back, head starting to turn.
3. Pop hard off the end of the lip. As soon as you take off, pull your arms in close to your body to spin faster.
4. You can’t see the landing for the first half of the spin: trust it. After 180° it comes back into view, so spot the landing with your head.
5. As you get close to the landing, bring your arms out to slow the spin. Land straight, knees soft.

Common Mistakes

• Panicking when you can’t see: feeling disoriented halfway through the spin is normal. Keep your head turning at a steady pace: if your head stops, everything stops.
• Not winding up enough: a half-done backside 360 is worse than a 180. Better to wind up too much and correct than to end up in a sketchy rotation at 270°.
• Landing on your heels: you’ll tend to land on your heel edge. Be ready to compensate with slight pressure on your toes.

Progression

The backside 360 completes the pair with the frontside 360: now you can spin clean in both directions. From here you can explore 540s or make your 360s more stylish with different grabs. A Melon on a backside 360 is a timeless classic.