Drills for better caspers

I’ve been stuck in Casperland for months now. Initially, I’d do thirty exits out of casper stance every skateboarding session to overcome the fear of them. Then I wanted to be able to move into and out of casper. And now? Now, I want to be better at caspers.

better text on blue background
Photo by Kevin Malik on Pexels.com

But what is a casper?

The casper is a skateboarding trick invented by Bobby ‘Casper’ Boyden. The original freestyle-skateboarding version involves flopping the board over using mechanics similar to pulling up into heelside rail. While in ‘casper stance’, one foot is on the graphic side of the kick and the other foot is under the board. To exit, the skater scissor kicks, flipping and rotating the board 180 degrees, to land back on bolts.

Casper problems

Firstly, I have what I like to call ‘casper hesitancy’. I have no trouble getting into casper and holding casper stance but, sometimesmost of the time, I linger there for too long and fall out from fatigue. If I do successfully exit, I look like I’ve purposefully wasted ten seconds of an onlooker’s life. 🙁

I also have a low strike rate. If the casper entry feels off, I just scrap it and start again, which is fine when I’m not worried about consistency. But in contest-run situations? I’m going to have to be less picky with my entries. 🙁 🙁

Lastly, I want a best-practice casper; one that has

  • minimal arm flailing and
  • no foot down (obviously).
multiple exposure of an air dancer
Waving arms around in skateboarding is often a sign of poor control. Photo by Charles Haacker on Pexels.com

So, how do I get to better?

Casper solutions

Mitchie Brusco’s Skate IQ program has made me approach skateboarding a little bit differently. Its emphasis on ten-minute/fifty-rep drills has got me cooking up exercises of my own for freestyle skateboarding.

Over the past few weeks and with some help from the international freestyle community, I’ve come up with four exercises to address the aforementioned casper problems.

Count to three – for all casper entry to exit attempts, count to three and always attempt to exit at ‘three’. If fear, self-doubt, and other negative thoughts are hijacking the brain, get more focused by counting in a different language.

Casper spacewalks – save those imperfect casper entries by working on casper shuffling, that thing freestylers do to correct their foot position in casper stance.

Never Enough skateboarder Paolo Virgilio Demurtas recommends working on casper spacewalks to strengthen this skill. ‘It’s good to try to “recover” and reposition the foot while spacewalking. Gives you a lot of consistency for other casper tricks.’

Scottish rider Egg Spence demonstrates casper spacewalks.

Casper statues – pretend to be a statue while in casper stance. How long can you hold your casper with little or no movement? This is a game MLM skateboarder Dan Harrigan and his mate MadGreek came up with to work on micro corrections for balance, instead of ‘rolling the windows down’ as Dan likes to call it.

Casper spin initiation – in his casper tutorial, Tony Gale notes that any feet on the floor will stop a clean rotation during casper spins. So the best drill for removing this ugly foot-down habit is to practice casper entry into casper spin. If you’re still managing to cheat the spin somehow, try doing the drill on a rubberised surface, the stuff that’s used in playgrounds; if any part of your shoe is touching the ground, it’s going to catch.

A final note

While it’s early days for doing these drills, I’ve already noticed an improvement in my caspers. Count to three, for instance, has already boosted my ‘just commit’ mindset as well as improving trick flow. I’m really excited to see where casper spacewalk, casper statues, and casper spin initiation take me.

Did you find these exercises helpful? Or do you have your own casper-specific hacks that you want to share? Let us know in the comments below, or get in touch with us via Instagram (@flatlandiafreestyle).

5 minutes with Mike Osterman

Mike Osterman in the Waltz Skateboarding ‘garage’.

Why did you choose freestyle?

I grew up in the middle of the country, about an hour outside of Chicago, and didn’t have easy access to any parks or decent skate spots. I also played a lot of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, so I was exposed to freestyle tricks that way. I think the combination of no parks and exposure to freestyle tricks led me to learn that stuff. Then I read Rodney’s book and discovered that it all had a name, competitions, forums, etc. Luckily the forums and grainy online videos in 2006 didn’t scare me away. 

Did you ever do any transition or street skating?

I did a tiny bit of street skating. Mostly curbs and manual pads. I’m terrible at that stuff.

Same with transitions. I used to work at Jeric’s Skate Shop in Plainfield, Illinois. They had a two-foot mini ramp in the shop and I could barely ride it, despite spending most of my time there, haha.

How long have you been skating for?

I started skating in 2005 so I guess that makes twenty years now. And now I feel very old. 

How much time does running Waltz Skateboarding leave you to skate for yourself?

Zero time units. Seriously though, I try to have at least one session per week. We meet with the Long Beach freestyle crew every Sunday so that keeps me on my board. I’m grateful for that. I’ll sneak off for a lunchbreak session now and then as well. That’s always nice. 

When did you start Waltz?

Daniel Trujillo and I officially started Waltz in April of 2018. We made a few t-shirts before that, but 2018 is when we made the leap and made it legit.

What inspires you to keep Waltz running?

Jamie Wong makes me keep it all running. The goal of Waltz has been to grow the community and make decent gear for them. A lot of people really love being part of a freestyle scene—online or in their towns. That’s been a huge motivator. The US Open was a really emotional experience for that reason—seeing so many people come together to support our local scene and each other was surreal. I just want to do more of that.

What’s the hardest part of your job of running a freestyle company?

I think the hardest part of running Waltz right now is finding a way to make all of the things that we want to. Freestyle gear is hard to make. Period. Most factories, especially those in the USA, have dialled in their processes to churn out standard skateboard shapes (both wheels and decks) SUPER efficiently. That’s how they stay competitive. I’m SUPER grateful to work with a handful of smaller factories that are down to get weird—pressing with custom moulds, accepting relatively low order minimums, developing custom wheel moulds, etc. 

Still, with the broad range of sizes and shapes that folks ride, it’s extremely difficult to make a board to serve every person’s preferences. There’s always that one guy who wants a 7.51255″ instead of a 7.4″ or a 7.75″. And the wheelbase is never right. Still, I do my best to stock a couple shapes in each of our concave families. Making the ‘best freestyle board’ means serving a wide range of freestylers.

That same challenge applies to every other part of Waltz’s work. Media, events, even our community forums like our Discord. Waltz can’t make everything. We can’t be everything for everyone, so I spend a lot of time trying to temper my enthusiasm. 😀 Someone else can make the Freestyle Brazil Tour Video.

What do you have planned for Waltz in the future?

Ugh, hopefully more nap time. Two new pro models dropping in 2026 if we can get our act together. 😄 More trick tips. We’re discontinuing Waltz Wheels (cue sad music) and maybe a new collab with an old friend? Is that cryptic enough?

What does Mike Osterman do when he’s not skating and making boards?

I’m pretty boring. I love going on walks around Long Beach. Maria and I spent a lot of time in Japan just walking. When I’m injured, I usually end up playing a lot of video games—playing a lot of UFO 50 lately.

Connect: Mike Osterman is the co-founder of Waltz Skateboarding, organiser of the US Open of Freestyle Skateboarding, and captain of the Long Beach freestyle crew (Instagram: @lbcfreestyle). Basically he wears many hats, which is why his pro board has a bunch of hats on it. Follow him on Instagram (@mike_osterman) and YouTube (@mike_osterman1). If you want a Mike Osterman board and or other Waltz Skateboarding models, you’ll find them stocked at Aikenheads (Perth, WA).

Navigate Flatlandia: your freestyle hub downunder

You found us. Huzza.

When we first set up the Flatlandia website in 2023, it was pretty basic:

  • ABOUT told you that Flatlandia was there to support Australian freestylers
  • BLOG had some information about freestyle skateboarding, freestyle skateboard setups, and a couple of interviews.

Since then, the addition of SHOP and over forty blog posts has made the website more complex, making it easy to miss out on a lot of interesting stuff, especially when you’re a first-time visitor. To quote some feedback from one skateboarder:

‘I found there is a wealth of knowledge and resources…[that] are just buried amongst the pages and if you’re not scrolling and reading each article you can very easily miss them. I found myself stumbling upon information I didn’t even know was on there.’

It’s great to hear that netizens are getting something out of Flatlandia, but we don’t like that people are having difficulty locating things, so here is a virtual signpost for the first-timers.

signpost in australia
It’s signposting time. (Photo by Prabhath Jayarathna on Pexels.com)

Fresh to freestyle skateboarding?

‘What is freestyle skateboarding? (And why haven’t I heard about it?)’ is a short and sweet introduction to the sport. If you’re new to skateboarding as well, Stuart Maca’Ghobhainn’s ‘What I have learnt as a beginner freestyler’ shares some insider tips and tricks. Speaking of tricks, Flatlandia has TRICK TIPS, a blog category that has tutorials on rail toespins, k-walks, and other things.

Curious about gear?

A collection of freestyle skateboards
Freestyle skateboards come in many shapes and smallish sizes.

If you’re unsure whether you should buy a dedicated freestyle setup or work with what you’ve already got, we suggest looking at Josh Dunstone’s opinion piece ‘Can you skate freestyle/do freestyle tricks on a popsicle (street) setup?’.

Leaning towards buying something freestyle-specific? ‘The “yeah, nah, yeah” guide to freestyle skateboard setups’ goes through the parts that make up a freestyle complete, as well as where to source products in Australia. Do keep in mind that this article was written prior to us setting up our SHOP which now stocks freestyle brands such as Decomposed, Moonshine, Protostyle, and East Frisian Skateboards.

If you want reviews, Rohan Cowley has been testing out freestyle boards, including the Denny Riordan reissue and MLM Skates’ Goose Country. Jamie Wong also talks about his experience skating three board shapes from Waltz Skateboarding. More product reviews are in the pipeline, so do keep tabs on the REVIEW blog category.

Freestyle brands are very niche and are often run by one, maybe three, passionate skater(s). We thought it important to get to know the people behind the brands. You’ll find questions and answers with people like Decomposed’s Witter Cheng under the MEET THE MAKERS blog category.

Thinking of competing?

It feels like freestyle competitions are popping up all over the place, and there’s talk of one happening in Australia next year. Go ask David Mock for details.

Competing in freestyle requires more than just turning up though. To help you prep, we’ve written posts about freestyle-skateboarding contests, with much input from the global freestyle community.

Needing to connect with more Aussies?

In ‘Fostering freestyle-skateboarding communities’, we talked about the importance of skating with crew.

Freestyle is a fairly small scene, hence it can be hard to find local freestylers to skate with. To make things easier, Flatlandia aims to unearth freestyle-minded folk around Australia. We’ve interviewed skateboarders from Adelaide (SA), Deception Bay (QLD), Inverell (NSW), Melbourne (VIC), Sydney (NSW) and Perth (WA).

Plus don’t forget to follow us on Instagram (@flatlandiafreestyle) where we repost and share stories from Aussie freestylers.

pink jigsaw puzzle piece

Still lost?

Let us know in the comments below

Toeside-rail entries: overcoming fear in skateboarding

When it comes to rail tricks, we all begin with learning how to get into rail stand. Tailstop to heelside rail is easy-peasy; most new freestyle skateboarders get the hang of this within a sesh. Cleanly pulling up into heelside rail requires more skill, although, once mastered, it can be a safe and consistent method. And then there’s the dreaded toeside-rail entry. 😭

In terms of difficulty, toeside-rail entry ranks higher than tailstop to heelside rail but lower than pulling up into heelside rail. It requires less prerequisites. If you can hippie jump, if you’ve got decent balance and proprioception, then you can make the trick; you just need to be gutsy.

So how do you find the courage to hop into toeside rail?

Uncertainty is what we’re really afraid of

It’s normal to be wary of a new trick. Will it be a make? Or will you misjudge and end up with a wheel-shaped bruise on your butt? Or worse, a twisted ankle?

A sequence of images showing a freestyle skateboarder practicing toeside-rail entries in a park setting.
Getting into toeside rail: maybe you’ll make it, maybe you won’t.

In a BBC article about the fear of the unknown, science writer David Robson wrote that a ‘feeling of uncertainty can bring acute discomfort’. Some rather horrible studies involving participants being zapped showed that having a fifty percent chance of receiving an electric shock was more stressful than being guaranteed a shock.

He noted that such a response has an evolutionary benefit.

The brain is constantly trying to predict what will happen next, allowing it to prepare the body and mind in the most effective way possible. In uncertain situations, that planning is a lot harder – and if you’re potentially facing a predator or a human foe, the wrong response could be deadly. As a result, it could pay to err on the side of caution – either by avoiding the uncertainty altogether or by putting the brain and body in an aroused state that is ready to respond to a changing situation.

Danger and uncertainty is skateboarding. That adrenaline rush we get is why we fell in love with the sport in the first place. But too much fear can cause frustration and delay progress. So how do we skateboarders circumvent the anxiety when it gets too much?

Exposure therapy is key

Clinicians use behavioural therapy to help patients with phobias. One evidence-based approach is exposure therapy where patients are encouraged to face their fears.

According to the Australian Psychological Society, the best method is ‘typically conducted in a controlled real-world environment and involves directly confronting the person’s fear through a series of activities which provoke increasing levels of fear and anxiety’.

This step-by-step process is known as ‘graded therapy’. You start with the easiest, least anxiety-inducing exposures, working up to harder ones later on.

In relation to toeside-rail entries, you might start by setting the board into toeside rail and then jumping up onto it. This removes the uncertainty of the board over or under-rotating and you can just work on getting comfortable with the landing.

The next step would be holding onto a rail, fence, or a skate buddy with two hands while attempting the trick. Once comfortable, try doing it with only a one-handed assist. Then, attempt some without holding onto something, but with the fence or rail or skate buddy nearby, so that you can grab onto them should things go pear-shaped. With enough work, you will be able to graduate to an unassisted toeside-rail entry.

The Western Australian Government’s Centre for Clinical Interventions (CCI) has various self-help resources on anxiety, including ‘Situational Exposure’, an excellent two-pager which helps people plan their own graded-exposure therapy. It’s worth checking out if you’re a nervy skateboarder.

A double-sided informational sheet titled 'Situational Exposure', discussing graded exposure therapy techniques for managing anxiety. It outlines steps for tackling fears, planning goals, and tracking progress.
The CCI’s Situational Exposure worksheet can be of help if you’re worried about a trick.

The American Psychological Association also uses ‘flooding’ as a type of exposure therapy. The opposite of graded therapy, flooding requires you to address the hardest, scariest, most difficult situation first.

If you are nervous about toeside-rail entry, you might want to work on something more intimidating, like trying it rolling, trying it one-footed or trying it in front of a bunch of unimpressed bystanders. You don’t need to commit and you don’t need to be unsafe; it’s more about testing out something that absolutely terrifies you and then returning to the relatively easy trick of getting into toeside rail on your favourite bit of flatground.

Also, the hardest, scariest thing that beginner freestylers can imagine is failing. So practise failing! Deliberately under-rotate the board and learn how to slap it back down to bolts so that it no longer freaks you out.

I didn’t sign up for the science talk…how do I learn to love toeside-rail entries?

This post turned out to be less skateboarding and more medically minded. I should make a proviso: I’m not a psychologist, but rather just a chicken-hearted freestyle skateboarder who is coming to terms with mildly intimidating tricks.

To summarise the above, create a controlled environment by

  • removing the uncertainty of an over-rotated/under-rotated board by placing the board in toeside rail before practising jumps, and
  • using a safety net like a fence, rail or skate buddy.

Use a step-by-step approach (aka ‘graded exposure’) by

  • trying with a two-handed assist
  • trying with a one-handed assist, and
  • trying without assistance but with the safety net (i.e. fence, rail, skate buddy) nearby.

Alternatively, do the scariest thing first (aka ‘flooding’) by confronting scarier situations like

  • failing/falling, and
  • one-legged toeside rail entries.

A final note

If you’ve done any kind of skateboarding for a time, you’ll know that progress is rarely linear. Overcoming the anxiety isn’t linear either but, just remember, if you keep at it, doing the trick will one day become second nature and that stress will morph into the best kind of dopamine. In the meantime, put your headphones in, turn the chill music on, and face that fear.

REFERENCES

5 minutes with Matthias Mühring

Skateboarders Matthias Muhring and Jenna Hoffmann at the East Frisian Skateboards stall
Matthias Muhring with East Frisian Skateboards team rider Jenna Hoffmann (6 June 2025).

Why freestyle?

Freestyle IS the way to show your skills and creativity at once. That is the most important thing. When you see the different types of runs, that’s what I like the most…some are very fast, some are very dancing and funny, some runs are full of hard tricks.

What is the style that you yourself are working towards?

Puh, I am working more in team building and sponsoring for women and kids or girls. I only skate freestyle for fun.

How is this going? It looks like many kids to go to learn freestyle now at the East Frisian school.

I found an association to help me with the gymnastics hall and there we have our training every week. I am teaching them with the help of my son Melvin and sometimes I make workshops with other freestyle skaters from my team or from the freestyle family.

We are now two groups: beginner and intermediate. In one and a half years, we are thirty-four active freestyle skaters in this association. That’s the reason why the World Freestyle [Skateboarding] Championships (WFSC) has a Kids’ Division now, because I come with so many kids. 😂

Is this why East Frisian now has a specific skateboard for kids?

Yes, I wanted a size the kids can handle, but it’s a single kick too, so many people use them…The kids’ shape I did together with Marius Constantin. It’s the same shape which Carmen Ionita and Rhiana Grigore used for the first steps in freestyle.

Can you tell us a bit about East Frisian Skateboards and how it came about?

I have loved skateboarding since I was a child, so I was skating ramps and parks since I was eighteen. Now I am fifty years old and the passion to skate is always there.

In 2019, I went to Brandenburg, to the European Freestyle Championships, and that was the beginning and loving of the genre freestyle. But I saw that less girls and women were competing, so I decided to change this and the idea of the association was born. Teaching kids the first steps to freestyle and having a team with girls and women was a target. I wanted to have pro women in the team.

Then I saw in my home town a fence and East Frisian Skateboards was born.

A farm gate
The gate that inspired the East Frisian Skateboards logo (photo provided by Matthias Muhring).

Now I have the first girl…[with] the first pro model; it’s Eva Grigore. It comes hopefully out in October.

Graphic of Eva Grigore's freestyle skateboard deck
The graphic design for Eva Grigore’s new pro board from East Frisian Skateboards

What are the specs for the Eva Grigore board? Or do we need to keep this a secret?

The pro model for Eva we release on November the 8th. So better not…But for you I can say it’s a 7.3″ single kick, close to Marius’ old pro model from Cirus with little changes at the nose.

With a focus on women and younger riders, has it changed how you approach making freestyle boards?

I’m thinking we females are a bit smaller. Also the graphics might need to be different too!

Yes it’s a little bit different with the size of the decks, but that is not a problem. We from East Frisian Skateboards now have an exclusive mould to do single kicks in many different sizes.

Graphics are also not a big problem. We do it together with the team riders, so everyone is happy.

What exciting things will we see next from East Frisian Skateboards?

Oh, we got some hot stuff upcoming: two pro models for our team riders Eva Grigore and Marcio Torres.

And we now produce exclusive single-kick decks in every size you want. Find out on our website.

Finally, what advice would you give to freestylers around the world trying to set up schools in their own towns?

Yes, I have important advice…

Go out and make shows at the normal celebrations in your home town and make commercial[s] for this sport…and after that, do a workshop with the interested kids.

Make a list [of] who wants to learn more, and make new appointments with them.

Then go to the local sport association and try to get a slot in a hall or something else.

…I did [this] and now I have thirty-five people learning to skate.

Connect: Matthias Mühring is the founder of East Frisian Skateboards, a German freestyle skateboarding brand which supports women and kids getting into the sport. The Flatlandia shop currently stocks some East Frisian Skateboard models, including the Holy Cow, Nordic by Nature, and Smokin’ Sukkaz, but for more EFS things, check out the brand’s website (east-frisian-skateboards.de) and their Instagram page (@east_frisian_sk8teboards).