Wheelies: why we need this foundational freestyle trick

In our recent ‘5 minutes with…the World Freestyle Edition’, we asked Portuguese skater Fransisco Patrone what he teaches new-to-freestyle skateboarders. Wheelies were second on his list of foundational tricks:

I usually start with that and I [then] move onto manuals like wheelies, one-wheelers, one-footers, all sorts of manual variations. 

But what is a wheelie? Wheelies are any kind of trick that involves riding on two wheels instead of four. They are also known as manuals, but in freestyle circles, you’re more likely to hear the original term ‘wheelie’.

‘I know 99% of the skateboard world calls these manuals now. There’s a difference, though – a manual is done on an obstacle, a wheelie is done on the flat – and I’m stubbornly clinging on to that…’ (Tony Gale, 2018)

‘Wheelies are if you just roll into it. Manuals are if you trick into or pop into it.’ (Robby Williams, 2017)

Regardless of what people call it, the wheelie/manual (the ‘wheenual’ or ‘manlie’?) is key to all forms of skateboarding. In the first week of his Skate IQ program, Mitchie Brusco (2024) talks about the necessity of the two-wheeled balance: ‘Being able to put your tail on the ground, being able to hold manuals—these are skills that sit underneath every trick you do.’ And if you think about it, Brusco is right. It’s there at the start of every ollie, just before you pop the tail. It’s also there to save you from the concrete when you unintentionally shift your weight too far back during a kickturn on transition (or, in the case of freestyle, land too far back on the board after exiting truck stand).

Like a decent kick push, a competent wheelie is a great confidence builder. But it’s a skill that doesn’t happen overnight, so the sooner you start working on them, the sooner you’ll get them. Squeeze in ten minutes of wheelie practice every session. While catching up with the crew, instead of standing around, chuck in some stationary wheelie work. Give your knees a break from high-intensity tricks by mixing things up with some rolling wheelies.

For skaters who have difficulty committing to the monotony that is wheelie practice, Sarah Park-Matott has posted a video on how she makes things more fun.

Some freestylers might not immediately see the benefits of working on wheelies, since they’re not hung up on ollie-based tricks. Nevertheless, wheelies are good to have in the trick bag if you’re planning to participate in freestyle competitions. They help you move around a lot, meeting the ‘use of floor space’ judging criteria. At this year’s World Freestyle Skateboarding Championships (WFSC 2025), Danny Klahold rolled out stylish one-footed wheelies and nose wheelies to take over most of the contest area.

Some judging criteria from a recent contest (US Open of Freestyle 2025). Points are allocated based on how much competition floor space is utilised.

They also add much-needed movement and variety to a run. Yep, wheelies come in all shapes, speeds, and sizes and it takes a good freestyler to make use of some of the gnarlier variants, such as the coconut wheelie and the tuck-knee nose wheelie.

Close up of a coconut wheelie skateboard trick
tuck-knee nose wheelie

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the various weird and wonderful subcategories of wheelies, Open Source’s Beau Trifiro was good enough to demonstrate the main ones, with help from Robby Williams.

Each subcategory has a bunch of variations. WFSC 2025 showcased hang ten spacewalks from Tobias Bamacher, one-foot coconut wheelies from Kai Tanabe, heelside coconut wheelies from Yuzuki Kawazaki, and a handstand wheelie from Ismal Pérez. Also, Hitome Komatsu used all kinds of daffy/yeah-right-manual variations in her ninety-second run. All of these tricks are proof that wheelies, when done well, can be ‘bangers’ in their own right.

So, yeah, wheelies will help you skate better, but they’ll also give your freestyle lines a boost too. Give them the attention they deserve: dedicate some time to two-wheeled balance practice today.

REFERENCES

5 minutes with Morgan Swaak

Why freestyle?

Freestyle just feels good.

I remember the feeling of awe the first time I saw Per Welinder’s part in Ban This (1989). There was something about the music, something about the flow, something about the way he moved his board.

I loved the feeling of wonder as I watched my dad skate. He seemed to defy the laws of physics as he propelled himself from two wheels.

And I love the feeling when I skate. I love spinning around, hearing my wheels scrape across the floor, and gliding through the air like I’m flying.

Freestyle feels like nothing else and I love it!

Does your dad skate freestyle too?

Yes my dad is definitely a freestyle skater! As a kid I’d love watching him spacewalk (by far my favourite trick) and his WhatsApp profile is teenage him doing a handstand on a board! He’d subject me to watching too many skateboarding films…While I think he’d like to say he taught me everything I know, the honour of best skateboarding teacher would have to go to my sister.

Morgan Swaak with his dad at World Freestyle Skateboarding Championships 2025
Morgan Swaak’s dad handing him some water during the Rookies’ Division runs at WFSC 2025.

Both you and your dad went to this year’s World Freestyle Skateboarding Championships (WFSC), with you competing in Rookies. Any thoughts you’d like to share on the experience?

IT WAS SOOOO MUCH FUN!!!!

It was my first time meeting other freestylers and I absolutely loved it!

I loved watching everyone’s runs and I would try to tell everyone my favourite trick from their run! Everyone was super friendly and many of them would then teach me the trick which was awesome! This was a really nice icebreaker for me as there were so many people I wanted to talk to but I didn’t know how to start the conversation.

Actually competing was a lot scarier than I thought it would be (but also a lot more fun). I am the type of person that loves presenting ([i.e.] speaking at Australia’s biggest Hacker conference) and I did a couple of musicals in high school however this was BY FAR the most nerve-racking thing I have done (which I did not expect). My recommendations (but also I am definitely not [a] professional) to anyone wanting to give it a go would be:

  1. Sign up! The first step in competing is actually signing up. You don’t need a routine or to feel prepared. I hadn’t skated in over a year when I signed up but it was a great motivator to brush up and learn some new tricks!
  2. Have a routine. I am always skateboarding to music and thought I would just figure it out (I had a series of tricks in mind, I just had to move between them). However this did not go to plan. There is a lot on your mind when competing so the more you can prepare in advance (so you can think less on the day) the better!
  3. Have fun! Everyone says to have fun but I didn’t know what that meant. To me competing is fun, but is there a way I should be having more fun? A piece of advice I really liked was that competing is a chance to share something different. All my favourite runs were the ones that were the most unique. I felt like I had to do a run with a rail flip, truck stand, casper etc. However I realised this is not the case, just do what you enjoy and leave out the rest.
  4. Be consistent. Everyone wants to try to show their best tricks, but I can guarantee, the best tricks are the tricks you can land.

Can you tell me what is a Morgan Swaak signature trick or trick class then?

I think my signature trick would definitely be spacewalks (and I can’t believe I didn’t do any in my first run).

It was the trick that got me hooked on freestyle and my favourite trick to show to others (it blows their mind that from standing still you can accelerate on just two wheels).

It also just feels SOOOO GOOD. I said it before but it’s just like flying!

Morgan Swaak’s spacewalks in his second run at WFSC 2025.

You must have enjoyed all of the spacewalk variations that you saw during June 6-8. What is your dream spacewalk trick?

IT WAS MIND BLOWING SEEING ALL THE VARIATIONS!! Tobias [Bamacher] was absolutely insane with their spacewalks. Him and Erwin Shuvit have an insane hang ten spacewalk which looks like magic!

An example of Tobias Bamacher’s hang ten spacewalks, filmed by Alex Foster at the 2022 Paderborn contest.

I think it’ll still be a while before I learn that so at the moment I’m desperately trying to land a 360-switchblade mid spacewalk!

Are you currently just doing freestyle or are you also working on other skate stuff?

Yes I mostly just do freestyle! I definitely wouldn’t mind doing more park or transition but the tricks I enjoy most (and have less risk of injury) are freestyle.

I’m guessing you skate on a traditional freestyle setup then? Can you tell us a bit about it?

Well coming from Australia, getting your hands on a freestyle setup isn’t very easy! For the longest time I was rocking a Santa Cruz complete…[It] was the best value and it was surprisingly decent at going into rail but nowhere near as good as a freestyle complete. I tried using cruiser wheels for a bit more axle coverage but I wouldn’t recommend that (the wheels were way too soft).

I learnt old-school kickflips on a tiny, cheap, plastic board (which is great for building confidence in a trick).

I now have a NeverEnough complete and I love it. Coming back to Australia, I’ll probably buy as many offset wheels as I can.

Morgan Swaak with his NeverEnough skateboard.
Morgan Swaak’s current freestyle setup.

How has it been skating in the Netherlands, which you’ve been staying in temporarily, versus with back home?

Skating in the Netherlands has been SUCH a highlight!!

The first time going to the skatepark I was really worried about the language barrier. People would say ‘hi’ in Dutch and I wouldn’t say anything cause I was nervous about not knowing Dutch.

However that same day some of them offered to play a game of skate and I was like ‘Oooh sorry only know English’. But skating is such a universal language and it all went fine! Afterwards they …[lent me] their markers to draw on my board and I got added to a group chat! That was such an amazing day and I already felt a thousand times more connected to the skate community in the Netherlands than in Australia.

I’ve been blown away by how friendly everyone is at my local skatepark (AND IT’S SUCH A BEAUTIFUL SKATEPARK).

I haven’t risked much car park skating as I don’t think my Dutch is ready for confrontation.

Also people actually recognise freestyle in the Netherlands! Maybe they do in Australia too now (I hadn’t gone skating much for a couple of years before coming to the Netherlands).

What are the near-future skate plans?

Oooh good question!! I really want to make a video teaching some of the tricks I learnt at the World Freestyle Skateboarding Championships! I LOVE teaching!! At my uni, I tutor quite a few courses and at the skatepark I am often the one delegated to teaching new skaters!

I think skateboarding is such an interesting teaching problem. When I do a trick I’ve known for years it just feels natural. Trying to explain that to someone is really hard and something I enjoy a lot!

I think it’s especially hard to communicate it over a video where you can’t see someone’s foot positioning or board.

Having trick-tip videos was so valuable to my skating journey and I’d love to contribute!

Connect: Morgan Swaak’s first competition run was at the biggest event of the freestyle calendar, WFSC 2025 (read up on the competition’s results here). He is currently living with his spacewalking dad in the Netherlands but he’ll be back in Sydney later this year. Until then, find him on Instagram (@morgan.swaak).

5 minutes with…the World Freestyle Edition

World Freestyle Skateboarding Championships (WFSC) once again descended upon Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany, in June 2025.

Skateboarders of all ages and nationalities converged to showcase their best work. We were lucky enough to interview nine participants, from a range of divisions, in order to make a very special ‘5 minutes with’ for our Australian freestyle skateboarding blog.

Why freestyle?

Because of the multicultural scene. Everybody is together. All nations. Nobody cares. Everybody’s friends. That’s freestyle for me.

Burns Lorenzen, Masters’ Division contestant from Germany

Who are you most excited to watch in real life?

I’m most excited to watch Yuzuki Kawasaki because I’ve seen his runs on Instagram and it’s so crazy good. 

And also Kai Tanabe…

[They’re] like such an idol for me. 

Freya Ruske, Women+’s Division contestant from Germany

What made you decide to commit to your first competition?

I really wanted to come to the World Freestyle Championships and I originally just wanted to watch.

Stencilled advertisement of the World Freestyle Skateboarding Championships 2025.
Home of WFSC 2025: Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany.

But Jane Falconer-White…said, ‘No, it won’t be the same experience if you don’t take part. Just do it!’

And I’m about to go on and I’m s#@&ing my pants but, you know, you only get one life so I thought, ‘F$&@ it…just do it.’ Yeah…

And I want to challenge myself and prove that, you know, older people can skate and take part. 

Laura Bromley, Women+’s Division contestant from United Kingdom

Any tips you’d like to share for contest jitters?

Breathing and visualisation: to calm down your nervous system before you go out there.

Visualisation is really important…You have to think of the best-case scenario. Walk through your run until you know it back-to-front, okay. Visualise it in the best possible way; everything is going well…

Don’t think about mistakes. If you do come to a mistake, gloss over it, keep moving through it. Half of the battle is learning how we overcome that and become a better competitor.

So yeah, lots of visualisation, lots of deep breathing. Calming yourself down to get in that right mindset. Be positive. You’re here to have fun and everyone wants to see you succeed so have fun with it.

Denham Hill, Pros’ Division contestant from United Kingdom

What was your first experience at being a freestyle judge like?

It is a very interesting perspective, I would say, because I have been going for many years but I’m always on the other side in the competitions. 

I don’t know why…I am good enough to be a judge. I mean I guess I’m experienced enough, whatever that means? But when Patrick [Thies] tells me, ‘Azzam, do you want to be a judge?’ it’s like ‘yeah, why not’. 

Freestyle skateboarding judges at WFSC 2025.
Judging panel at WFSA 2025. Assam Syafiq sits on the far left, alongside fellow judges Robert Wagner, Harry Fisher, and Hayato Kojima.

So [judging], it’s interesting because everything’s systematic…Everything’s in an app—just entering points and sliders. Not sure what’s the calculation behind all of this input, but that’s what…the data guy [needs to know]. I’m just assessing tricks. 

It’s tough…It’s not physically tough—it’s basically just sitting there. Mentally it can be quite taxing, especially after watching so many runs back-to-back…Usually when we’re spectating, it’s just clapping…When I’m judging, I need to assess how good or bad a trick is and assign a number, which is not necessarily the funnest thing to do but it is a necessary thing to do. 

Maybe this is a little bit personal…During the qualifiers, I was judging the Women’s and Masters’ Divisions and it was cool. During the finals, I will also judge the Masters’ and Women+’s Divisions but I didn’t qualify for the Ams. 

Patrick gave me/asked me if I wanted to judge the Ams finals and I said, ‘Yeah, sure, why not?’ But I have to admit, I did feel emotionally disturbed because it’s Ams finals and it kinda sucks that I’m not on the other side, skating…Of course, it doesn’t affect my judging, but it still feels a little weird. 

Hopefully, given the chance again next year, I’d like to judge. Patrick says me and the rest of the judges did a good job and, if I make the contest [again], I will definitely take some pointers from this judging that I made. 

Azzam Syafiq, judge and Amateurs’ Division contestant from Malaysia

As a skate instructor, what tricks do you like to teach skaters new to freestyle?

I reckon new skaters should start with footwork. Footwork is the most important thing in freestyle: it’s the glue that holds the run together. I usually start with that and I [then] move onto manuals like wheelies, one-wheelers, one-footers, all sorts of manual variations. 

Spins. For some reason, there aren’t that many people doing spins and I think it’s something that’s important in freestyle. 

And then I move onto shuvits, simple tricks like Yoyo hops. And yeah, it stems from there, right? We start with whatever is closest to the floor, so low-impact tricks above all. 

Fransisco Patrone, Community Award recipient and Amateurs’ Division contestant from Portugal

Why bigger boards?

Paolo Virgilio Demurtas with his pro board from Never Enough.
Paolo Virgilio Demurtas with his 8.25″ pro model from Never Enough. Most freestyle decks range from 7″ to 7.75″; 8.25″ is very wide by freestyle standards.

For balance. Because a lot of balance [is needed] for wheelie tricks that I like, [such as] spacewalk. Also, good balance for 50-50, casper…I like the balance stuff.

Of course it’s not good for rail tricks but I don’t do many rail tricks so it’s perfectly ok. 

And the side effect is [that] I can use it for the rails at the skatepark, so for me it’s perfect. 

Paolo Virgilio Demurtas, Masters’ Division contestant from Italy

What do you think of Vegemite and TimTams? If they were a freestyle trick, what would they be?

I think TimTam could be something like a latte flip: something sweet and good to have.

Vegemite? I dunno. Something bad I think.

Josh Dunstone gives Ikkei Nagao some Vegemite at WFSC 2025.
Australian pro skater Josh Dunstone gives a hearty dose of Vegemite to Japanese pro skater Ikkei Nagao.

Maybe something like a fan flip: something that is nice but hard to get. 

Cass Duhem, Women+’s Division contestant from France

What are you going to do now that Worlds is over?

I will go home and sleep for like one week straight and then I am going to LA, to the US Open. 

Rhiana Grigore, Women+’s Division contestant from Romania 

Flatlandia would like to thank all involved in the making of this special ‘5 minutes with’. Time to finish up this post with some behind-the-scenes. Enjoy!

5 minutes with Josh Dunstone

Skateboarders Josh Dunstone and Lowani Maluna at the In Your Face Magazine launch
Josh Dunstone (left) and Lowani Maluna at the In Your Face Magazine Launch in Feb 2025. Photo credit: Ollie Fans Melbourne

It looks like you’ve had a busy year so far: you were photographed and interviewed for In Your Face and you’ve been preparing for a fast-approaching freestyle-skateboarding competition in Germany. How has that been for you?

It has been awesome getting back into the game after having some time off to work on myself. Getting back to having these goals and opportunities to be a part of has been motivating and exciting. 

With your goals, what was that like to figure out when you’re a highly skilled freestyler?

It’s humbling. More comes from within and it’s some pretty personal goals that go hand in hand with succeeding. Success or achieving my goals isn’t necessarily winning though, it’s more about being able to create what I envision and bring that to life. Being able to perform a routine, pictured and practiced every night, for an invested audience. 

Have you sought any help and guidance along the way?

I’ve been on a bit of a self-care journey and 18 months ago I made the decision to see a therapist. After a year, I felt my mental health was a lot better, although it still needs work, and that was when I wanted to work on the physical.

I made the decision 6 months ago to find myself a personal trainer to not only help with contest prep but also general health and fitness.

Skateboarder Josh Dunstone working with his personal trainer.
Josh Dunstone working with his personal trainer in the lead up to World Freestyle Skateboarding Championships.

The progress I’ve made and the help I’ve received after seeking it and seeing things through with an open mind has helped me tenfold. I feel I’ve gained so much knowledge on my body and mind and found the recourses continue to help me. 

What has been your biggest challenge preparing for this year’s competition?

It’s hard to list just one but I’d say getting over the mental hurdle of failure. Doing everything in my power this time around to train and prepare has helped give me that confidence in myself and my abilities again.

I also saw after reading In Your Face that you’re from Mordialloc. It’s not a good area for skating, especially freestyle. How has living much closer to the Melbourne CBD affected your skating?

Yeah, growing up as a Mordy boy and the only freestyler in that area was a bit of a hurdle but I honestly loved it. I made the most of the limited spots available, hitting the only lit-up car park every night as that was my only option, and I think that made me more dedicated.

Having the city at my doorstep now is a blessing to have. There are so many amazing spots which honestly I should take more advantage of, but old habits live hard and I mostly am at the training ground of Marvel Stadium as it’s closest to home.

'In Your Face' Melbourne skate magazine with a Josh Dunstone article.
Skate spot in front of John Kelly's 'Cow Up a Tree' (Docklands, Melbourne).
A freestyle skateboarding session outside Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Victoria.

I grew up around Dandenong which is now much easier to at least freestyle in compared to back when I was a kid.

Surely there are other suburbs that are fantastic to skate in. Do you have any areas around Melbourne you would like to skate more in if you could?

Not necessarily. To me nothing compares to the concrete jungle known as the city. 

[But] as a kid I used to catch the train to random suburbs and look for different spots to skate.

Do you happen to have any funny stories from travelling around to suburbs to skate in?

Some of the most amusing moments for me is how people react to me doing freestyle in public regardless if it’s at a skatepark or a random spot.

Kinda funny, kinda concerning story: when I was younger I had a parking garage I used to skate super close to mine every night, I spent hours on end battling tricks and one night I ended up passing out from exhaustion. Woke up in a lady’s car. Thank God I knew her as she lived right behind the car park and was super friendly and understandably concerned. Her dog’s name was Spidey. 

And, of course, I need to ask, ‘Why freestyle?’

Endless creativity. The joy it brings me to have the ability to express myself on a board with complete freedom. The weight of the world off my shoulders when I’m rolling. Pure fun and creativity.

An older video of Josh’s freestyle skateboarding. You’ll find his more recent lines on Instagram.

Connect: Melbourne skater Josh Dunstone (IG: @josh_stinger_dunstone) first competed in freestyle skateboarding at the World Round-Up 2016. Since then, he’s gone pro, representing Maple Road Skateboards, invented a new rail flip (the Kangaroo flip), and raizor-tailed way too many skateboards (we’ve tried to get him onto skid plates but he’s not having a bar of it).

For the love of the daffy

Predating Rodney Mullen’s professional skate career, the daffy is a rolling trick performed on two skateboards.

Four shots of Hitomi Komatsu on two skateboards.
Daffies by Hitomi Komatsu. Photo source: Freestyle Sk8 Magazine (2023).

A standard daffy consists of one foot doing a wheelie while the other foot does a nose wheelie. ‘Variations include rollerskate-like double-board tailwheelies and double-nosewheelies, but also crossfoot wheelies and spins’ (FSKB n.d.).

The daffy is also known as a ‘yeah right manual’, thanks to Tony Hawk’s games:

We’ll delve into the method behind this trick one day but, for now, we just want to make an appreciation post on the daffy and the skaters who own it.

Ellen O’Neal

Skating in competitions as early as 1975 (Porter 2022), Ellen O’Neal was a trailblazer for freestyle and women’s skateboarding. With a background in gymnastics and ballet, O’Neal had a ‘smooth, dancelike style’ (Gordon & Smith 2025). ‘She spun around on two boards at once: she resembled a figure skater, or an acrobat performing on a flat surface’ (Nusbaum 2020).

Warren Bolster asks Ellen O'Neal how she feels about 'two-board maneuvers'.
Skateboarder interviewer Warren Bolster asking Ellen O’Neal about daffies (1975).

Appearing in Skateboard – The Movie (1978), she inspired a generation of female skaters.

Lynn Cooper

Lynn Cooper started competitive freestyle skateboarding in the early 80s (Cooper 2021). Nowadays, he still competes and invents new tricks. Lynn is most well known for his Cooper flips, but he also daffies, performing them in runs such as the 1989 Savannah Slamma Pro Freestyle Contest and, more recently, the 2024 US Open of Freestyle Skateboarding.

One of our favourite Lynn Cooper clips is at Huntington Beach, CA; it showcases a fluid daffy style where tricks roll into the next and is a mesmerising watch.

Hitomi Komatsu

‘If you can’t ride one board, ride two skateboards’ was the advice Hitomi Komatsu received when she struggled to learn mainstream freestyle tricks like rail flips and caspers (Freestyle Sk8 Magazine 2023). Since then, Komatsu has focused on daffies, completing entire competition runs on two boards. Inspiration comes from not only other freestylers but also from inline skaters. Her preference for turns and gyrations and an aversion to banger flip tricks has resulted in long, flowing lines.

Isamu Yamamoto

The first freestyler to win a world championship using two skateboards (Surfer Today n.d.), Isamu Yamamoto is one of the most technical freestylers on the scene. His skateboarding is always innovative and it is the same when he is on two boards. Daffy lines feel less grazioso and more staccato with the liberal use of propeller pivots and two-board flip tricks (i.e. shuvits, impossibles, fingerflips). Yamamoto’s two-skateboard-trick bag is so varied that we’re going to have to leave more than one example from this Japanese maestro.

Special mentions

No daffy discussion would be complete without mentioning Kevin Harris: in 1979, a seventeen-year-old Harris completed 1032 consecutive two-board 360s, setting a new record (Guiness World Records n.d.). In a Ride Channel video, he talks about the experience and explains the mechanics of the trick.

Cheyenne Williams is also another skateboarder to watch. The amateur freestyler has been putting work into daffies and adding them to her competition lines. It will be interesting to see how far she progresses with these.

A final word

While some skaters think that daffies are dorky, two-board tricks are a part of our freestyle legacy and, when done right, can transform a routine. We’ve shared some of our favourite daffy clips from some serious daffy pros; if you think we’ve missed some hidden gems, please let us know in the comments below.

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