Bert Slide
also known as: Bertlemann Slide · Bert
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Shown for a regular-footed rider. Teal ring + arrow = the rider's facing direction; teal band = the tail; a dot is where a hand holds the board - bright yellow for the front hand, amber for the back one, which is the whole difference between a mute and an indy. Board and rider rotate independently - each follows its own component. Drag to orbit.
How it works
The surf-style power slide of the Dogtown era: crouching low, the rider plants their leading hand on the ground inside the turn and pivots around it, breaking all four wheels into a frontside slide that swings the board 180 (or more) around the planted palm. The hand is the fulcrum - friction at the palm anchors the circle's center while the wheels, unweighted by the crouch, break traction and sweep around it. Ridden out either fakie or swung the full way back to forward.
Step by step
- Roll across flat or a mellow bank at moderate speed and crouch deep.
- Reach your leading hand to the ground on your frontside, slightly behind your toes.
- Plant the palm and unweight the wheels by dropping your hips toward the hand.
- Pivot around the palm as the wheels break loose, sweeping the board frontside through 180.
- Re-weight the wheels as the board comes around, lifting the hand off.
- Rise out of the crouch and roll away fakie (or carry the sweep back to forward).
Body mechanics
| Front foot | Stays over the front bolts steering the arc of the sweep. |
|---|---|
| Back foot | Pushes the tail through the slide, driving the rotation around the hand. |
| Shoulders | Rotate frontside ahead of the board, leading the entire pivot. |
| Arms | Leading arm plants and bears weight; trailing arm swings across to power the spin. |
| Gaze | Around the arc in the direction of the spin, exiting fixed on the new line. |