Layback Air

also known as: Layback

invert parkvert difficulty 6/10
⚑ Report an issue ✎ Propose an edit

Sign in to add this trick to your list.

roll 0° yaw 0° pitch 0° body 0°

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

A frontside air with the trailing hand trailing onto the coping mid-arc, the body reclined back over the planted arm in the surf-style layback position - never fully inverted, more a one-armed lean than a handstand. Descended directly from Larry Bertlemann-inspired layback surf maneuvers, it is the aerial sibling of the layback grind: the planted hand takes weight for a beat at the peak, letting the rider stall the air's apex and drop the hips lower than any no-handed frontside air could. Grosso's verdict on it is worth recording because it explains the trick's reputation rather than its mechanics: it was the most abused handplant and the easiest, so everyone did it, and doing one that actually looks good is the hard part. He singles out Allen Losi for raw aggression and Christian Hosoi for the best of them. What separates it from an invert is which hand goes down - the layback plants the REAR hand on the lip, so the body stays the right way up and the trick never inverts.

Step by step

  1. Carve into a frontside air with medium amplitude, back hand freed early.
  2. As you crest the coping, reach the trailing hand down and set it on the coping behind you.
  3. Lay the body back over the planted arm, hips dropped, front hand grabbing the toe rail.
  4. Ride the layback stall for a beat, board carving the air ahead of your reclined torso.
  5. Push off the coping hand, square back over the board, release the grab, and drop in.

Body mechanics

Front footLeads the board out ahead of the reclined body, pressing the nose through the arc.
Back footOn the tail, keeping the board carving while the torso leans away behind it.
ShouldersRecline back and rotate frontside over the planted arm, chest to the sky at the peak.
ArmsRear hand plants on the coping and bears the layback; front hand grabs indy for board control.
GazeAlong the board's line of travel - the surf heritage is in the eyes as much as the arm.