McTwist

also known as: 540 · Backside 540 Mute

air vert difficulty 9/10
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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

Mike McGill's 1984 revolution: an inverted backside 540 with a mute grab. Taking off forward, the rider throws head and shoulders down-and-back so the rotation tilts off-axis - the body goes upside down through the middle of one-and-a-half spins - and the mute grab holds the board through the flip until the rotation rights itself for a forward re-entry (540 from forward lands forward). The corkscrew axis is the secret: a flat 540 is nearly impossible, but tipping the spin diagonal lets gravity and the wall's geometry do half the work.

Step by step

  1. Ride at the wall forward with serious speed and pop off the lip on a slight backside carve.
  2. Grab mute immediately and throw your head down toward your back shoulder, tipping the spin off-axis.
  3. Go inverted through the first full rotation, knees tucked tight to the chest, board clamped by the grab.
  4. Spot the transition as the axis rights itself past 360 - head leading the final 180.
  5. Release the grab, extend, and plant the re-entry riding forward, absorbing hard through the knees.

Body mechanics

Front footLocked to the grip by the mute grab, tucked toward the chest through the inverted phase.
Back footOn the tail inside the tuck; its pressure keeps the board from fluttering at peak rotation.
ShouldersInitiate everything - thrown down and backside at takeoff to set the diagonal flip-spin axis.
ArmsFront hand welds board to body with the mute grab; rear arm wraps across to accelerate the spin.
GazeHead throws into the rotation blind, then hunts the wall past 360 - spotting late is the crash; spotting early, the make.