We’re already familiar with Rodney Mullen and Tony Hawk, two guys who flipped competitive skateboarding into a different world. These skaters have popularized several skills and tricks that remain a force to reckon with in the field.
But besides these men, there is also someone named Kareem Campbell who popularized the Ghetto Bird trick. What is a Ghetto Bird skate trick?
This trick has a lot of spins inspired by a helicopter and Mullen’s nollies. See what else it entails below.
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Ghetto Bird Skate Trick: Explained
It’s easy to associate a Ghetto Bird with some nollie, backside 180, or a hard flip. But what makes this trick distinct?
Although Kareem credits Rodney as the first skater to land the trick, we should highlight quite a few more things about it.
As a 90s song, the Ghetto Bird’s meaning is inspired by a helicopter searching a ghetto place for crimes. And with a helicopter having a lot of spins, that’s where Kareem started to conceptualize a trick out of it.
But how did Rodney Mullen get into the scene?
Mullen once did a Helipop in the 80s, a trick characterized by a nollie backside 360. And with Ghetto Bird being in a nollie stance, the legendary skater taught Kareem to twitch the nollie backside 360, helping the latter perfect the new Ghetto Bird.
How to Do a Ghetto Bird
These days, some skaters and experts still aren’t acquainted with the name Ghetto Bird as a trick. Nonetheless, let’s visualize this trick better through this tutorial.
Step 1: The stance
The stance should be critical in performing a Ghetto Bird because that’s where the rest of the tricks to landing the trick follow.
- So, take the hard flip position. Whether you are a regular or goofy skater, your rear foot should rest on the skateboard’s tail and front in the middle of the deck.
- Note that your balance should be more on the shoulder, the same side as your front foot. Also, it should be the same shoulder you’ll use to rotate once you flick your board later.
- Then, bend. Ensure you don’t lean too forward or too behind. Otherwise, you’ll lose balance.
Step 2: Performing the trick
We’ll have a goofy stance for this tutorial. Hence, the right shoulder should be your balance and rotation reference.
- So, assume your skateboard is in a forward motion. Pop the deck’s tail as you lift your front foot.
- Simultaneously, scoop the deck’s tail along with your shoulder’s rotation from the front to the back.
- Then, flick your board like a hardflip.
Step 3: Landing
At this point, your feet and the skateboard must be in the air. Following your shoulder and body’s rotating motion, find the tail of your skateboard with your initial front foot.
Next, place your initial back foot in the middle of the deck. Finally, land with both feet on your skateboard.
So, if you started goofy-footed, your stance must now be regular after landing.
Conclusion
Mastering a new trick is an absolute plus. Not only does it improve us as skaters, but it also makes us more confident. But besides these benefits, learning about the trick’s background, who invented it, or how it became mainstream is also worthy of our time.
So, what is a Ghetto Bird skate trick? It’s one of the best things done by Kareem Campbell, who took inspiration from the great Rodney Mullen.
If the Ghetto Bird came out this way, who knows? You could be the next skater to discover a new trick.
Hi, I am Charles Harris. I opened this site to write as much as I can about my biggest passion – skateboarding!
I started as a clumsy yet passionate rookie 10 years ago to now a still passionate yet much better skateboarder! But I have to tell you, the whole journey has always been fun and rewarding, indeed not without hardship.