50-50 on a curb: the first grind, in 4 steps

June 22, 2019, Lower East Side skatepark, New York. Yaje Popson lands on the ledge, pope, and nails a backside 50‑50 with his arms crossed, in front of a crowd of skaters glued to the barriers. You, on your neighborhood curb, your board slides three centimeters and disappears under your feet. What’s he doing that you’re not?

The 50‑50 is the first grind almost everyone learns. Your two trucks slide on the curb edge, the board stays flat, and for a second you feel like you’re floating. In the video, it looks easy. In your shoes, it’s a lot less.

The good news: when it drops, it’s almost always for one of three reasons. We’ll save those for later. First, where does this trick come from? Then the four steps, in order.

From '70s pool decks to Yaje Popson’s ledge

The grind started in empty pool decks in the mid‑70s. Skaters were picking up speed on the walls, and one day the trucks hit the lip and slid on it. Back then, trucks were often hooked onto too‑narrow rollerblades, so the grind wasn’t a stand‑alone trick yet.

Then the streets took over. The big jump came in the '90s: curbs, benches, ledges, rails. The 50‑50 became the gateway to all grinds. The Smith grind, the feeble, the crooked: they all start there.

The skatepark where Yaje Popson nails his 50‑50 is the Lower East Side. It was designed by Steve Rodriguez, the dude who founded 5Boro in 1996 and ran contests at the Brooklyn Banks until they shut down in 2010. That day, Jamie Foy was also in the contest. Two years later, Thrasher dropped Yaje’s “Poets” segment: New York, all the way down the street.

Also read: the 50‑50 grind, from curb to rail.

The 4 steps to your first 50‑50 on a curb

1. The approach: parallel to the curb

   Roll next to the curb, almost touching, about thirty centimeters away. Average speed: enough to slide, not so fast you panic. If you come in at an angle, the board will hit the curb instead of climbing it. For a first try, face the curb: you’ll see where you land.

2. The ollie: higher than the edge

   A normal ollie, but you send it a bit toward the curb with your shoulders. The board must clear the edge, not just sit at its height. If it’s too short, the front truck hits the edge and everything stops dead.

3. The pose: both trucks together

   You come down with both trucks on the edge at the same time. Weight centered between your feet, knees bent. Your arms open on their own—let them. Hear the metal crack? That’s the slide.

4. The exit: land flat

   At the end of the curb, or when speed drops, lift the nose a bit and land toward the street side. All four wheels together, knees bent, and you ride. The exit is half the trick. Without it, you’ve just missed a stall.

The 3 mistakes that make you bail off the curb

A low, waxed curb, otherwise nothing

Your first 50‑50, you do it on a low curb, at sidewalk height. The edge has to be smooth and straight, no missing concrete chunks. Rub it with some wax—a candle does the trick.

Even before you hit the road, place your board on the curb, both trucks on the edge, and climb on. Find your balance. Then push yourself gently with a hand on a wall, or have a buddy yank you. You finally feel the board slide beneath you.

That’s the step everyone skips. And that’s why everyone goes sideways the first ten times.

How long before your first real 50‑50?

It mostly hinges on your ollie. If it’s clean on the board, a few sessions usually do the trick. If it’s still wobbly, you’ve got to work on that first, not the curb.

If you’re stuck, film yourself and watch it in slow‑motion. You’ll almost always spot one of three mistakes: weight too far back, the front truck banging, or the board sliding toward the street. Fix one at a time.

And the day the metal screams along the whole curb, you’ll get why Yaje Popson throws his arms up.

Your first 50‑50, which of the three mistakes dropped it? And on which curb did you nail it? Drop it in the comments ↓