Learn the Tre Flip — The Holy Grail of Street Skateboarding Broken Down

Rodney Mullen invented it in 1992. Thirty-four years later, it’s still the trick that separates weekend skaters from the real deal. Here’s how to land it clean.

⏱ Reading time: 6 min

Why the Tre Flip Remains the Ultimate Test

Ask any skater over thirty their favorite trick to see landed. You’ll hear tre flip. Not hardflip, not inward heel, not bigspin. Tre flip.

The 360 flip combines a kickflip and a 360 backside shove-it in the same motion. The board spins twice in the air — once on the horizontal axis, once on the longitudinal axis — and must land perfectly under your feet. When it’s landed clean, the pop sound is crisp, the board slaps under your soles, and you understand why Mullen spent two years perfecting it.

It’s the boundary. Below it, you’re skateboarding. Above it, you’re seriously progressing.

The Non-Negotiable Prerequisites

No need to lie: if you can’t land a clean kickflip ten out of ten times while rolling, you have no business here. Come back in two months. The tre flip isn’t just another trick; it’s the synthesis of two fundamental tricks. If one of them is weak, the combo will never work.

Checklist before you start: kickflip caught on the bolts while rolling, clean 360 pop shove-it (aka « 360 shove ») caught, high and stable ollie. If these three boxes are checked, your body already has 80% of the information it needs.

Foot Placement, Foot by Foot

Back foot: on the tail, but shifted towards the heel side. This slight offset is what allows for the circular scoop. If your foot is centered like on a classic kickflip, you’ll pop straight and never get the 360°.

Front foot: at a 30° angle on the board, just behind the front bolts, heel slightly overhanging. Almost identical position to a standard kickflip. What changes isn’t where you place your foot, it’s what you do with it.

The Detail That Changes Everything

Your weight must be centered on the board, not shifted back on the tail. Many skaters shift their weight back thinking it helps the pop, and never get the 360°. You need to be vertical over the board.

Pop, Scoop, Flick: The Real Mechanics

It all happens in 0.3 seconds. Your back foot makes a semi-circular motion, from heel to toe, towards your back. Imagine you’re putting out a cigarette behind you with your heel. That’s exactly the movement. It triggers both the pop and the 360 scoop.

At the same instant, your front foot flicks outwards diagonally, like for a kickflip. But be careful: the flick needs to be shorter and more precise than on a classic kickflip. You don’t have time for a big gesture; the board is already spinning on two axes.

Then: you jump high, lift your knees, and watch the board. The landing is on the bolts, never on the nose or tail. If you catch on the nose, you flicked too early. If you catch on the tail, you scooped too hard without flicking.

The 5 Mistakes That Kill Your Tre

1. Back foot too centered. Without the heel offset, no circular scoop. You’re doing an ugly kickflip instead of a tre.

2. Flick too powerful. The board over-flips and you miss the landing. You need to flick just enough to initiate the longitudinal rotation; the scoop does the rest.

3. You don’t jump high enough. The tre needs airtime. If you pop low, the board doesn’t have time to complete its two rotations. You land on it mid-rotation and twist your ankle.

4. You close your eyes. Real talk. The board must be visually tracked during the rotation, otherwise you’ll never be able to correct your landing. Force yourself to keep your eyes open, even if you’re scared of bailing.

5. You try it too fast while rolling. Learn stationary first. The first tre flips are done standing still, on tile or carpet. Once the mechanics are acquired, you transfer to rolling slowly, then fast.

The Gear That Really Helps

To learn a technical trick, your gear matters as much as your technique. A board that’s too wide or too flexible will slow you down. Aim for a standard 8.0 inch deck, Independent 139 medium tension trucks, and hard 52-54mm wheels (99a+). It’s the most predictable combo for flip tricks.

If you’re starting from scratch and don’t want to drop €200, grab a sturdy entry-level complete: you can thrash it without crying during your first 200 failed attempts.

Once you’ve landed your first clean tre, you’ll remember that moment your whole life. Promise. It’s the trick that gets you into the club. Go practice. And don’t close your eyes. You can also follow up with the heelflip dissected to work on your reverse flick.