Great Moments In Frontside Noseslide History
Learn how to frontside noseslide from legends of the trick. We're talking accidents, moments in time, and true disciples.
A while back, the newsletter dipped into Great Moments in Noseslide History. As the foundation of skateboarding is balancing (a 50-50, if you will), it’s time to consider the proud frontside moments in the skater’s record.
Often we’ll witness a frontside noseslide as a filler in a line or combined with some unholy flip-in-flip out dance. However, sometimes it can ascend to become much more.
A good front nose is a moment in time. Picture your favorite reference of the trick. If you’re of a certain age, a split second of the mid-to-late 90s lives on forever. A QS Top Ten slot might fill your mind if you’re newer to the game.
Being a fan of the front nose can be a lonely road. Finding these moments, especially in modern history, may be few and far between. Scrolling the explore page, you’ll get placebo dopamine hits seeing what’s perceived as a front nose. Usually, it’s Franky V fakie back tailing for days. Still, cool.
This synchronicity or recency bias led me to start seeing front noses that were not there. Surfer of the streets, Shin Sanbongi, ignited one of these chances with his recent Campus ADV promotion.
A wild ender had me scratching my head and reaching out, but alas, “That one is backside noseblunt,” says Sanbongi.
It’s all good, Shin. We have a vast history to draw from, and we’ll check back with you for the blunt edition of the newsletter.
Let’s settle down and focus on some Great Moments in Frontside Noseslide History.
Fakie Was An Accident
The building blocks to any trick will lead to accidents:
Kickflips involving body varials
Smith grinds not going full dipped
There is nothing wrong with a noseslide going to fakie. It’s a common exit of the apprentice and master alike. There’s a certain mastery in showcasing both versions of the trick.
One of the greatest examples of a moment like this occurred in Bronco Country.
Bret Harte is a middle school in southern San Jose whose notable alums include people like Tom Hanks and Jerry Hsu. The latter, a pupil who landed there by accident.
“I actually had to transfer there mid-year because my parents sent me to a private school that I got expelled from,” says Hsu.
The school’s namesake was a noted poet and short-story writer of the mid-1800s. He called out injustices against the marginalized and oppressed. Harte achieved nationwide fame by a bit of misfortune when his satirization of anti-Chinese sentiment in Northern California went over the heads of most readers of the time and resulted in reinforcing stereotypes.
However, the curtains of Bag of Suck were no mishap. Hsu cemented his place in the cannon with a dual song and ender of all enders. A couple of choice front noseslides complimented the opus.
“Fakie was an accident,” says Hsu about his moment on the list. “I think I came out fakie first but wanted the straight one.”
The fakie and straight one he refers to is on the shockingly tall blue out-ledge. A lot of lore surrounds the grueling process of Hsu’s part, but this one lent itself to a mellower time.
“The session was casual. I think it was towards the end of Bag of Suck, and we just randomly went to light it up.”
Fluke or execution, rolling away from a trick, is a special feeling. Proving you can do it in either exit leads to Great Moments in Noseslide History territory.
Setting The Bar
Photography is how many had to figure out skating in a time before video and trick tips. A still frame showcasing attitude and incomprehensible body positioning is how many folks figured out how to skate.
It didn’t get much more picturesque than a tall front nose feature in the 90s. Alex Corporan was one of the standouts of this generation. He hit a couple in New York City that would set the standard and then some.
“This one was on Prince Street, on a hot summer day, crowded as fuck, in front of the old Stussy store,” says Corporan. “And it was uphill.”
The image shot by Mike O’Meally captures what the front nose is all about: the back foot.
“My back foot always looked off, but it’s not,” explains Corporan. “It’s because when you do that trick on high ledges, you have to push it with your back foot to land.”
There’s your secret. That’s how to frontside noseslide.
Here’s another secret:
“I was the first person to touch and do a trick on the tall Seaport benches.”
Dill may have cracked a front nose in a run to open up Photosynthesis on one of those benches, but Corporan unlocked the gate.
“The Seaport photo was supposed to be my Blue Light wheels ad for my pro wheel, but the company shut down.”
Take a moment and live in this one for a while.
Going the Distance
We celebrated the long moments in noseslide history in the previous article. It’s not a trick out of reach for most. However, taking a front nose end-to-end is a feat. This trick held more than a meter or two is *very rare*.
Pepe Garcia is a recent engineer of this special treat who was raised at Madrid’s Plaza de Colón. He knows all too well the woes of a frontside noseslider.
“The mythical hubba of the Plaza de Colón is a trick to which I have a special appreciation,” says Garcia. “I practically started skating in that square in 2009.”
Fast forward a decade or so, and Garcia knew it was time.
“In June 2020, specifically the first day we started recording for the video, we went to this hubba. I made one falling to fakie but dropping with the nose in the last step.”
A classic case of fakie was an accident.
“In December of that same year, we tried again, and I finally managed to lower it to the end–regular. Unfortunately, there was a parked motorcycle, and it ruined the huge sensation.”
Celebrations be damned. The homie put it down.
Garcia is a disciple of the noseslides, and his social media presence is a shrine to our subject. Featured throughout his Veinte part for Sk8land Skateshop are countless Great Moments in Noseslide history.
Two examples earned him coveted spots on the QS Top Ten.
On what appears to be an undeniably perfect ledge, Garcia took a front nose end to end with rather graceful exits.
“For the front nose 270 out, I remember that it was difficult for me to keep the foot position with my hip crooked,” says Garcia. “I calculate that it took me about 150 attempts to land it well.”
Anyone with experience holding a front nose knows that feeling of chilling. Fighting, but still chilling. It is euphoric. However, holding it 150 times to get the good one is a dedication to the craft.
Gracias Pepe, un placer hablar contigo!
Until Next Time, Nosesliders
The Dime Glory Challenge returns on my birthday. It would mean a lot if somebody could throw a front nose down the Hill Challenge. Until the next time, keep taking those front noseslides home.
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