The layback air is a much maligned skateboarding trick, condemned by many to the forgotten dustbin of 80s vert trickery and yet to be unearthed and dusted off in any real way by the current trend for resurrecting tricks once thought outdated. But, as with nearly any trick in skateboarding, in the right hands the layback air is transformed into a thing of pure excitement. It stands as one of those tricks that, even when performed badly, feels incredible, with a few managing to convert that feeling visually as well.
Here are some of those who can throw it down, whether that be the ‘Todd Twist’ inverted variation or the humbler ‘body parallel with the coping, front leg pointed’ example.
Bill Danforth
Patron saint of mongo pushers Bill Danforth is definitely in the running for best layback air of all time – upside down, held and pivoted back in with the right balance of style and aggression. Both his runs from the Duel at Diable include examples!
