Gazelle Spin

All three coaches agree the gazelle spin is built out of the backside big spin, and that you should not attempt it until the big spin is solid. They also agree on the overall shape, the board doing 540 while your body carries through a full 360, and on the fact that the trick finishes with a pivot rather than a clean catch. The main split is which stance the gazelle is done from. Braille teaches the street version popped off the tail, where you land the big spin into a manual and pivot the remaining 180, with the back foot deliberately flat on the tail and half hanging off so the board does not flip into primo. Jesse Whalen teaches the classic freestyle gazelle popped off the nose, effectively a nollie backside big spin caught in a fakie pivot, with both feet pre-rotated toward the spin. They also emphasise opposite things about the body. Braille says stay completely centred and upright, since leaning toward nose or tail is what makes you shoot out of the manual, while Jesse Whalen says commit the head and shoulders toward the spin first and let the hips follow. The practical reconciliation is that your shoulders lead the rotation while your weight stays stacked over the board. Both longer tutorials describe the same in-between stage as normal progress: land the big spin, roll a moment, then pivot, and gradually tighten it into one motion. Cotton Mouth adds little beyond confirming the same prerequisites.

• →Get backside big spins consistent first; every coach treats them as non-negotiable groundwork for the gazelle
• →Practise landing the big spin into a manual or a pivot and rolling away, then close the gap until the pivot follows the landing immediately
• →Keep the back foot flat on the tail with about half the foot hanging off rather than tucked into the pocket, or the board flips and you land primo
• →Lead the rotation with head and shoulders toward the direction you are spinning instead of watching the ground, and let the hips and legs follow
• →Keep your weight stacked and centred over the board rather than leaning toward the nose or tail, which is what causes you to shoot out of the landing
• →Expect timing on the catch to be the last piece; under-rotation and catching the board at the wrong moment are the two problems worth diagnosing separately

Synthesized from the top video tutorials. Watch them