Note that I, like many freestylers, prefer doing my caspers on the tail. If you tend to do your caspers “switch” by default (i.e. you find nose caspers more comfortable), then reverse the instructions below. There is no real right or wrong stance for caspers – just use whichever foot feels best.

This is your starting point for this trick. The foot on the wheel is the one which will end up under the board when you catch the casper, and the other foot will be the one starting the butterflip.

From in front you get a slightly better idea of foot position. Note how much I’ve turned my back foot in here; the more it points back at the front foot, the easier the butterflip will be.

I look surprisingly relaxed in the full-body view, but there’s no two ways about it: this is an uncomfortable position. Don’t expect to stand here for too long.

I begin the trick by pushing down and forwards with my back foot. Because that leg is behind the front foot, I can’t push far, but thankfully it doesn’t need much force to get moving.

As the board starts to tip forwards, I give it one last nudge with the back foot as I jump upwards. I know when I’ve got it right because I feel a nice “snap” underneath my foot. It reminds me a bit of the reintges flip in that respect.

Much like the nose casper to casper, when you’ve got this right, the board will barely leave the floor. Here you see it rolling around the end of the nose.

As the board rolls through the trick, I have to move my front foot out and get it into position for the catch. It’s important that I have it far out enough – and low enough – that the board won’t just bounce off it.

The back foot shouldn’t have to move far – the underside of the tail should be roughly where the back foot started the whole trick. As such, when the board is about to hit the front foot, I bring the back foot down, catching the board and stopping it from bouncing away.

Finally, the crossfoot butterflip to casper is complete, and I can rest. But don’t sit there too long – this trick has a good pace to it, and it’s a shame to lose that energy by waiting around.

Additional Notes

Like all casper tricks, your choice of deck will have a huge influence over how easy (or difficult) this trick will be.

Firstly, a steep nose is not your friend on this one. As this trick comes around with a very vertical rotation, a steep nose makes it far harder to land on a solid casper, and increases the chance of you standing on the floor. A single kick board is the easiest option by far.

However, not all single kicks are made equal on this one. A board with a super-short nose like Mullen’s Chessboard leaves you with very little space to stand on. It’s still easier than a steep street board would be, but it becomes very difficult to catch cleanly if you don’t have a lot of room!

Another thing to look at is the shape of the nose itself. Rounder noses will roll through the trick easily. A square nose like Marius Constantin’s Cirus board will lock tightly into place on the landing, but it’ll be much more difficult to get it there. If you’re using a heavily directional board like Denham Hill’s pro model, definitely use the rounder end of the board for this trick.

Finally, whatever deck you’re using, do yourself a favour – put some griptape on the underside of the nose. Without the griptape you’re going to slide off a lot, especially if you don’t let the board fall horizontal enough after the butterflip to catch it cleanly. If you’re still using the same board for street skating and freestyle, now is definitely a good time to consider setting up a separate board for freestyle use.

One last thing. No matter how tempting it may seem, don’t put your front foot on the floor at any point in this trick. Don’t try to justify it to yourself by saying “you’re getting a feel for it” or “I’m only learning – I can tidy it up later”. Not only is doing a casper with your foot down completely missing the point – it’s like doing a wheelie or manual with your tail scraping the whole way through the trick – but it totally changes the technique. Avoid getting into bad habits now that you’ll only have to fix later.