Suggest an edit

Editing Backside shifty. Written in Markdown.

Your suggestion goes to a community vote - 5 yes votes publish it. You'll be notified either way.

Title

Renaming keeps the same web address.

Content

How to add an image, gif or embed a Youtube video

You can't upload files from your device - media has to be linked from a URL.

YouTube video: paste a plain YouTube link on its own line.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID

Renders as an embedded YouTube video. Source links will be automatically added.
Looped GIF from YouTube: add a ?START-END range (max 10s).
https://youtu.be/VIDEO_ID?3:50-3:53

The YouTube video will be automatically be converted to a gif, in the time range. Source links will be automatically added.
Still image from YouTube: add a single ?TIMESTAMP.
https://youtu.be/VIDEO_ID?0:42

The YouTube still frame will be automatically be converted to an image. Source links will be automatically added.
Image from the web: paste a direct link to the image file on its own line - the URL must end in .jpg/.png/.gif/.webp. A link to a page containing an image won't work.
https://example.com/pic.jpg

The image will be automatically downloaded. Source links will be automatically added.

# What you'll learn

**A Backside Shifty** is a freestyle snowboard trick where you rotate the board 90 degrees in the air, then counter rotate back to straight before landing.

## The idea

The mechanic is **counter-rotation**: your upper and lower body twist against each other. You wind the twist up in the air, hold it for style, then release it back to straight. Nothing rotates as a whole - the board goes one way, your shoulders resist the other.

Backside is the harder of the two shifties ([Frontside Shifty](/snowboarding/frontside-shifty)). The movement feels awkward at first because the natural instinct when you pop is to open your shoulders forwards, which is exactly the direction that kills a backside twist.

**Ride straight down a gentle slope on a flat base.**

1. Shifty the board backside and hold it for a couple of seconds
+ Bring it back to straight
+ Actively use your upper body to counter rotate both into and out of the shift

**Take It to a Jump**

1. **Approach**
    - Ride in flat-based and relaxed
    - Keep your upper body aligned with your lower body
    - Do not let your shoulders face forwards as you jump, or the backside twist becomes very difficult
2. **Takeoff**
    - Get a solid pop first
    - Be patient. Trying to shifty before you leave the lip is the most common mistake
3. **The Shifty**
    - Twist your lower body backside until the board is 90 degrees across
    - Think about getting your back hand over your nose at the peak
    - On bigger jumps you can slow it down and pause the shifty out
4. **Bring It Back**
    - Untwist and return the board to straight
    - Align with the landing slope
5. **Land Clean**
    - Absorb with bent knees, stay centered, ride away on a flat base

Learn more here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciXpKu1iaX4

*Video by [Snowboard Addiction](https://www.youtube.com/@SnowboardAddiction)*

## Key Tips
- Learn it on a trampoline first. Repetition is what makes backside feel natural
- Pop first, shift second
- Keep your shoulders aligned or slightly back on takeoff, never open forwards
- The perfect shifty is 90 degrees at the peak of the jump
- Your first ones will be small and messy. They get better as the movement gets efficient
- Combines great with an [Indy grab](/snowboarding/indy-grab), and a [method](/snowboarding/method-grab) is essentially a huge backside shifty

Live preview

Edit on the left - preview will render here.

Header image & article details Optional - header, skill check, tags & prerequisites.

Header image (optional)

Paste a direct image URL, or turn a YouTube moment into the header with the button. Leave empty to keep the current one.

Cancel

Draft saved ✓

Suggest an edit

Insert a GIF from YouTube