A bertslide, Bertlemann slide, or bert, is a

skateboarding trick A skateboarding trick, or simply a trick, is a maneuver performed by manipulating a skateboard, usually with one's feet, in a specific way to achieve the desired outcome – the trick. History Though skateboards emerged in the 1900s, skateboardi ...

where the skateboarder puts one hand on the ground and rotates the board while it is still on the ground, effectively sliding on the wheels of the

skateboard A skateboard is a type of sports equipment used for skateboarding. It is usually made of a specially designed 7–8-ply maple plywood deck and has polyurethane wheels attached to the underside by a pair of skateboarding trucks. The skateboard ...

. The trick was named after the surfer Larry Bertlemann, who first performed the trick on a surfboard, then later incorporated it into his skateboarding. The original version of the trick was a 180-degree turn. The

Z-Boys The Zephyr Competition Team (or Z-Boys) were a group of American skateboarders in the mid-1970s from Santa Monica and Venice, California. Originally consisting of 12 members, the Z-boys were originally sponsored by the Jeff Ho Surfboards and Ze ...

, an influential group of mid-1970s skateboarders, adapted the move by extending the slide to 360 or even 540 degrees. A bertslide can be performed on both flat ground or banks, and is considered fundamental for learning board control. Powell Peralta professional Lance Mountain introduced flatground bertslides into his routine at the first auditorium-size streetstyle contest, the 1987 Savannah Slamma, held in the Martin Luther King Arena in Savannah, Georgia. When performing a bert, the skateboarder crouches down while doing a frontside carve, plants their front hand on the ground and extends their back foot and torso making the back wheels slide out. After the slide, the skateboard has made a 180-degree sweeping turn and the skateboarder pushes back up and continues in the starting direction. When performed in a transition, it is possible to convert a Bertlemann slide into a grind by timing the slide so that during the apex of the sweep the back

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport freight, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construct ...

hits the coping.

References

Skateboarding tricks {{Skateboarding-stub