How To Miller Flip

Once again, we need to thank the skateboarders for this sweet trick, the Miller Flip. In skateboarding, a Miller Flip is a Frontside Handplant where you flip all the way around to Fakie. In snowboarding however, this trick has evolved and is now commonly known as an inverted Frontside 360, while dragging your front hand over a feature.

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(Narrating/Riding: Nev Lapwood)

Required Skills

Before you take on the Miller Flip, you MUST be very comfortable with Front 3's on all kinds of features. If you are able to Handplant, that is a bonus also. 

Step 1) Motion

Get freaky and learn the motion of the Miller Flip on your bed. Stand at the end of the bed in your snowboard stance. Jump and roll your back over the side of the bed, landing back in your snowboard stance.

Don't be fooled by the innocent wall colour, this bedroom is a place of savagery, snowboard savagery.

This technique isn't designed to spice up your bedroom life, it's designed to simulate the motion of an off axis 360. Use a Training Board for even better practice, as this will allow you to incorporate the Indy Grab.

Step 2) Feature

Finding a feature that lends itself to Miller Flips is gonna make learning this trick a hell of a lot easier. The ideal feature has an upwards lip, a feature in the middle, a downhill landing and looks like this...

Trick Tip: The steeper the angles, the easier it will be to learn.

Step 3) Warm Up

Get familiar with the speed required by doing a few straight airs. Following this, do a few Front 3's over the feature to become even more confident on the feature.

Do bunch of Front 3's over the feature. Like this many.

After this, try tapping your tail on the feature, or throwing in an Indy Grab to start tweaking it out.

Tapping the feature is a good progression step.

These are the perfect warm up techniques as they use the exact same speed, entry path and landing as the Frontside Miller Flip.

Step 4) Mellow Attempts

Approach the feature with the same speed and angle as if you're about to do a Frontside 360. Instead of popping from the heel edge, take off more from the tail of your board. This will initiate your weight slightly backwards and put you into the motion of an off axis Front 3.

On your first few attempts, you may find it easier to touch with both hands on the feature. This may mean you don't get off axis enough, but the trick will still work and with several attempts, you will start to get the feeling.

When you start attempting this trick, dragging both hands is a good way to get comfortable with the corked feeling.

Some common problems include trying to drag your front hand too soon or not taking enough speed through the feature. Make sure you pop from the lip before dragging your hand so that your motion is heading over the feature.

Step 5) Off Axis

A Miller Flip still looks good when only 90 degrees off axis. However, as you get further upside down it'll look more impressive and feel rad, just get a little more inverted with each try. 

Trick Tip: The further you lean back and the harder you pop from your tail, the more off axis you will get.

Although the hand drag adds a tonne of style to the trick, it is also what stops you from going completely upside down and allows your motion to come back to your feet. Don't over exaggerate the pressure on your arm, it only has to be a light tickle.

Step 6) Add Grab

The main way to make this trick look rad, is by grabbing. Your front hand is occupied with a bit of drag action, so the obvious thing to do is grab with your back hand. An Indy grab works great.

Grabbing Indy and dragging your front hand over the feature really makes the trick stand out.

You are able to do a Miller Flip without a grab, and it is easier to learn the trick without grabbing, but it looks so much better while grabbing. Remember to stay super compact in the air, bringing those knees to your chest to lock in the grab.

Backside

A Miller Flip is only the name of this trick when it is done in the Frontside direction. However, it is possible to learn a similar motion using a Backside spin. You can learn this trick, using the exact same steps as above:

1. Find an appropriate feature
2. Warm up with straight airs, grabs and Back 3's 
3. Start adding in more pop from the tail of the board, rather than your toe edge
4. Mellow attempt, not getting completely upside down, but aiming for the 90 degree mark

The Backside Miller Flip. Pretty sweet huh'!

You can now Miller Flip! Remember, appropriate features are key to the Miller Flip. Always be on the hunt for the perfect setup because they not only assist your learning, but can also make this trick stand out. Take these tips and become part of the Miller family today!

Alex McCann
Snowboard Addiction
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