Casper (skateboarding trick)
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Casper is a freestyle skateboarding trick that was invented by Bobby "Casper" Boyden in the late 1970s. Boyden had a very pale skin and he was nicknamed after the cartoon ghost. The modern casper was invented by Rodney Mullen in the late 1980s.
During a casper the skateboarder holds the skateboard upside down with his feet and balances on the tip of the tail. The skateboarder stands on the bottom side of the tail while his front foot is under the front part of the board touching the griptape and keeping it from touching the ground.
Casper was originally performed without jumping but it can also be performed from a half flip. When doing an original casper the skateboarder stands on the board so that the heel of his back foot is on the tail and the ball and toes are hanging from the side. The front foot rests on the opposite edge of the board near the trucks. The skateboarder then jumps up to unweight the board and presses the edge of the deck with his front foot to make the board flip over. When the board has flipped upside down the skateboarder catches it with his front foot and places his back foot on the now upside down tail. After balancing in this stance the skateboarder usually jumps up a bit, lifts his back foot from the board and uses his front foot to turn the board back to its normal position with a motion that resembles an impossible. Note that the skateboarder's feet never touch the ground during this trick.
A modern casper is performed like a kickflip, but the skateboarder catches the board after it has flipped upside down and lands in the casper stance. A casper can be performed either when standing still or when moving. The balancing can also involve sliding on the tip of the tail. Exiting the trick can involve rotating.
The reverse of this trick is the Anti-casper which is the same principle only applied to the nose of the board.
