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Ok, so i'm a little confused. Who actually holds the record for the most 360 spins, Richy Carrasco or Russ Howell? I've heard both.

Richy is and always will be THE 360 KING - Check the Guiness Book.

I have seen both Russ and Richy spin, and I must say that no one can spin like Richy-John Pope spins pretty killer too.

360 KINGS RULE!

ok, thanks for that info. I know that Richy has like 164 spins or something like that, but I wasn't sure how many Russ did. peace!

Russ was one of my 360 heroes back in the day as well as Nadalin, Jarvis,Brian Hatch,Paul Hoffman,Flavell,Kocot.. These guys inspired me to push it to the limit! Russ is still doing quite well these days!

I can imagine, so how does it feel after spinning 160+ 360s Richy?

The more you practice the more you get used to the funk ! Try and focus on looking at the front of your board and relax . And dont eat before you get into a big session!

Hahaha, ok. Why, have you learned from expierence? Yeah, when I do multiple 360s, i'm so focused and relaxed that I don't even know what I look at. I guess thats just the best way for it to be. what can you do more of, frontside or backside?

I used my new steel wheels for the 1st time on Saturday. They were so fast it was crazy. I think I was hitting low to mid 30's. This is really the 1st time I tried to spin since '89. I took a few attempts to spin over the past few weeks but this time I went to the spot we used to use back in the day. I need practice and with the days getting longer I'll be able to go out after work to practice in a few months.

waiting for the long days of summer,
-g-

Gary Holl is a killer freestyler and racer , He was into the 100s in the 80s and should be able to knock the rust off soon and give me a run for the money!

OK -- not sure if this is a question or comment.

I have never been good and spinning 360s frontside, the way Richie and all the serious spinners do. Probably just a lack of practice. Backside always seems more natural to me.

However, I feel that backside spinning has some disadvantages. 1)not as much power, and 2)due to the whole body/board mechanics, I tend to scrape my tail when doing backside spins.

Sort of a stupid problems I guess, after 28 years of skating and freestyling. But its frustrating. I can crank out 10 - 15 backside.

Oh well -- comments? advice?

Hey Bob -- I have seen you skate on your videos, with your great skills and balance -- going the other way shouldn't be very hard for you. Bottom line -- go slow, relax and concentrate on finding your circle and it will all come to you and feel more natural with time. You might get stuck in a rut with small numbers for awhile and then you should find your groove. Keep me posted.

Sidewinder -- for me it's frontside all the way -- I'm all about maxing out. As for personal experience with eating before a spinning session -- I've seen people look like they just got off a roller coaster (motion sickness). Just keep focusing on the front of your board and that will help you stay more relaxed during your spins.

same here, only i'm not as good. I can pull out about 15 good frontside spins when my balance is just right. I can do about half of that backside. I tend to lose a lot of speed while i'm spinning though.

Richy, Erik T. and I were spinnin' on sunday for about 1/2 hour. We began to talk about boards with concave. Can you tell me how how a concave board helps when spinng? Can you tell me while your spinning if you pull in your arms at a steady pace or faster towrds the beginning or end of the spin? What Duro wheels do you use for the front and should those wheels be the same diameter as the rear?

-G-

Gary -- As far as board set up, I use the front of my board as a stabilizing factor when taking off. My steel wheels are so fast, I actually need the front to be more like brakes. For spinning, big goofy soft wheels feel great on top of a 120 mm truck -- on the front. On the back -- Tracker mid-tracks with the steels. For the concave question -- when I first had boards make back in 98 -- they came with the concave. For me -- it was a strange thing -- since I never rode concave decks in the past. Once I rode them -- I quickly appreciated the feel of the boards. As for spinning on concaves, I feel it makes you concentrate on keeping your front foot centered which goes with the technique thing I'm gonna talk about next. It makes you more mechanical. The best part about it is your tape never wears out. And a grippy take off foot is everything when you are trying to max.

As far as pulling your arms in -- everyone is different -- but I always work on taking off as fast as I can so my arm pull-in generates a steady build up of speed after I find my center. My arms probably -- towards the front of the spin -- pull in at a good pace and then I lock-in to be firm but relaxed. Of course by then your feet are pulled in also and you should be at your fastest point and then holding on to ride out the momentum.

Like I always say -- work on technique first and don't worry about the numbers -- they will come --- once you have your technique. In other words, don't fight yourself -- you will blow your load and then you're dead.