Flatground, or flatland, skateboarding tricks are those that do not require ramps, ledges, stairs or any other objects. You can thus perform a flatground trick wherever there is ample room in a flat area. Flatground skateboarding reached new heights during the "freestyle" era with new tricks introduced by legendary skaters such as Rodney Mullen. Freestyle skating and flatground skating often refer to the same types of tricks.
The "Ollie"
While the ollie may be performed using street structures such as curbs, ledges and stairs, it is also one of the most basic flatground tricks that all skateboarders learn. The ollie is simply a jump. Other tricks may be combined with the ollie so that you or the board perform flips or rotations during the jump, but mastery of the ollie is a prerequisite to these tricks.
Endovers
The endover is a mild trick by itself, but in succession, many endovers can create quite a spectacle. An endover is a 180 rotation of the board and rider as they move forward. Multiple endovers performed together create a string of pivots that are fun to watch.
Walk the Dog
The "walk the dog" is similar to the endover as the board makes a 180-degree turn as you move forward. However, your body does not pivot with the board as in an endover. Instead, your body continues to face in one direction, usually straight ahead. The trick is fun to watch since the rider appears to move forward effortlessly while her feet perform rapid, fancy footwork to quickly rotate the board 180 degrees on each pivot.
Boneless
Modern skateboards offer curved edges and fair amount of spring such that a jump, or ollie, from the ground is easy to do. Before skateboards developed this way, the primary method to get airborne from flat ground was to perform the "boneless." This trick is not particularly exciting to watch, but it is a good learning method for more advanced tricks. The boneless simply involves running with board in hand and jumping into the air but landing on the board.
Casper
The "Casper" tricks are inventions by Rodney Mullen. They are a staple of freestyle skateboarding. Caspers are performed on flat ground and more resemble choreography than athletic sports. Unlike many other tricks, Caspers are often performed completely still while neither board or rider are moving. The traditional Casper involves a flip of the board from a regular stance into an upside-down position where its tail balances on the rider's foot and the wheels all point to the sky. The front of the board meanwhile balances on the front foot, which is held in the air. When performed quickly, a maneuver into this stance and then back into the regular position are particularly dazzling and require nearly no space to complete.
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