cromer in miami. photo: blair alley

Let’s come to terms with the truth: There’s always one kid, probably born sometime around the late ’90s, who doesn’t stop ranting on about “Old Skool Sk8in.” While this kid’s heart may be in the right place, his feet are not. You might catch him at the skatepark hopping around on one foot like a pogo-legged stork and quickly make up your mind that fastplants are a dork trick.

Yes fastplants can look dumb as hell, but that’s only when they’re done wrong. A good fastplant is gangly and awkward in all the right ways. It’s putting your foot down fast and propelling yourself forward faster. Simply put, fastplants are one of the most stunning tricks to see, well, when done properly anyway. So here’s ten of our favorites we could muster up with the help of the Internet. Enjoy.

10. Miles Grube – Prism
Miles has already shown the roughest rooftop terrain what he’s made of in his “Fun While it Lasted” part, so seeing his name on the roster for Killing Floor’s debut video genuinely excited me. This trick into a bank like this may not be insanely difficult, however the slate roof bomb and ass-grinding brake that prevented his limbs from being strewn into the street below is impressive, and ups the sketchy factor ten fold.

9. Mike Vallely – Elementality
Mike V is one of the most OG street planters on this list, but this one is from later in his career at a time before the shaped-board resurgence when doing a fastplant was reserved for only OG’s. He hucks himself off this bump and over a picnic table longways, catching the flip and putting it down with a revert for extra style points. Remember that time Vallely beat up like 20 jocks? That has nothing to do with this fastplant, but I just wanted to make sure we all remember that amazing clip.

8. Will Blaty – It’s a Secret
You could’ve thrown almost anybody into this ditch and they would’ve incorporated the wall somehow. However, Will adds an essence of class as his foot grips the vertical plane, all energy bouncing off the wall straight back onto the board as it completes its fingerflip. The hand drag and knee tweak roll away would usually make most clips look terrible, but, this time it works as he rows away with one final helping hand.

7. Marshall Winter – A Happy Medium 3
This part (or whole video, really) filled many with joy as it crammed every quirky bit of skating imaginable, and some skating absolutely unimaginable, into one video. This trick really stood out to me as Marshall lunges his rather lanky frame over the gap, board trailing behind, before feeding it a Mario Land mushroom that allows his board to come blazing back to speed.

6. Richie Jackson – Better Than Life
I’m always excited by new Richie footage, so when these alternative angles from Death Skateboards’ 2007 video “Better than Life” surfaced online, I was more than delighted. Any modern pro part seems to need to be full of NBD’s, and we know Clipper to be a fan favorite for these. This trick may have been done to mock all the insanely technical maneuvers thrown down this ledge, but Richie, the psychedelic innovator of all things weird and wonderful, makes it look rather amazing.

5. Tyler Squints – Limitless & Free
Squints is a man of many talents. Usually his talent leads him to bomb down things us normal folk would chew through our chins if we even thought about dropping in on it. But here, Squints goes up hill and over a bar with an absolutely nonchalant fastplant style. It’s hard to tell if his foot slipped from the bar, or if he intended on drifting it over like that, but either way, the move is smooth. Keep your eyes on the deck and you’d have thought it was a straight ollie, you damn near have to squint to see the step hop.

4. Chris Miller – Vans NSA Contest (1989)
So this list has been exclusively street fastplants so far, but this is a trick that really shines when it’s blasted off the coping of some janky vert ramp, and Chris Miller may have one of the best ones of all time. Just check out this plant from his run at the Vans NSA contest in 1989… He blasts off so suave and powerful all at once, it’s exactly how this trick is supposed to look.

3. Jim Greco – Deathwish Remix
Every little detail about this trick is what makes it work so well, from the sketchy looking DIY bump, the risk of shin to teeth contact whilst clearing that fence, and how precariously close his feet drift towards the stairs.

2. Brad Cromer – Outliers
There were two big ones in this part that could’ve made the list, but this one stood out like a sore thumb with its nearly robotic motions. Brad hasn’t even got to think about catching the board as his palms are open the entire time, the deck flipping into its position right as he clasps his hand shut. There’s a momentary pause before it flips again, his toes poking forward ready to stomp the wheels into the ground. A trick like this seems like it should be done with elegance, but Brad puts it down with pure force and finesse.

1. Jeremy Klein – The End
This being number one was a complete and utter no brainer. Whenever I imagine a fastplant, this is the first sequence to come to my mind. Surely this is the same for many others too, as Jeremy’s part in The End goes down as a classic, era-defining part for many skateboarders. Dressed as though he’s ready for a night out on the strip, but instead cascading over petrol pumps out of a launch ramp is surely a sight that can’t be rivaled.

Words & GIFs: Henry Calvert
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