Fingerboarding for Beginners: Everything You Need to Know
If you’re new to fingerboarding, welcome! Whether you’ve just discovered fingerboarding through Instagram, TikTok or YouTube, or you’ve seen someone doing tricks and thought “I want to try that”, this guide will take you through everything you need to know to get started.
Fingerboarding is a miniature version of skateboarding, using a small skateboard controlled with your fingers. While it might look simple, there’s a surprising amount of skill involved — and there’s a whole world of boards, trucks, wheels, ramps, tricks and brands to discover.
The best part? You don’t need to spend a fortune or be an expert to start.
What is fingerboarding?
Fingerboarding is essentially skateboarding with your fingers.
A fingerboard is a miniature skateboard, usually around 96mm long, although boards come in a variety of lengths and shapes. You use your index and middle fingers to control the board and perform tricks such as ollies, kickflips, grinds and slides.
Fingerboarding started as a small hobby and has developed into a worldwide community with dedicated brands, professional fingerboarders, competitions, skateparks and events.
And just like skateboarding, there is a huge amount of creativity involved. You can learn tricks, build lines, make your own ramps and develop your own style.
What do I need to start fingerboarding?
You really only need three things:
1. A fingerboard
2. A flat surface
3. Your fingers!
That's enough to start learning.
However, if you want a better setup and a more realistic experience, you'll eventually want to look at the different components that make up a fingerboard.
Understanding a fingerboard setup
A complete fingerboard consists of several parts.
Deck
The deck is the wooden board itself.
Most quality fingerboard decks are made from multiple layers of maple veneer, pressed and shaped much like a miniature skateboard deck.
Decks come in different:
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Lengths
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Widths
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Shapes
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Concaves
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Nose and tail profiles
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Graphic designs
A common starting point is a deck around 32–34mm wide, but there is no single "correct" size.
If you're completely new, don't worry too much about the numbers. A complete setup around 32–34mm is a great place to start.
Trucks
Trucks are the metal components attached underneath the deck.
They hold the wheels and allow the fingerboard to turn.
There are several different fingerboard truck brands and styles, and trucks can make a surprisingly big difference to how a setup feels.
Some fingerboarders prefer heavier trucks, while others like lighter setups. As you become more experienced, you can experiment with different trucks to find what works for you.
Wheels
Wheels are attached to the trucks and allow the board to roll.
Fingerboard wheels are available in different shapes, sizes and materials.
Some are made from plastic, while higher-end wheels are often made from materials such as urethane.
The difference can be noticeable. Better wheels generally provide a smoother roll and a more realistic feel.
Bushings
Bushings sit inside the trucks and help control how the trucks turn.
They come in different levels of hardness and can be replaced or adjusted.
Softer bushings generally allow more movement, while harder bushings provide a more stable feel.
You don't need to worry about upgrading bushings immediately, but they're something you'll encounter as you get deeper into fingerboarding.
Bearings
Many quality fingerboard wheels use bearings, just like skateboard wheels.
Bearings allow the wheels to spin smoothly and are one of the small details that can make a setup feel much better.
Complete fingerboard vs. custom setup
When you're starting out, you'll generally come across two options:
Complete fingerboard
A complete comes ready to ride.
It includes:
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Deck
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Trucks
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Wheels
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Hardware
This is usually the easiest option for a beginner because you don't need to know how all the individual components work together.
It's also often the most affordable way to get started.
Custom setup
Once you've been fingerboarding for a while, you might want to build your own setup.
You can choose your:
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Deck
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Trucks
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Wheels
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Bushings
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Hardware
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Tape
Building a custom setup is a big part of the fun for many fingerboarders.
What is fingerboard tape?
Fingerboard tape goes on top of the deck and gives your fingers grip.
There are different types of tape, including traditional foam tape and other specialised materials.
Tape can change the way a board feels under your fingers, so it's another area where personal preference becomes important.
For beginners, the most important thing is simply having a decent grip so you can control the board.
What size fingerboard should I get?
This is one of the most common questions beginners ask.
Fingerboards generally range from around 29mm to 36mm or more.
A 32–34mm deck is a great starting point for most beginners.
Wider boards can feel more stable and give you more room for your fingers, while narrower boards can feel quicker and lighter.
Eventually, you'll probably develop a preference.
Don't worry about finding the "perfect" size on day one. The best way to find your preferred width is to try different setups.
How do you hold a fingerboard?
The basic fingerboard position uses two fingers.
Place your:
Index finger roughly around the middle/front portion of the board.
Middle finger near the tail.
Your fingers become your feet.
Try to keep your fingers relaxed rather than gripping the board tightly.
Start by simply pushing the board around and getting used to how it moves.
Before you start worrying about tricks, spend some time learning how to control the board.
Your first fingerboard tricks
Once you're comfortable moving the board around, it's time to learn some tricks.
1. The Ollie
The ollie is the foundation of fingerboarding.
It's the first trick most people learn and forms the basis of many more advanced tricks.
The basic idea is:
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Place your index finger near the front/middle of the board.
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Place your middle finger on the tail.
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Pop the tail down.
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Slide your front finger towards the nose.
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Lift both fingers with the board.
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Try to land back on the board.
Don't worry if your first attempts barely leave the ground.
The ollie takes practice.
Once you can consistently ollie, you'll have a foundation for learning many other tricks.
2. Shuvit
A shuvit involves rotating the board underneath your fingers.
Unlike an ollie, the board doesn't necessarily need to leave the ground very high.
Once you've learned the movement, you can start combining shuvits with ollies.
3. Kickflip
A kickflip is one of the classic fingerboard tricks.
The board flips underneath your fingers while travelling through the air.
Kickflips can take quite a bit of practice, so don't get frustrated if they don't happen immediately.
4. Grinds
Once you're comfortable doing ollies, you can start experimenting with grinding on obstacles.
You can grind on:
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Rails
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Ledges
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Ramps
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Curbs
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Coping
This is where fingerboarding really starts to feel like miniature skateboarding.
Do I need a fingerboard skatepark?
No!
You can learn the basics almost anywhere.
A table, desk or smooth bench is enough to start learning.
However, ramps and obstacles make fingerboarding much more fun once you have the basics down.
Popular fingerboard obstacles include:
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Quarter pipes
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Banks
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Ledges
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Rails
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Stairs
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Manual pads
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Ramps
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Pool coping
You can also build your own obstacles using wood, concrete, plastic or whatever you can get creative with.
What is a fingerboard park?
A fingerboard park is a collection of obstacles arranged so you can link tricks together into lines.
Just like a real skatepark, you might have a quarter pipe leading into a ledge, followed by stairs and a rail.
One of the most enjoyable parts of fingerboarding is creating your own park and figuring out different lines.
Fingerboard terminology
When you start watching fingerboarding videos, you'll hear plenty of terminology.
Here's a quick guide.
Ollie – Jumping the board into the air.
Kickflip – Flipping the board along its length.
Heelflip – The opposite direction of a kickflip.
Shuvit – Rotating the board horizontally.
Pop Shuvit – A shuvit performed with a pop.
Manual – Balancing on two wheels.
Nose Manual – Balancing on the front wheels.
Grind – Sliding the trucks along an obstacle.
Boardslide – Sliding the underside of the deck along an obstacle.
Ledge – A raised edge used for grinds and slides.
Coping – The rounded edge found on ramps and bowls.
Line – A sequence of tricks performed one after another.
Fakie – Riding backwards.
Switch – Performing a trick using your opposite finger stance.
Don't worry about memorising all of this. You'll pick it up naturally as you watch and practise.
How long does it take to learn fingerboarding?
There's no set timeline.
Some people can learn an ollie within a few days. For others, it can take weeks.
The important thing is to practise regularly.
Even 10–15 minutes a day can make a huge difference.
Fingerboarding relies heavily on muscle memory, so repetition is more important than spending hours practising once and then putting the board away for a week.
Do I need an expensive setup?
Absolutely not.
You can start fingerboarding with an affordable complete and upgrade components as you become more experienced.
In fact, we recommend beginners spend some time learning what they like before spending a lot of money on individual components.
As you progress, you might discover that you prefer:
That's when building a custom setup becomes really fun.
Fingerboarding is more than just tricks
One of the best things about fingerboarding is the community.
There are fingerboarders all over the world, with people sharing tricks, setups, videos, parks and ideas online.
There are also fingerboarding events where people can meet up, skate together, compete and learn from each other.
For many people, the social side becomes just as important as the actual fingerboarding.
Don't be afraid to start
If you're looking at fingerboards and thinking that there's too much to learn, don't worry.
You don't need to understand trucks, bushings, wheel compounds, concaves or every trick before you start.
Grab a board.
Put it on a table.
Learn to control it.
Then learn an ollie.
Everything else comes from there.
The most important thing is to have fun and find your own style.
Welcome to fingerboarding.
— Radical Fingerboards
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