The 15 Most Beautiful Backflips in the History of Freestyle

It all began with a BMX legend called Matt Hoffman on Sunday, March 18, 1990 to be exact. The one who is nicknamed the “condor” in full show in Bercy in France explains to us, after a huge 540 no hand, that he has a new revolutionary trick to show us and he runs for an incredible BMX rear loop, the very first back flip in the history of extreme sports. A perilous jump that would surely have existed in circus shows but in the freestyle world, it was a real revolution!

Since then, the backflip has been doubled, tripled and even quadrupled then made in skating, skateboarding, surfing and even with a motorcycle or a jet ski! The flip is done today forward (front flip) but it has especially become an essential base in the panoply of riders, whatever the sport.
A rotation still spectacular and impressive which unfortunately has made some victims (as for example the bmx rider Stephen Murray quadriplegic since 2007 following a bad receipt in double flip).

Here is a small selection of the most mythical backflips, at least those that have changed the history of extreme sports:

The first back flip 180 with a bmx by Matt Hoffman

Back flip in surf by Gabriel Medina

The famous double back flip by Travis Pastrana in FMX (1999)

The first triple back flip by Jed Mildon

Aaron “WHEELZ” Fotheringham sign a double backflip with wheel chair

Insane backflip transfert between two roofs by Halldor Helgason (snowboard)

Trevor Jacob and the first double backflip in skateboard

Back flip with a pickup

Double back flip in rollerblade bye Taig Khris (X-games, 2001)

Ant Burgess playing with his jetski

Cam Zink and the biggest backflip of the history in MTB (Rampage)

Adolf Silva pulled the first triple backflip in MTB slopestyle

Backflip with a «mud truck» by Cory Rummell

Levi Sherwood sign a double backflip no hand with a moto

Kenneth Tencio and this huge gap flip above a stairs, a world first.

The famous quadruple back flip in BMX by Jed Mildon

Incredible backflip by Travis Pastrana above the de Tames in motocross !

Discovery the Skateboarding activities with Manawa

Top Photo Credit: Nils Bogdanovs