Pulling off the perfect willy grind is a total flex in skate. It isn’t just mashing buttons and hoping for the best. This trick is pure style, jamming your front truck onto the rail or a ledge. Meanwhile, the back truck stays off. It’s one of my favorite grinds in the game, and after you try it, you might love it too.
So let’s dive in below as I guide you through the step-by-step process of setting up and executing a willy.
What Exactly Is A Willy In Skate?
Better known as the willy grind, it is usually a grind where your front truck’s the star of the moment. It slides along on the rail or ledge with the back truck floating in mid-air.
Land it right with the perfect setup and you’re golden. Mess up the timing on the input, and you will do a nosegrind instead.
The game gives you freedom to choose which truck you want to perform a willy grind with. “Willy” is essentially the front-truck version of the willy grind. “Over Willy” is the exact opposite, with the back-truck locking onto the rail or a ledge and sliding along. Both of these have frontside and backside variants.
Controller Inputs
These are the Xbox and PlayStation inputs to performing each willy trick, as explained above.
- FS Willy: Hold RS Left + Down mid-air
- BS Willy: Hold RS Left + Down mid-air (while approaching backside)
- FS Over Willy: Hold RS Right + Down mid-air
- BS Over Willy: Hold RS Right + Down mid-air (while approaching backside)
Setting Up The Willy
First things first, hunt down a chill, low, flat ledge or a short rail, none of those skyscraper handrails. Trust me, practicing on these lets you figure out the right balance and approach without breaking your character’s bones so often.
Try to approach the rail at a moderate speed. First, learn to be consistent with doing the trick, then you can do it fast. Approaching the rail at an angle instead of being parallel to it helps a bit, as it gives you a little more time to get the inputs right.
So try to hold a balance, approach carefully, and don’t speed too fast, since a single push or two is usually enough. Try to maintain a moderate speed, finding the sweet spot to pull the willy off perfectly.
Executing The Willy
Moving on, I’ll be explaining how to actually pull off a willy without looking like a poser
Get close to the ledge, and as you’re about to approach it, bam, pop a clean ollie or nollie, to get your board up in the air with the truck ready to take charge.
Afterwards, in that short window when you’re airborne, flick the Right Stick Left + Down if you want that original willy.
Similarly, flicking the Right Stick Right + Down will trigger the “Over Willy” variation that puts your board’s back-truck in the limelight.
Choose Frontside (FS) or Backside (BS) depending on whether you’re facing the obstacle from the front or the back.
When executed correctly, the game will display the trick name on your screen.
Also, if you want extra style points, you can do a lot to improve your exit off the rail. You can do a kickflip, heelflip, or pop shuvit. I personally enjoy landing into a Manual as it keeps the line going, and I can move to the other obstacle without breaking the combo.
