Honestly, if you've ever stepped foot on the boardwalk in Venice Beach, you know the vibe is heavy. It's not just the smell of salt air and cheap incense. It's the sound. That rhythmic clack-clack-scrape of polyurethane hitting concrete. For most people, Venice is about the palm trees or the muscle beach gym, but for skaters, it’s about the "Pit" legacy and that one specific move that everyone tries to master: the tailslide the Venice ledge.
But here’s the thing. When people talk about "The Venice Ledge," they’re often talking about two different things. You’ve got the actual, physical concrete at the world-famous Dennis "Polar Bear" Agnew Memorial Skatepark (the one that opened in 2009), and then you’ve got the digital ghost of it that lives in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. Whether you're trying to lock in your back tail in real life or just trying to hit the gap in the game, the ledge is a rite of passage.
The Virtual Ledge: Finding it in THPS 1+2
Let’s get the gaming side out of the way because, let's be real, a lot of you are here because you can't find the damn thing in the remake. In Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2, "Tailslide the Venice Ledge" is one of those goals that feels way harder than it should be simply because the game doesn't give you a map.
Basically, from the start of the level, you want to hang a sharp left. You’ll see a bowl area. You need to jump out of that bowl toward the beach side, near where the "Magic Bum" hangs out. Look for a long, spray-painted ledge that runs down a set of stairs. That’s your target. To nail the gap, you have to initiate the tailslide (Right + Grind button for regular skaters) and hold it all the way down the drop. If you just tap it, the "Venice Ledge" gap notification won't pop up. It’s a bit finicky.
The Real Deal: Skating Venice in Person
In the real world, skating the Venice Beach Skatepark is an entirely different beast. This isn't your local prefab park with smooth metal edges. This is $3.4 million worth of custom-poured concrete that’s been baked in the California sun and battered by sand for over fifteen years.
The ledges here are iconic, but they’re "crusty." That’s the only way to describe them. Because the park sits right on the sand, there is a constant fine grit covering everything. If you try to tailslide the Venice ledge without enough speed, that sand acts like sandpaper. You won't slide; you'll just pitch forward and eat concrete in front of about two hundred tourists holding iPhones.
Why the Tailslide is the Ultimate Venice Trick
Why a tailslide? Why not a 50-50 or a nosegrind?
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It’s about the style. Venice is the home of the Z-Boys and Jesse Martinez. It’s a place built on "surf-style" skating—low centers of gravity, aggressive carves, and tricks that look like you're slashing a wave. A tailslide is the closest a skater gets to a surf-style "snap" on a wave’s lip.
When you lock into a back tail on one of those ledges, you’re looking out at the Pacific Ocean. Your back truck is hanging off the edge, your weight is centered over that tail, and for a second, you're part of a lineage that goes back to the 70s.
How to Actually Lock It In
If you’re struggling to land this in the streets, you're probably approaching it too sharp. Most people try to jump at the ledge. Bad idea.
- Parallel Approach: Ride almost parallel to the ledge. You want to be about six inches away.
- The Pivot: As you ollie, you’re not just jumping up; you’re rotating your hips 90 degrees.
- The "Sit": This is the secret. You don't just put your tail on the ledge. You "sit" on it. Your weight needs to be almost entirely on your back foot. If your weight is in the middle, your wheels will catch the top of the ledge and you’ll stop dead.
- The Slide: Because Venice concrete is notoriously sticky due to the salt air, you need more wax than you think. Local etiquette is a thing here, though—don't be the guy who cakes the whole ledge in wax without asking.
The Legend of the Pit
You can’t talk about the Venice ledge without mentioning "The Pit." Before the current park was built in 2009, skaters occupied the ruins of the old Venice Pavilion. It was a gritty, graffiti-covered graveyard of concrete benches and tables.
Skaters like Christian Hosoi and Eric Dressen didn't have "perfect" ledges. They skated whatever was there. The current park was designed by RRM Design Group and Zach Wormhoudt to mimic some of those old-school obstacles. When you’re trying to tailslide the Venice ledge today, you’re skating a polished version of a spot that people fought for twenty years to build.
Common Mistakes Most People Make
Honestly, the biggest mistake is hesitation. Venice is a "heavy" park. There are always pros there. There are always filmers. It’s easy to get intimidated and go half-speed.
In skateboarding, speed is your friend on a tailslide. If you go slow, you stick. If you go fast, you glide. Also, watch your shoulders. If your shoulders stay parallel to the ledge, you’ll slip out. You have to keep your chest facing forward—the direction you're traveling—even while your board is sideways.
Actionable Tips for your Next Session
If you’re heading to Venice Beach or just trying to master the tailslide at your local spot, here is how you actually get better:
- Practice the "Stall" first: Find a curb. Don't worry about sliding. Just practice the ollie-to-90-degree-pivot and land with your tail locked on the curb. Do it until you can do it in your sleep.
- Wax the Side, Not Just the Top: A tailslide involves the bottom of your board and the side of the ledge. Make sure the "face" of the ledge is slick, too.
- Check the Wind: No joke, Venice gets windy. A strong gust off the ocean can actually blow your board out from under you mid-ollie if you’re catching a lot of air.
Whether you're hitting the "Venice Ledge" gap in a video game or trying to keep your balance on the actual concrete in SoCal, it's all about that feeling of the lock-in. It’s a trick that requires total commitment. There’s no "halfway" tailslide. You’re either on it, or you’re on the ground.
To take your skating further, start filming your attempts from the side. You'll quickly see if your weight is too far forward or if you aren't rotating your hips enough. Consistency comes from correcting those micro-movements before they become bad habits. Spend thirty minutes a day just on the footwork of the pivot, and the slide will eventually take care of itself.