Allen Pan’s Auto-Trick Skateboard Teases a Wild Ride into Skateboarding’s High-Tech Future

Allen Pan, a YouTube engineer with a love for retro projects, built an auto-trick skateboard for Activision’s Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 promotion. This clever board automates tricks like kickflips so beginners can feel like pros.

Pan initially thought of a drone-like skateboard, equipping a board with four electric ducted fans (EDFs) that produce 60 pounds of thrust. Controlled by a PlayStation controller and an ESP32 microcontroller, the fans were mapped to in-game tricks like ollies or kickflips. He teamed up with engineer Jake Laser to get the board to flip during a jump. But the 4.5-pound board had slow response times and was unstable without a proper flight controller, making it unreliable and unsafe to use.

Pan switched approaches and designed a system using high-pressure mechanics. He attached two 800 PSI CO2 cartridges with solenoid valves and 3D-printed pistons to a new skateboard deck. The ESP32 triggered the valves via the controller, releasing CO2 to activate the pistons—both for an ollie or one for a kickflip. Early tests with PVC pistons had durability issues, but reinforced resin pistons and a refined design produced a board that could move crisply and controlled, with a small but effective ollie and a functional kickflip.

At a local skatepark, Pan tested the board with skateboarding legend Bam Margera. Margera, with decades of experience, landed a kickflip by timing the CO2 release, although the board flipped slightly slower than a traditional one. Pan flipped but struggled with the landing, though proving the board could do pro-level tricks for beginners.

Pan’s auto-trick skateboard is a combination of creative engineering and nostalgic dreams. The droneboard may not have worked due to physical limitations, but it led to the successful CO2-powered system. As Margera said, it’s not a replacement for actual skateboarding, but it shows how technology can make complex skills accessible for beginners.
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