For freshman physics major Laydien Dominguez, aerodynamics is no problem. On a fair-weather day, you can find Dominguez practicing flips on the West Lawn or on the pavement outside the University Center. 

Dominguez, 19, started tricking on campus as soon as he moved into his dorm. Since then, he has been cataloguing his progress online. Dominguez posts his tricks to Instagram, where he has amassed nearly 3,000 followers. 

Tricking blends classical gymnastics with martial arts techniques. The sport borrows from Taekwondo and Kung Fu, with a healthy dose of dance movements. The result is an impressive combination of flips, kicks and twists. 

Dominguez started garden trampolining in his backyard at 11 years old. From there, he discovered his passion for tricking. “About middle of high school – sophomore or junior year – I started doing most of my flips on ground,” Dominquez said. “That eventually became a full transition in my senior year to doing all of my flips on the ground.” 

Tricking was attractive to Dominguez because of its artistic elements. “I love it, it’s very expressive. That’s the thing I like about it over gymnastics and Taekwondo. It’s very free-flowing,” he said. 

For Dominguez, the entire campus is his training ground. “I tried the turf in Summit Village, and that didn’t work out great. It was really hard and super hot on my feet,” Dominguez said. “The West Lawn is where I do a lot of my flips. That’s where I train the most, because the grass is super nice.”  

One of Dominguez’s frequent training spots is the plaza outside of Berger Hall. The concrete might be daunting to any other athlete, but Dominguez sees it as an added challenge. “There’s a lot of people watching, so there’s extra pressure,” he said.  

Domiguez doesn’t mind the crowd. “It makes it exciting. It’s fun. I get a lot of people [who] ask me about it and stop me and go, ‘that’s so cool.’” 

Instagram is Dominguez’s way of logging his progress on tricks and sharing the sport with others. “I think the sport is amazing and the community is amazing. I really like being able to share with as many people as I can,” he said. 

Dominguez has also been able to connect with other fellow trickers by practicing on campus, often spontaneously. “The UCCS tricking community is alive and well,” Dominguez said. 

Introducing people to tricking is one of Dominguez’s main goals. The sport is highly individualized, progress-based and open to everyone. “It definitely reflects you as a person, how you train and how you do flips.” 

According to Dominguez, there’s no bad place to start tricking: “As long as you can move, you’re good. You can basically do anything if you try hard enough.” 

Dominguez is a member of the UCCS Powerlifting Club and Colorado Tricking, one of America’s largest tricking communities, according to their website.  

When he isn’t flipping on campus, Dominguez can be found in the gym, prepping for his powerlifting meets in his homemade jorts. “I did some good tricks in them, so I think I consider them pretty lucky,” he said. 

Dominguez hopes to start his own tricking club in order to expand the tricking community on campus. “I think everyone should be able to learn how to do cool tricks,” he said. Dominguez plans to begin preparations for the club in the fall. 

Freshman Laydien Dominguez tricks on the lawn. Photo by Josiah Dolan.