Daewon Song and Chris Haslam's mini ramp madness: Daewon Song interview.

WAS BUILDING A MINI-RAMP a reaction to the difficulty of street skating where you live?

Yeah. A mini-ramp is nice. You set it up. Well, we didn't build it. The Daggers built it for us.

Who actually built the thing?

The Daggers.

Dave Duncan?

Yeah, Reategui and those guys. I don't know if Dave Duncan helped but it's definitely a Dagger ramp. You know how that goes.

Were you scared of the ramp crew when you came and watched them build it?

Yeah. They're scary, but at the same time totally professional.

How are you with power tools?

What do you need? I can put you up a little house if you want.

Do you have skills with a circular saw?

Yeah, I can handle a circular saw. To tell you the truth, I'm more of a standard tool type of guy, like a regular handsaw. Just give me a handsaw and a couple nails and I can build anything.

What are some of the parameters a good mini-ramp requires?

Between five and six feet, steep trannies. I want the deck splintered, just that old type of ply that gets splintered really quick so when you go up for a layback fucking grind you get six splinters in your finger. Our ramp has a total splinter deck. You do any kind of layback and you get a hand full of splinters.

You've got to wear welding gloves.

Yeah, or just take it. I know you're down for that, Mike.

What kind of coping do you like?

I like it to stick out so you have to get over it as opposed to just riding up onto it. I don't want a normal crack; I want an earthquake crack. The type of coping where if you're not careful the board smacks you right back in your face.

Ever had any bad experiences with PVC coping?

Yeah. Very bad. That's all we had, remember? Do a frontside ollie to pivot--the PVC's gone, everyone's bummed at you. You're all, "Wait, I'll go get some more." So you go around construction sites looking for more plastic tubing. Then the one you bring back has all these weird mounting angles on it. PVC's the worst shit ever made.

I notice you have a lot of stuff jammed in there. What kind of things did you drag in?

We actually only brought the bike rack. Everything else we found in that warehouse. The warehouse used to be an old methamphetamine lab. It's crazy. I guess the cops came and raided the place. When you skate you get kind of dizzy. I think there might be a secret stash in there somewhere but I'm not trying to fuck with it. So they got busted and the cops raided the place out and now we're in there. Hopefully no buyers come back and think they're still in business and kill us. "Any speed? Nope, just a couple guys on a mini with harsh, stuck-out coping."

Was there any alteration you tried that didn't work out?

Oh my God, yeah. A lot of things. A lot of the wood in there is rotten. It's so dusty in there when you hammer something into the ceiling the whole place becomes a dust cloud. There's no ventilation. You've got to see it. It's disgusting in there. I'm sure me and Chris have lost four years off our lives just hanging out in there every dang day.

What are some of the ramp rules?

We used to have this wallride. You had to hit it before you did anything. People were scared because you'd have to bash over the coping and then bash back in. There were some spills. The other rule is you got to skate. It's not a fucking petting zoo! You don't come by to sit and watch.

Who were some of your greatest mini-ramp mentors?

I remember Chad Vogt skating insane from the H-Street days. He was more like a lip trick kind of guy. There are guys that kill it like Drehobl and Trujillo. Barker Barrett was always good, too.

Would you say Powell mini-ramp pro Eric Sanderson was a big influence on you?

I don't know if I want to say that, but I do remember that guy. He was amazing on mini. What was that, Ban This? There were a few hot mini-ramp sessions in that video. You know what? Mini-ramp has always been the middle ground where the vert skaters and the street skaters could meet and have a good time.

Where the Kostons and the Wamplers come together?

Exactly.

What can Rodney do on a mini-ramp? Can he drop in?

He actually was avert pro back in the day. That's what I heard. We've been trying to get him back there but he's a busy guy.

Were there any handplants done on the ramp?

Yeah. Everyone who came down there did a handplant except me--'cause I'm a faggot. Chris got the backside handplant. A few eggplants went down. Seriously, we need Jason Adams to come down and show us how to do some handplants.

What are some tricks you tried but couldn't quite get? Can you do blunt 360 flip to land back in a blunt?

Fuck no. The thing is, if you saw that in person at a mini-ramp session, you'd be disgusted, Mike. Nobody wants to see that. That's the thing about mini-ramp. When you're in the privacy of your own ramp you can sit around and tinkertoy on some shit like that, but don't bring that tinkertoy shit to a session! I have to say it right here: those tricks are fun, but don't bring that shit to the session. Just get a nice run and cruise around. Nobody wants to see you dancin'! We have some dancing shit in here, but it's a video. Don't worry. We're not going to be doing that shit at your next ramp jam.

What about that carve of death? That looks sketchy. Were there any accidents?

Yeah, Chris made some sketchy shit. It was fucked. Since the place is so dusty, it feels like we waxed the whole ramp. The ramp has seven holes in it patched with duct tape. It's pretty fucked for a ramp that's three months old. Who cares? It happens.

Have you ever made the Tony Mag 360 varial champion to fakie?

Not to fakie, but I've done it to forward. I think I could get it if the spirit was in me.

When will the kids get to see this video?

Soon. This was a fun project. I hope kids dig it. There's going to be a short mini-ramp thing and then Chris and Coop have a dirt board section. Then we have this new am and he's going to have a before and after part. All his old stuff and then his updated section. It should be a really good video.

What if this sparks a whole mini-ramp comeback? Are there any old moves you're afraid of the kids learning?

Yeah. I'd hate to see the 900[degrees] on a mini. They would get holes in the ramp. We've already got enough holes.