One hell of a year: Daewon Song.

Alright Daewon, you had a great year, right?

Oh yeah. How you doin' buddy?

Great. When you were making your Skate More video part, did you think it would be the one that everyone would be carrying on about?

Actually, no. The Skate More part, I thought it would be a part where people would think it was my end. I'm not even joking. I told Colin Kennedy, the guy who put it together, "Wow. This is one premiere I don't even want to go to."

Really?

It was so hard for me to have a fooling-around-free part because in the past I'd gotten so focused on skating so tech. At the same time, it was almost too tech. It was like, flip in, flip out, flip in, flip out. "C'mon. Take it east, Daewon. Give us a break!" So for the DVS part I just had to make it different. You know how it is, Mike. You do a four-foot air on a three-foot mini and you're pumped and then you do a one-foot air on a six-foot mini--what's better? You never know. The first air was higher, but the ramp was lower, but everyone likes the one-foot-high air on the six-foot ramp. Who knows? That's kind of what I got caught up in. And for some reason, I think I got more credit for the one-foot air on the six-footer.

Did you make an effort to take it to the streets more?

Yeah. "Holy shit! He just rolled across the street!" Me and Colin decided to just skate like we normally would--like cruising downtown LA. That's something I never documented. I would always end up at some manual pad and sit there for 17 hours. I didn't realize how boring it was, sometimes. "Hey, here he come on two wheels."

I don't think any of your past parts were boring.

Yeah, but I just wanted to show more skating around and having fun.

How do you find these crazy spots?

Sometimes I just see them off the side of the road. Sometimes Colin would find them and not know if anyone else would be into it, but that maybe I would be. He'd take me to a spot and expect that it would be skated one way, and then I'd end up skating it a whole different way. We found spots in old abandoned zoos. It's like, "I don't know if you'll like it. It's good, but when you land there's a silverback gorilla swiping at your face!" Some of the other spots would be from Coop [Cooper Wilt]. He's got some great spots.

What does Rodney think about your new direction?

I told him, "Hey Rodney, I don't know if you're gonna like it," but he watched it and was actually really stoked for me. He said it pumped him up to go skating.

What are your predictions for SOTY 2006?

Seriously, Busenitz, man. I like the way he skates. Chris Cole got it, but shoot, just give it to him again. He's been killing it. Marc Johnson! I've been hearing a lot about his Lakai part. He's never gotten it, right? Guy Mariano! All those guys deserve it!

If you were to pick a Skater of the Millennium, who would it be?

I'd have to say Chris Haslam. I've been skating with him a lot lately and he's incredible.

I know he influences you with his skating, but what about with his facial hair?

Yeah. Actually, I've been trying to grow out my Fu Manchu. But it looks disgusting--and I got carded! I ended up shaving it.

Can you promise the Thrasher fans we'll get you in the mag for a big interview in 2006?

Oh yeah. Let's do it. But I'm gonna need your help.