Daewon Song - El Skate Shop

Daewon Song is one of the most influential skaters of all time.

He received the “Skater of the Year” award by Thrasher Magazine in 2006 and was inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame in 2017.

Song started skateboarding at the age of 14, two years later he got his first major sponsorship from World Industries. He appeared in several videos for World Industries in the ’90s. He performed the first hardflip on film in Love Child.

Song has a long-standing friendship with Rodney Mullen. Since seeing each other skate when Song was in school, Mullen became a friend and mentor to Song. This friendship led to them co-founding Almost Skateboards.

He nearly quit skateboarding in 1996 following an ankle injury. He considered a life modifying cars until a call with Mullen changed his mind.

Song has co-founded several companies over the years, including Matix Clothing, Deca, Artafact, Thank You Skateboards, and Almost Skateboards.

Over the years, Song has worked with Thank You Skateboards, Matix, Adidas, Tensor, Andale, MOB, Glassy, Spitfire, and Loud Headphones.

Adidas promoted a competition called “Daewon Did It” on Instagram. The competition received 2500 entries from people executing Daewon-style tricks.

Song is vocal about the need for having fun in Skateboarding. His belief is that as long as you’re happy with what you do, that’s all that matters.