We’ve been fielding a lot of questions about Danny Way lately. Is he better from those gnarly events of X Games 14? Are the rumors about the Hawaii compound true? And what the hell happened in Brazil? This week we talked to Danny to answer those questions…

The X Games slam happened, and that was immediately followed by a bunch of media and about a billion videos of the footage on YouTube. After that, you laid low for a minute. What were you up to?
I was rehabbing my back and my ankle and my knee. I was laying low, hitting the gym, and skating lightly until I went to Brazil, where I got hurt again.

It seems like people that skate really respect the gnarliness of your X Games make, while everyone else in the mainstream seemed to focus on the collision with the coping. From a guy who’s seen that time and time again throughout the years with all the shit you do, why do you think that is?
I guess the slams are intriguing, but the makes are what make skateboarding rewarding. So I definitely prefer the makes over the slams!

What do you remember most from that day?
I don’t really remember a lot of what happened… the lights all sort of came on at once. I just remember catching my breath on the flatbottom with a bunch of people hovering over me, and also skinning my face, which was pretty frustrating. Sometimes after a slam, whether you’re hurt or not, it’s good just to lie there so you can assess what’s really going on. It’s hard when you have people in your face to just relax and get your breath.

You just got back from Brazil. What were you doing down there?
It was a MegaRamp contest that Bob put together down there. It was a good event, I just had some bad luck. I tested out the ramp to make sure it was built correctly, and found out there were a couple of errors in the design. They didn’t follow the blueprints exactly, and the translation of some of the dimensions were wrong. The ramp was a little bit short from what it should’ve been so I didn’t have enough speed. I hit the 70-foot gap and came up short, and I hurt my back pretty good. (Two cracked vertebrae... YouTube video here).

Because that event was way far away in Brazil, it didn’t get a ton of coverage. Do you feel like you sacrificed your body for nothing down there?
Well, I think all skate communities are important. Brazil is a big and important part of the skate community and culture, so I think it’s important to represent skateboarding globally, no matter where we go. Just as long as that community is supportive and embraces skateboarding as much as we do in the states. Brazil contributes a lot, so they deserve to see the MegaRamp. It’s worth taking the risk for those who dedicate their lives to skateboarding.

On your brother’s blog on Arkitip, he said, “My brother does it again… avoids serious and permanent damage through what must be divine intervention.” Do you ever think there’s an angel on your shoulder when this type of stuff happens to you?
I have angels tattooed on my shoulder! Maybe that’s the reason why I’ve been safe.

If there’s anything we’ve learned about Danny Way, it’s that doctor’s prognosis and timelines are meaningless. They said the X Games slam would mean 6 months off the board, it really meant 1 month. The Great Wall: an unskateable ankle to world records and an X Games gold a week later. The list goes on. That said, how long do YOU think before you’re skating again.
I’m ready as soon as the doctors say the bones are solid. It’ll be a few weeks.

And you went surfing already, right?
A couple surf sessions just to get the blood flowing, but I’m not trying to get too crazy. I need to get exercise. Being an athlete, sitting around for a month or two doesn’t really work that well. You can’t come back and turn it on… you have to keep your endurance levels up. Just staying on track helps make sure you don’t re-injure yourself.

What’s a day in the life been for the last few weeks?
Just keeping it mellow and spending a lot of time with my kids. I have a lot of craziness in my life, so I’m trying to minimize that as much as possible. I want to focus on the things that are important, like my family and skateboarding.

What’s up with Hawaii? Are the house and park done?
I’m just finishing. I’ve been trying to make this dream come to life for a few years. I’m going to start building some skate stuff and a skate facility in the near future. I want to experiment with some new shit and try some stuff that’s never been possible. I’m looking forward to a place to experiment and explore—a place that’s out of the way, secluded and private where I can get shit done without the world watching.

There’s also been rumors of a new Danny Way BMX career. Lindsey Robertson says you got skills.
I don’t really mess with BMX. I’ve got some skills… don’t kid yourself. I’d rather experiment on a skateboard as opposed to BMX. Too much experimenting on a bike might finish my skateboarding career!

The new Plan B promo is out and people seem to really like it. What can you tell us about the full-length version that’s coming out in a year or so?
It’s a lot of pressure.

The question or the video?
I mean, I know the video will be good. I just hope I’m able to get enough shit in the video that I’m happy with. The Plan B heritage has been to come out with some groundbreaking shit. I’m looking at place to go and things to do… just looking forward to getting some stuff done.

As one of the owners of Plan B, would you say that video is one of your top priorities right now?
Yes, but I have to be realistic with the timing, the facilities, and the places to skate. I hope that I can come through with some stuff that’s interesting. I get burnt out on skating the same spots all the time. To keep inspired and creative I feel like I have to change the environment to skate in quite a bit. So that’s all I’m saying—I want to get inspired and start making some shit that I haven’t done before.