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On Thursday night, following months of rumors, it was revealed that Marc Johnson and Daewon Song are now on Team adidas. Johnson had left Lakai, which he’d ridden for since 2002. Similarly, Daewon had left DVS, his shoe sponsor since 1996.
The announcement arrived via adidas’ new full-length film, Away Days, and blindsided the Lakai camp, Mike Carroll included. Yesterday, Jenkem published an interview in which Carroll called Johnson a liar, saying that while he knew he was going to adidas he had denied his move would be announced at the premiere.
As Johnson told The Skateboard Mag at Saturday’s New York City screening — three days before the Jenkem interview was published — the move was not driven by money (though, as Carroll said, he took two consecutive pay cuts from Lakai). Instead, he explained, it owes to a series of factors.
“At some point, the bullsh*t wears thin,” he said. “You’ve got ideas, and when you outrun the company and you’ve got all these ideas and the company can’t keep up? It’s ridiculous. You just talk to somebody who’s willing to do these projects, [someone] who is progressive.”
Daewon says his move was prompted in part by changes in ownership at DVS.
“We were just in limbo,” he told The Skateboard Mag. “I didn’t know anybody there any more. These [new] guys didn’t even know what they wanted to do.”
Johnson and Daewon each have a few clips in Away Days.
