SAN FRANCISCO -- Andy Macdonald is hot.

Not only did he have his best year to date in 1998, finishing in the top 10 in every contest he entered, but also he is having an even better 1999. He took second place in vert at the Slam City Jam in Vancouver, British Columbia, and first place in vert at the X Trials in Louisville.

This appears to be Andy's year to shine.

"I try not to have the greatest expectations," says Macdonald. "I just want to do what I plan to do and that's it."

	Two-time X Games vert gold medalist Andy Macdonald has been a skateboarding ambassador the past 12 months.

Apparently last year, Macdonald's plans included skating his way to a gold medal in vert and vert doubles and a silver medal in street. In the vert, he outskated his close friend and doubles partner, Tony Hawk.

"Tony's just a great skater. Our friendship doesn't really affect the competition. We've been skating together for such a long time," he says.

Although they are close friends, there is a sense that Macdonald might be poised to take over Hawk's reign as king of the vert. He has already claimed the gold medal in vert at the X Games in '96 and again in '98. Many believe that Macdonald has the skill to dominate the sport the way Hawk has since he turned pro in 1982. But you would never get him to admit to it.

"We have two totally different styles," says Macdonald. "He's such a great skater. He's like the only guy out here doing 720's."

Mcdonald, 25, has been competing since 1995 but his competition log looks as if he's been skating since birth. In 1998, he was on the road virtually year round. He skated in Australia, Tokyo, Japan and Hawaii as part of the Vans Warped Tour. He also participated in the Globe Shoes World Cup in Germany and the Grand Prix of Skateboarding in Switzerland.

Like Hawk, Mcdonald enjoys skating in front of new audiences and sees it as a way of growing the sport. This is why he was less than impressed with this year's location.

"I don't think San Francisco is the right venue for this," says Macdonald in reference to the Summer X Games V. "Everybody here has already seen this stuff. It's not new to them."

Mcdonald would like to see the X Games move to a city that he feels will help bring exposure to the sport. Perhaps even somewhere in the Midwest. He even took part in a 1998 tour of the East Coast in which he visited skate parks to help raise money and support.

"I remember when we were in Rhode Island and there were people out on the docks that had never seen anything like this before," he says. "They were just blown away."

Whether it's Rhode Island or San Francisco, people are being lured in by Macdonald's talent and his consistent ability to do new and innovative things on a skateboard. Perhaps he will get his wish and help bring tournaments to a new and impressionable audience.

Until then, he will just keep skating. And winning.