Shaun Paul Is Back In Melb (And Has A New New Balance Part)

Images by Tomoki Peters and Sam Coady.

This is the second time I’ve had to write an introduction for Shaun Paul. The last time I did, I wrote about how we met and how he is one of my favourite Australian skateboarders.

The latter is something that I think you should probably know too reading this. Shaun is such an amazing skateboarder, just watching him mess around at the skatepark is impressive. He can skate everything, even transition. It is ridiculous.

Over the last few years Shaun’s travelled the world, filming footage everywhere from Times Square to Aotea Square. In the last six months, he’s moved back to Melbourne and settled into living in the city. In that time, he’s released a part, turned pro, filmed even more footage and now has a new shoe sponsor.

That footage is out now in his short part in High Noon, a video by George Kousoulis featuring the Australian and New Zealand New Balance Numeric team. You can watch that below. It’s great, everyone killed it.

To coincide with his announcement on New Balance and the video I wanted to have a chat with Shaun about filming for the project and his past six months living back in Melbourne.                                               

You spent a year and a half travelling and now you’ve been back in Melbourne for six months, how has it been being back?

It’s been good. Having a homebase, a room, a bed that’s mine and a bit more of a routine has all been really nice. It’s good to know the city really well too, going skating and being able to think of ideas and dwell on them a little bit. When you’re travelling you just don’t put as much energy into the places that you’re in because you’re moving around so much. It’s nice to have things that I want to go try and want to skate.

For sure, quite a lot has happened in that few months you had a part come out and turned pro. How was that all?

That was amazing. I had known about it for the last year leading up to the video, it was such a big build up to the video, we planned so much in terms of the prem and the video, Geoff [Campbell] was editing it and I’d been travelling so much. That video part is a good reflection of that whole year that I was working towards that. It was a relief to have it all done and have it all out. The prem was so sick, my family came, and it was the first time they’d ever visited me in Melbourne. Three friends from Bunbury came too. It was so sick.

Then it rained when you turned pro [laughs].

It was so dramatic [laughs]. It was so nice to have everyone there. It was such a special night.

What was it like knowing you were going pro?

It was just a bit nerve-wracking, but I was excited. It doesn’t even feel like anything has changed, it’s not like I am a new person. I remember the night because of the video and because all my friends and family were there but I forget that I have a board with my name on it sometimes. I was at Fitzroy the other day skating the park and this kid was skating my board. That was the first time I’d ever seen it out in the wild and I was like ‘Woah, that is pretty crazy’. The kid was sick too, he was shredding. It was really nice seeing someone skate my board.  

What was it like when the video was playing and knowing what was about to happen?

I knew what the last trick was, you know [laughs]. I was like ‘Oh god it’s going to happen what do I do?’.

In the last few months, you got on New Balance Numeric. How did that all come together?

Everything was going south at DC; they sold the company and things changed there. I have nothing against DC or anything that they did. I have nothing but love for everyone involved all the Team Manager’s the Australian TM, Vijay [Moody] and the USA TM Frank Mare and the photographer Mike Heikkila have all been so great. It was incredible being involved with all that, but things changed over there, and I no longer had a home there anymore.

I wanted to keep skating and I had known that [Cameron] Sparkes had been interested in putting me on for quite some time, so I gave him a call and we had a really good chat. He sent me some shoes and I was stoked. I always liked New Balance, I liked the shoes and the things they did with their team. I knew a few people over there and thought it would be a good fit for me. As soon as I got the first pair of shoes in November, I was so hyped, I just wanted to get to it. They’d been working on this Australia video; that was supposed to come out in December, so when I got on, they were like maybe you can have two or three clips in the video. The second day I had the shoes I did the back tail. I was just hyped and wanted to have footage in the video. Then after the first week I filmed a few clips. It was coming towards the end of November, and they were having issues with the music so it got pushed back and I went on a mission for November and December to film as much footage as I could. I ended up getting a minute of footage that I am really hyped on.

What was it like being the surprise addition in the video?

It was funny because I live in Melbourne and the premiere was in Sydney. Everyone in Melbourne already knew I skated for New Balance, so, I didn’t expect there to be a surprise. I have the first section in the video and when it started, I think people were so confused, I heard a few people say ‘Oh, what the hell’ when my name came up. I had a few people come up to me after the video being like ‘I didn’t know you skated for New Balance’ [laughs]. We were trying to keep it low key and I thought it was cool to do it like that.

Yeah, it is really cool. I feel like people don’t really do that anymore. Having surprise parts in a video.

Yeah, it’s usually by Instagram or something like that and I guess I did as well, but you don’t really think too much about someone wearing the shoes.  

From these photos in the interview and what I’ve heard you’ve been doing you’ve been skating a lot of spots in the CBD that have been mostly untouched or not skated in the way you’ve been skating them. Have you been thinking about trying to skate the city differently since you’ve been back?

Yeah, for sure, it’s definitely even been spots that I didn’t think that I would skate, it’s been nice and gets me excited because I’m skating something I don’t usually skate. Even that 50-50, I haven’t filmed many 50-50s it’s nice in that sense.

Do you think you came back with a different perspective on the city?

In a sense. There aren’t as many spots where you can go for the low hanging fruit, you have to do some thinking outside the box. Also, everyone here is trying to find something new to skate. Especially with the crew I skate with people like LC [Ben Lawrie], [Tai] Wepa, Geoff [Campbell] and Majick [Templeton] are always looking for something new. Having them all around it’s encouraging to try keep finding new stuff around the city.

I guess you’ve lived here for basically six years, did you start finding it hard to come up with ideas before you left?

I’ve never really had too much of a hard time trying to find something to skate or to try because I always want to try a trick, no matter the spot I am at. I kind of hate thinking that something is out of my reach because I don’t really skate like that normally.

The 50-50 ollie out is one of those tricks that was quite surprising when you showed me. You’ve done a few tricks over that rail, how did you come up the idea to do that?

It’s funny because I’ve taken a few people there to do that. I took Dean there to do that, about three years ago, it’s right up his alley. He tried it for a little bit, but he didn’t get it. Then when we came on the DC trip last year ago, Josh Wilson was in town, and I suggested for him to do it, but he was too sore from skating all day. Then one day Ronny [Brown] and I were just skating around the city, and I decided to try it. A lot of the footage in this new video is from going around the city, being like ‘Should we just try it?’ that was one of those things. Then I figured it out after a bit. I am really hyped on that clip and the photo.

How has it been going around the city being like ‘Maybe I should try this?’

It’s fun. I feel like [John] Shanahan rubbed off on me a bit in that sense where it is like, just give it a go, even in those high kickout spots where you might only get a few minutes, it’s worth giving it a go we’re already here. I like that pressure too of not knowing how long I have.

Is there anything else you filmed like that you’re stoked on?

The tre flip lip at Treasury. The rail was uncapped for the first time in ten years, and I did a couple tricks on it, like front lip and boardslide. It is such a perfect rail, and I was thinking what’s something I could do that hadn’t be done. I made up in my mind that I was going to try tre flip lip [laughs]. Then we went there after a big day of skating, and I think I tried it for twenty minutes; I stomped it like fifteen times but just couldn’t roll away. We got kicked out then chilled at the park for a little bit and I was like we should go back up; the rail could be gone tomorrow. We went back up and then I did it. It’s so funny it’s such a trick I’d never do.

Have you ever done one before that?

Never down a handrail. I’ve done it on flatbars and down A-frame rails. I locked into tre flip 50-50 a few times at Treasury. It was fucked. I am so inexperienced in that type of skating [laughs]. I am pretty hyped I did it.

That is so gnarly. Now the videos done and out what’s next from here?

Not drinking, I haven’t drunk for two months. I am on a sober tip, which has been great. I have been injured through it, so it is hard to notice the full capabilities of not drinking. When I was skating for that little bit after my ankle recovered and before I hurt my knee, it was like I could skate everyday if I do the right things for my body, I stretch, I do the exercises from my physio. It is definitely a combination of not drinking and taking care of your physical and mental health, a part of me thinks you are kind of unstoppable. Then I guess recover from my stupid injuries, skate and work on the next video part. I am definitely hyped on doing tricks that I don’t usually do and want to keep doing it.