Shaun Paul kicked off 2019 with the DC Supertour, hitting demos across the East Coast and New Zealand alongside the likes of Tiago Lemos, Evan Smith, John Shanahan, Tommy Fynn and Jaakko Ojanen. As the year progressed Shaun went on to have footage in Crimson and Clover, a video by the late Tully West, and the Bronze 56k 2020 Promo Video. These solid efforts, along with his phenomenal New Gen in issue 222, earned Shaun Paul the title of New Gen of the Year for 2020. Congrats Shaun and thanks to everyone who voted and our presenting sponsor, Stance Australia.

Check out Shaun’s full New Gen interview from Issue 222 below.

Portrait by Paul Battlay.

Where are you at right now with your life?

I just got back home from a DC Australia and NZ tour that went for about three weeks. The body was feeling pretty sore towards the end, but I’m all good now after a day or two off the board. Just before the trip started, I moved into my girlfriend’s crib in Prahran. It’s a 25-minute tram outta the city, which is cool. It’s something new and exciting for us. If I’m not working or chilling with the middie, I’ll link up with whoever isn’t working and keen for a roll. I usually skate every day.

You’re originally from Bunbury, a couple of hours south of Perth. What was it like growing up there?

Yeah, Bunbury is home. I was born in Perth, but my family moved south when I was about eight to get away from the city vibe. We lived in a pretty sketch area. Too many shady characters hanging ’round the streets at night. I used to despise living in Bunbury, but after leaving, close to two years ago, I love coming back every time to see my friends and family. It has a classic small-town vibe. Everyone knows everyone, it’s close to the beach, and there are good fishing and surfing spots. It’s a very slow and quiet lifestyle, but that’s what my parents love about it.

How was the skate scene in Bunbury?

I started skating with my brother when we first moved there, but we only skated out the front of my house for the first couple months. Then we would go around the blocks near my crib, and eventually, we built up the courage to go the skatepark. You know how it is. Everyone at the park was chill. I gradually met more skaters from the area and started going to the park every day and kickin’ it. My parents were a little hesitant seeing me hanging out with dudes in their late teens and mid-20s, but it was usually pretty tame down there. The scene goes up and down in Bunbury, but there would always be someone to skate with and occasionally someone to film some clips. There’s even an old part from back in the day floating on the interwebs that probably no one reading this has seen unless they’re from Bunbury! [laughs] It’s funny though, I’ll come back, and there are all these new kids and their little crew skating the same park we skated and filming all their own clips at the same spots we used to skate. Bunbury has spots! I’d love to go back one day with the homies and show them around.

Full-length frontside noseslide in Shanghai. Photo by Bryce Golder.

What is ‘The Bunghole Life’?

[Laughs] I’m not sure. That’s a term people use for Bunbury who are not from there. I guess because there is nothing to do there and it has a pretty bad meth and crack problem. So you could say it’s a shithole, hence The Bunghole.

Who are your favourite WA skaters?

Quayde Baker was a big one for me. You could catch me back in the day tryna look like Quayde or skate like him. I think I like tré flips so much because of him [laughs]. Nothing like a good ol’ yolo from Bakesey. I also fucked heavily with Ben Bowring, Justin Lloyd, Harry Clark, Barry Mansfield, Rowan White, Matt Riley, Phil Marshall, and Dylan Tomlinson. I love Perth skating and all the clips and videos that came out of there. I’d study everything, watching the same videos over and over again. It’s funny how we have fast forwarded a couple of years, and I’m friends with most of those lads now. I used to idolise them when I was a young buck. I would know everything about them, watching all of their parts and reading their interviews. It’s a crack up because Quayde and Phil used to judge the comps I skated in when I was real young.

When did you move over to Melbourne and what’s your day-to-day like?

I moved to Melbourne in February of 2017. I’m usually trying to save money [laughs]. There’s cheap rent here and some mean food spots that are all under $10, but I always find a way to spend my money either way. Cooking at home is the key. Weekdays usually consist of a slow morning and then trying to figure out who’s skating. I’ll most likely link up with LC [Ben River Lawrie] and skate around until everyone finishes work. Occasionally I’ll film a trick during the week with Tully [West] if someone has an idea, but will usually end up at IMAX with the lads. When the weekend comes, there will be more of a hustle, and hopefully the homies wanna huck their carcasses [laughs].

Switch heel at an old Northcote spot. Photo by Paul Battlay.

It seems pretty common for skaters to move from Perth to Melbourne, but you skipped moving to Perth and went straight from Bunbury to Melbourne. Was the main reason to get more opportunities with skateboarding?

Yeah, I don’t know, there wasn’t much happening in Perth at the time. That place has its phases. I didn’t see the point in moving to Perth. I felt like if I did, I would get stuck there not doing what I wanted to do. Melbourne is more my pace. Moving here has helped me out a lot. I feel like people here are a little more enthusiastic to do things and try to get shit done, but at the same time, it can be the exact opposite.

Tell us about the DC Supertour. That must have been a bit of a dream trip for you.

Yeah, that trip was crazy. Shit was wild. Always a good time whether it be in the van, skating or kickin’ it. Those dudes live a pretty crazy lifestyle, and it’s hard to keep up sometimes [laughs]. But it was a dope three weeks.

It must have been crazy to be skating with the likes of Tiago [Lemos] and the crew. Had you met those dudes before?

I knew Tommy [Fynn] and [Alex] Lawton before the trip, so I wasn’t a complete stranger. Everyone was friendly and easy to talk to. I’d trip out on all the boys skating when we would get to some gnarly spot though, especially Jaakko [Onanen]. Those dudes are ruthless at times and would get their tricks stupid quick while I was still trying to warm up [laughs]. Seeing Tiago skate was mind-blowing every time – dude has mad form and pop. I was fanning out lowkey, plus he’s the nicest guy ever.

How did you find skating the demos?

The demos and signings were pretty hectic too. Heaps of people showed up to each one. Skating in them was a little daunting. At the start, I had no idea what I was doing, but I slowly relaxed and just tried to land something [laughs].

What was with the jerseys?

Yeah, I guess DC is recreating that OG vibe with everyone in their jerseys. I didn’t mind though. It was the first time I’ve had a shirt on with my name on the back [laughs].

Do you know much about the OG DC Supertour?

Yeah, I’ve seen that DC Euro Tour in a 411 from back in the day with the OG team. They all had the jerseys on, skating ’round the demos. The crowd looked like they were going wild.

Rumour has it that you had a bit of a bromance with John Shanahan.

[Laughs] who be saying dis? Sluggy [James James]? But for real, I fuck with John’s skating and have for the past couple years. We skate similar spots so we can relate while out and about with the rest of the squad, ’cause you know, we ain’t gonna be skating no 15-stair handrail [laughs]. We would link up most mornings to get breakfast and hopefully someone else was as keen as us to get a feed. Then we’d usually peel off during the day to get snacks or food. I took John to the casino for the first time in Melbourne and he was so hyped that we went three nights in a row and we both came up! We kicked it together for most of the trip.

Bluntside into a shiny Shanghai bank. Photo by Bryce Golder.

How did you get the name ’Shoe Paul’?

Before I moved to Melbourne in 2017, I came over here solo in October 2016 for a month. The only person I knew was Quayde from when I was younger. I hollered at him and he introduced me to everyone. At the time, we both rode for GMTA, but I had no shoe hookup. One night we were at a bar in the city having beers and kickin’ it, and I said to Quayde that I wanna get some sort of shoe flow ’cause I got no money and there wasn’t any chance of getting any kicks back in Perth.

Anyway, my trip to Melbourne came to an end, and I guess word got around while I was away, ’cause ya know, people talk [laughs]. I moved to Melbourne four months later and everyone was calling me “Shoe Paul”. Word had it that I only moved to Melbourne to get a shoe sponsor, which I can understand, with what I’d said to Quayde, but it had me tripping at the start. I was like, What do you mean? [laughs]. The first person I heard say it was [Dylan] Bruns. I’m not exactly sure who said it first, but in Melbourne, the boys love to lash each other ruthlessly, so it’s cool, I don’t give a fuck. It’s pretty funny now I look back on it.

Rowan White mentioned that every night after a big day of hucking you’d be desperate to go to the skatepark before bed and get another few hours in. What’s up with that? How do you get the energy?

Yeah, that sounds about right. When I was a little younger, I would skate non-stop in Bunbury ’cause I had nothing to do. I’d be skating by myself a lot when I was home because everyone was either working or couldn’t be fucked. Then I would get a train or drive up to Perth every week or two if I could afford it and go crazy trying to skate all day and night. Rowan filmed at the time too, so we were keen for it.

Rowan said you were picky with beds. What’s the story with staying at his house?

I would eventually find a comfy spot, but Rowan had so many options at his flat that I had to try them all out since I was there every weekend. It became a weekly occurrence of me pulling up and trying to suss out the best bed [laughs]. It was good times staying with Rowan. He would be just as keen as me, and we’d skate around Freo or Perth all day. We would be out on a mish. Big shout out to Dr White.

Switch crooks on a North Melbourne hot spot. Photo by Paul Battlay.

It’s rumoured that you’re a bit of a clean freak, doing laundry just about every night. What’s the deal with that?

Yeah, that used to be true. I like washing my shit straight away, so it’s not sitting in my washing basket stinking up my room. But in my new crib, you have to pay $3 for a communal washing machine, so I gotta wait until the basket fills up first, then do my thing [laughs]. I fuck with a clean crib hard. It makes me feel better about myself and helps me get other things done in my day. My mum is a hectic clean freak, so that’s probably where I get it from.

Are you OCD?

Hmm, I’d say at times I can get a little bit OCD, but nothing too gnarly. It’s usually when I’m stressed and I need everything to be in its place to feel relaxed. Some people will know what I’m talking about [laughs].

Which trick did you work hardest for in this photo spread?

It would have to be the noseslide. That spot was scary, and I’m usually a little bitch when it comes to gnarly spots like that. It was such a good feeling rolling away from that one. I couldn’t have done it without the boys down the bottom hyping it up! What does the future hold for Shoe Paul now that you’re DC certified? I’m heading to The States in July for two months, then Canada for a month, which should be cool. Gonna catch up with whoever is around and cruise really. Hopefully a lil vacation with the middie, too.

The noseslide that had Shaun Paul shitting bricks. Photo by Andrew Mapstone