PAUL MACHNAU
Interview: 6.5
Skate
[ o ] CASSIE
PAUL MACHNAU
interviewby sandro grison and jay revelle
It was an honour for me to pick up the last big piece of this puzzle – the following interview – from Jay Revelle, who interviewed over 40 participants in Shoot To Thrill by this point, particularly because I’m not always available to do these things myself. Just seeing Paul Machnau again is a treat as it takes me back to a really exciting time for me just before I began publishing Color.
It was early 2002, and Machnau had recently solidified himself as one of the few Canadians at that time to really break through to the predominately American skateboarding industry. The great thing about it is that he didn’t do it by winning contests—no, he wasn’t that kind of crowd pleaser. He was among the few skaters at the time really pushing the gnar factor, skating faster and hitting handrails a little bigger, always one notch above with his trick selection too. In my eyes, Paul Machnau was Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso in The Karate Kid movies, only Paul didn’t stop after playing his role in RDS FSU 2002, Digital #7 Difference, and Darkstar’s Battalion video.
