Description: The offical UK slalom skateboarding site
I felt like I had been hit by a steam train when I received the call from Nadina informing me that Paul had died. Only six days earlier we had spent the day taking a last look at the London Calling exhibition with our partners. We were talking crap as usual, laughing and joking with the other skaters there. We went for a bite to eat and parted company at the gallery where he had parked, (after another quick visit to chat with Benjyboard legend Kadir Guirey) with the customary “See you later, be good” we all
Paul had been on the UK scene for a long time and used to race downhill. I first met him at Hog Hill, Sam and I were running a dual hybrid race in our usual spot. At the time we were playing music through our PA system and, being older guys, were belting out The Clash, Killing Joke etc. The next thing this big guy appeared on a six-foot longboard along with another skater (Mike Fish). “Loving the tunes over here, better than the shite they’re playing over there” he said pointing over towards the considerab
We then proceeded to talk about all aspects of slalom for ages. He knew Michael (Stride) from the Eastbourne Speed Days and had spoken to him before when buying stuff from Octane Sport, but they had never chatted at any length. He was quite taken aback when Michael said he was a former Slalom World Champion. It was easy to see that Paul was eager to have a go through the course, so with a borrowed board he and Mike took a few tentative runs through the cones, some sketchier than others!