The Austin Paz Interview

Austin Paz is a skate magazine's dream. He is efficient, hard working and more than willing to do his fair share in order to get a result. To compose this entire interview, I simply emailed Austin twice. Once to get enough material for the article and again to remind him to email me the action shots he had gathered. I wish there were more skaters in our industry who took such a proffessional approach to their career.


For all you pro/ am skaters out there who bitch and whine that you don't get enough recognition yet don't want to make the sacrifices that it take to get exposure, athletes like Austin Paz are going to walk all over you suckers.

Straight Outta Staten - The Austin Paz Interview

Like an overnight music sensation, Austin Paz appeared on the skating scene with an impact that was both impressive and worrying. He seemed to come out of nowhere with a selection of high profile sponsors under his belt and a vast array of tricks at his disposal. Many questioned the potential longevity of his career because his rise to recognition appeared to be so instant and effortless. Unlike fickle one-hit wonders, Austin's foray into the limelight was not the result of a record company's expensive advertising campaign. It is the culmination of meticulous networking and self-created exposure that Austin has managed to create a buzz around his name. Find out how it all began and why the world will see a lot more from the Staten Island ninja known as PZA.

It will come as a shock to many people that Austin has actually been skating for a considerable amount of time. His first venture into the world of rollerblading took place almost 12 years ago after being inspired by his older brother.

"I remember seeing my brother and a few of his friends fly down the block going mad fast on their skates and it took off from there. My parents got me a pair of skates for my birthday and I began tagging along with my brother and his boys."

Austin surprised himself by discovering that he had a natural talent on skates and from then onwards the only thing he could think about was progression.

"The first memories I have of me on skates is when I first got those skates for my birthday. I was just learning how to skate straight without busting my ass. I think I was pretty good for my first day on skates. After that I remember someone showing me how to soul grind on the curb in front of my house and it was all uphill from there."

From the Slums of Shaolin

Raised on Staten Island, Austin hails from the home of rap's most influential act and one of his favourite groups, Wu Tang Clan. It is also the birthplace of a young man who has become recognised as an icon for his generation in the skating world, close friend and mentor Billy O'Neill. Austin's childhood friend has played a pivotal role in ensuring he was able to secure that important initial exposure so he could project himself on an international level, backed by the vital necessity in any rollerblader's career: Sponsorship. Soon enough, Austin was showing up at skate spots with Billy O'Neill and displaying his undeniable ability on skates. Needless to say, it didn't take long before companies started seeing what all the hype was about.

"I usually stay in Staten Island with my boys Fish and Franco Cammayo. Fish was riding for Eulogy and he got a chance to put a couple of skaters on flow, so he chose Thomas Lipani, Alex Nunez and me. As for B Unique, I'm not exactly sure how I started riding for them. When Fish started skating for B Unique again I was always with him so they got to see me skate. I guess it came from that. I started riding for Valo almost two years ago after USD stopped sending me skates, I messaged Jon online and he was was 100% down with me representing Valo."

It's not difficult to see how Austin has become a poster boy for companies such as Eulogy with his uncanny resemblance to Colin Farrell and that New York charm that is a trademark of local legends such as Mike Johnson. His confidence is addictive, and clearly visible when he discusses what skating means to him.

"Skating is raw ass shit. There are no limits to skating and kids continuously push the envelope to shit you would never think of. My skating has that rough, in your face, New York City attitude, but with that 'smooth operator' feel to it. Haha!"

In the past two years, Austin has been impossible to ignore. He has featured on every major skating website with online edits, pictures and interviews. His name is a regular feature on Be-Mag, Empire and Valo's infamous C.O.W. This persistent self-promotion has created a minor phenomenon around his name that is not unjustified considering the high level of talent he possesses. When asked if he believed such measures were necessary in creating a sustainable skating career, Austin had this to say:

"If you're not going to expose yourself, how is anyone going to know you exist? You have to keep people interested and I think online edits are a good way to promote that. So when I'm not at work I'm skating, travelling, filming, shooting pics, editing or fucking around with photoshop. You got to get on your grind."

Austin is not conceded enough to believe that he can make a living from skating, or that any money he does generate will survive the duration of his adult life. As a result, he has made sure that his financial situation is stable while he pursues his passion in life: Skating.

"I work at an accountant's office, so from January to April I work 60+ hours a week because it's tax season. During this time, I don't have many chances to skate. The rest of the year I only work 2-3 days a week. All I do is work and skate. I have more time for travelling and skating so I'm going to focus on that because my body won't allow me to do this for the rest of my life. I'm going to take advantage of all the fun times I could be having on my skates while I can."



Tales from the City

Growing up and skating within the confines of the world renowned New York skate scene, there was never a dull moment for Austin. Each weekend he would take to the streets of New York City and nothing short of total mayhem would take place. Austin reflects on the times he shared with his friends on skates and remembers all the chaos they caused in their callous youth.

"Back in the day when everyone was little, people skated through the city in groups of 30 or more kids causing mad ruckus in the streets. Kids would throw open garbage bags into shop doors, dump sodas onto cabbies who had their windows open, rob news stands on the sidewalks and a whole bunch of other crazy shit. We would get on trains packed with skaters smelling like feet. There were so many skaters that no one could really do anything about it. It's all different now that everyone has grown up though. Cruising down the sidewalks of midtown and downtown during the week when the sidewalks are packed with people is the best. To skate with your boys, going as fast as you can, weaving in and out of people is amazing. Also, if security guards are kicking you out of a spot and you don't listen to them and they say they're calling the cops, that means you've got another hour or so to skate the spot because cops in NYC have got a lot more shit to worry about than a couple of kids skating. We were skating this spot the other day and got kicked out. We ignored the security guards and they were trying to flag down cop cars but they just ignored the security guards too. The guards ended up watching us skate for about an hour."

Just Getting Started

Anyone who is foolish to believe that Austin is going to simply disappear from the spotlight like many gifted skaters before him is dearly mistaken. Staten Island's finest is mastering his craft with every new day and pushing the envelope in terms of promotion that has cast a shadow over other more established professionals. Austin Paz is a skate company's dream. He takes the time and effort to promote himself without the help of team videos or advertising campaigns. His reputation has been created, to a greater extent, by his own hard work. There are no signs of this phenomenon slowing down any time soon as Austin gives us a brief insight into what we can expect from him in the near future.

"I have some footage in the new B Unique video. I don't know if it is a split section or profile because I haven't seen it yet but the people who saw a sneak preview in Europe gave it really good reviews, and that wasn't even the whole video. Apart from that, I will be travelling as much as possible to entertain and impress as many people as I can. I've got some other things in the works but I've got to keep that on the low for now."

There is no doubt in my mind that the world will soon see what Valo, B Unique, Eulogy and Able have known for some time: Austin Paz is the future. He has already built the foundations for what promises to be a lengthy career as a professional skater and if his predecessors are anything to go by, we should start saving our money now for the endless list of pro models that he will no doubt receive in the foreseeable future. Just like Wu Tang Clan, Austin Paz ain't nothin' to fuck with.