Paul Machnau: Canadian as puck

Thrasher Magazine, March, 2005 by Nick Scurich

Who's your favorite French Canadian skater?.

PLG. Hands down.

Why?

He rips, one of the best vert skaters. He's our homie; he tides for us. He's pretty much the least French of the French Canadians. What do you think of the French Canadians trying to separate themselves from Canada?

I say fuck 'em; they want to leave, so go for it. We're an English speaking country anyways, not French.

Why do all the Canadians wear Flexfit hats?

I don't know. I guess it's so damn cold, to keep our heads warm. Do we all wear hats?

Yes. Give me your rowdiest Hastie story.

Wow, there're too many. I guess one that stands out is the night of the Darkstar premiere in Vancouver. We all went out to this after-hours bar, where I guess there was some snowboard video premiering. For some reason Hastie got in first, then the security decided they weren't going to let in anymore skaters because it was a snowboard premiere. I called Hastie and he came out to get us. Then the security told him he was not going back in. He basically got pissed, then tried to fight the bouncer. Then as he was walking away he started dragging the rope, like the rope for the line to get in, dragging it down the street. These bouncers were chasing him down the street with their batons. Fucking hilarious.

Did you get jumped into RDS?

We're not allowed to talk about that, it's top secret. But yeah, it's no easy task to get on RDS.

Who is, hands down, the most fucking insane Dragon?

Moses Itkonen, at least from my experience. The first RDS trip I went on was to Winnipeg with all the OG RDS guys. We were out at this bar. Moses looked like he was bored so he started smashing beer bottles together. Then he started fucking with these guys who were playing pool, then a fight broke out, He held it down, though, fighting all these bouncers and all these random people. That was my first night out with the Red Dragons.

Seems like you've worked your way up the ranks from owning your own skateshop to being pro.

Yeah, I started the shop when I was 18, sold it when I was 21. I was just sick of having to buy product from bike shops or snowboard shops in my hometown. My parents had some money saved away for college, so I put it towards that.

You put your college fund toward owning a skateshop in a small town?

Yeah. You know, we didn't even want to make money. We just wanted to support skating, and bring back skating in the town. That's what we did

Do you think coming from Cranbrook made you gnarlier, because all the spots there are super jacked?

Oh definitely. The ground is so bad there, and there aren't really any spots. So it makes you more motivated when you're in a good city to go out and skate.

What do you think of people who get other people kicked off of their sponsors?

I think it's beat. That's what bums me out about the industry, it's like a little popularity contest; some high school shit.

Why did you part ways with Emerica so abruptly?

I don't know if that really happened like that. At the time a bunch of stuff started to change. I left on good terms; the TM Justin Regan was always super cool to me.

Speaking of past sponsors now, did you ever have a pro model Wet Willy board?

No, I had a Flame Boy. It was my first World graphic. I ain't ashamed; I had a Flame Boy graphic!

Why did you make the move over to Darkstar?

All the homies were there. I wanted to be on a team that felt more like a family, more like a home.

More like a hockey team?

Hell yeah! Everything has been better since I've been on Darkstar.

So you get along better now with your fellow team members?

Yeah. Before there were guys on tour I really didn't like. They would say the wrong things at the wrong times nonstop. It came to the point where I would nearly have to fight the guy. That sucked because that's not the type of person I am, but I had to put my foot down and put the guy in check.

Why don't you ever floss your Darkstar chain?

That shit don't have any floss in it,

If it came down to it, would you change your image to better fit sponsors?

No. I don't have an image to begin with, so I don't know how it would change. Maybe as a joke or something.

Why haven't you hit El Toro?

I've been there a couple times. It's too low; I'm not into skating super low rails. Also, I'm not into skating stuff just because other people skated it.

What's more stressful, 18-stair rails or dealing with Hoops (the Darkstar filmer)?

I guess it really depends on what day it is.

What's your favorite skate spot?

The BCIT 18.

An 18-stair rail is your favorite spot?

Yeah, I love skating big rails for fun. Big rails are fun. You get to feel the grind and go for a ride; not like some little rail you dink the end of.

Why would you skate a 15-stair rail with a kink on the end?

It's a challenge. That's what skating is to me; it's a personal challenge. So the kink makes it harder and more satisfying, you don't know which way you're going to be flying off those things. I'm doing this shit for fun.