In 30 years, Blake Paul has experienced more extreme elation and devastation than most do in a lifetime. A life-threatening childhood head injury, befriending his heroes, tragic loss, finding genuine purpose in his passions, dark depression and realizing his dreams. He’s mature enough to understand the buoyancy of his emotions and wise enough to appreciate them. It’s August 15th. I flew to Salt Lake City to join Blake on his annual road trip to southern California, his truck packed with surf and skate gear. To him, this trip signifies the start of a new year. In the Golden State, Blake surfs most mornings, skates at least once daily, and stays busy tying up any loose ends from last winter’s projects while piecing together plans for the upcoming season. We’ve known each other for more than half of our lives, yet we still have so much to chat about that our 14-hour drive through Nevada in a heat wave flies by. Blake’s annual pilgrimage west is inspired by his childhood fantasy of skateboarding at perfect parks and famed street spots from the videos he’d studied diligently growing up. Blake put in so many hours at our local skatepark in Jackson, WY, that one of its best features—a little step-up—is known as “Blake’s Bump.” Surfing has also been in his life just as long as snowboarding. His grandparents lived on the Jersey Shore, and family visits were a summer staple. Blake’s comfort in all board riding disciplines may explain how his snowboarding is so calculated and consistent. “His riding is like listening to a song you love that you’ve heard a million times,” Bryan Fox says, comparing Blake to the band whose t-shirt he’s proudly worn since his teens, “it won’t really surprise you, but it’s so good that it never gets old. The Ramones played the same three chords for 20 years—and they were amazing.” “Switch backside 180 tail on another Wyoming gem of a step down. I stared at Oli [Gagnon] the whole way through this. I’ve been a fan of his photography ever since I read his name in the corner of magazines growing up. Such a rad, full circle feeling to shoot with him every year now. His approach and charisma are timeless and refresh-ing.”—Blake Paul Photo: Oli Gagnon GROWING UP IN JACKSON , I became close with Blake’s family. His sister Emily and I were on the same snowboard team, and their parents were such avid supporters of the local snow-boarding community that many of us felt like they were our parents, too. I harbored moderate jealousy that they were a snowboarding household while I shared a roof with four skiers, leaving me the side-ways man out. The Pauls—Marilyn, Rick, Emily, Eric, and Blake— are all snowboarders. Rick, a forestry major turned carpenter, and Marilynn, a school and mental health counselor, were encouraged by Eric, their oldest (10 years Blake’s senior), to get Blake a snowboard for Christmas when he was four. They lived in Vermont, at the time. This was a few years before they moved to the Tetons, which Rick discovered during a work trip. Blake first rode the 108-centimeter Burton Chopper with blue-and-green-swirl monkey graphics on a thin layer of heavy snow caked to a grassy knoll in their Bradford backyard following a gentle push from Eric. My appreciation for Rick and Marilyn as parents was only par-tially due to them being snowboarders. As individuals, they are motivated, generous and curious. Their passion for spending time in nature has always guided them. Whether skipping school and work on a powder day or taking the kids on adventures around the world, they consistently prioritized sharing experiences out-doors as a family. Rick has spent more time exploring Wyoming’s mountain ranges than almost anyone I know. His calm, kind de-meanor and bone-dry comedic timing must be partly due to his tally of days and nights spent in the backcountry. If you know Blake and have ever wondered where he gets his harmless and witty sense of humor, I’d chalk it up to Rick’s influence plus a nearly encyclopedic knowledge of the sitcom Seinfeld. Now retired, the Pauls spend summers driving around the western US in their 2007 Toyota Sienna, the rear seats replaced by a simple bed, towing a big, red raft, floating sections of their favorite rivers and inviting nearby friends to join them whenever possible. I was lucky to hop in for an afternoon float on the Snake River this summer. After asking me about everything that’s going on in my life, Marilyn casually shared her distant vacation plans: “We’re taking the kids to Fiji in 2025.” I couldn’t help but laugh. She famously plans family vacations at least two years in advance, even today, with her kids all 30-plus-years-old. Her adorably ge-nius strategy, deliberately claiming future calendar space for the sake of togetherness, clearly communicates her character and be-gins to explain how it helped shape Blake’s. BLAKE PAUL 071
The Snowboarder's Journal The Snowboarder's Journal 21.2: Page 71
