Winter 1990 at Turoa, Paul comes to a realisation after his first few times snowboarding – unlike surfing in the winter, you get to stay relatively warm when snowboarding and can ride all day. You don’t have to paddle out and suffer the inevitable ice cream headache from duck diving, not to mention the inability to unlock your car door because your hands are so numb you’ve lost all motor skills.
Paul went on to make snowboarding as big a part of his life as surfing is. His first season teaching was 1995/1996 in Scotland. Paul has also taught in Andorra, Canada, America, Australia and five different resorts around New Zealand. He has snowboard qualifications from four countries and has been on the examining staff since 2006.
He currently hangs out at Coronet Peak in the winter and then heads to his summer home on the north coast NSW, Australia, with his wife Michelle and their three kids. He spends the rest of his year surfing as much as he can and working as little as possible. Paul’s wife is convinced that he suffers from chronic Peter Pan syndrome, refusing to grow up.
