The all-terrain rager has taken out the NGOTY award – the best up-and-comer from our four featured New Gen profiles over 2021.
The past year’s been a wild one for the 18-year-old kid from Kiama. He shot a New Gen feature at a bunch of Queensland skateparks, DIYs and street spots. He went to The States and sampled the finest Californian skateparks with Jack Fardell. He qualified for the Olympics, came fifth, and knocked down a cameraman while the world watched on. And he put out an amazing part through Indy, showcasing his unique ability to skate any terrain in his path.
Check out Kieran’s full New Gen interview from Issue 229 below, pre Olympics.
NEW GEN – KIERAN WOOLLEY
Photos by Wade Mclaughlin.
After he “got bodied” on this handrail a couple of times, Kieran rolled away victorious from a satisfying crooked grind.
Hey Kieran, can you tell us a bit about where you’re from?
I’m from a small town on the south coast of NSW called Minnamurra. We live right near a few sick surf breaks and it’s a cool place to live. On the downside, our local skatepark is a dodgy prefab. I have a lot of love for that place, though.
What does a typical day in Minnamurra look like for you?
To be honest, my days are never the same, but usually, if I’m at home, I try to do a bit of schoolwork, have a surf and then skate all arvo. At the moment, I’m in Newcastle, so today, I did a bit of schoolwork and then headed out and skated a ledge before having a surf. After George [Richards] and Marley [Rae] finished work, we had a sick Bar Beach Bowl session. I’ve been staying with George and his partner Meg in Newy, so we usually do something fun after getting our skate fix. “I went to a comp at Bondi and scored a place. That’s when I worked out I might be all right at skating.”
How did you get into skateboarding?
I’ve always been on some sort of a board. When I was a lil’ surfer grom, I would ride my surfy cruiser up and down the driveway. Every now and then, my mates and I would head to the park if the surf was bad. I could drop in and carve around, but nothing much. When I was about 11, my dad broke his neck while out surfing with me. It was pretty gnarly for a while, and it meant I couldn’t surf as much, so I headed to the local skatepark more. I loved it. After a few months of skating, I went to a comp at Bondi and scored a place. That’s when I worked out I might be all right at skating.
That’s gnarly that your dad broke his neck while he was surfing with you. What happened?
Dad’s a tough old bugger. He stuffed up a takeoff at Mystics, our pretty heavy local beach break and landed all wrong. He worked out he was
in trouble and let the whitewater wash him in. He has broken plenty of bones on the moto and figured it wasn’t all that bad by comparison, so he got a mate to paddle him across the river and got a lift to hospital. I was hanging out with a couple of mates, getting warm, and it wasn’t until later that we all worked out it was serious. I got a bit freaked out for a while afterwards, and I even started to wear a helmet surfing. Dad was fortunate enough to get a good surgeon and got his spine plated up. For a potentially life-ending accident, he got really lucky, and it doesn’t seem to bother him that much anymore.
Kieran drops down off the wall and into a long 50-50, ollieing out onto the driveway and into a Gold Coast Highway sunset.
Is it true that you were, and possibly still are, a sponsored surfer?
Yeah, I had a few little sponsors here and there back when I would compete. Now Stretch Surfboards hook me up. I met them while travelling in the USA and they are rad. The Australian shaper, Corey [Waters], is right near me. He’s a legend, and he gets me in the factory to draw art and random shit on my boards.
It sounds like you come from a pretty outdoorsy family. Your dad was a pro mountain bike rider and both your parents rock climb and surf, right?
[Laughs] Dad wishes he was a pro mountain biker now! Actually, he was really good on a dirt bike and won plenty of races. And yeah, Mum and Dad travelled around the world rock climbing before having me, so you could say they are pretty outdoorsy. My parents are the best. They don’t push me, but they do back me with whatever I’m doing. Dad also builds stuff to skate at home and drives me all over the place, even though he would probably rather I was racing bikes with him. “They are still talking about the Olympics happening in July 2021, and still talking about more qualifiers too. I’m just skating and waiting to see what happens.”
And you have a little bro, Danno, what’s he like?
Danno is insane. He’s a great skater, a menace and sometimes a lil’ turd. He’s 13 and skating as good, if not better than me, at street. He is so consistent it’s ridiculous. But when I go away, he loses a bit of his motivation. I think he is working that out now, and he just needs to get a little older so he can come on trips with me.
Do you guys do homeschooling?
Yeah, so at the moment, it’s just me doing distance education. After 10 years of regular school, I started doing it last year because I thought I would be travelling to all these overseas comps. But COVID killed that. It works out all right. It gives me a bit more time to skate and surf. You pretty much teach yourself.
Kieran goes big and burly on a frontside nosegrind tailgrab drop down off the rarely hit left-side of the vert wall at Browns Plains.
Kieran can’t wait to head to The States and get back to dominating the comp circuit. Until then, he’ll have to make do with road trips up and down the Australian East Coast. Varial flip indy at Hunt Park.
How have you been adjusting to the COVID world?
The lockdown period was actually awesome. Danno and I would surf, do a bit of school and spend the rest of the day setting up rails, boxes and other obstacles. We would see how creative we could get around the house, and eventually through it. It’s a bummer not travelling and seeing all the US crew, but I reckon home was a pretty decent place to be locked down. I probably need to focus on park skating a bit more now. As soon as an event is announced, I’ll have to make sure I get on top of it.
You seem like you’re in a good place for the park skating category of the Olympics. Tell us about that.
It’s pretty wild. I managed to get picked to go to the Olympic qualifier events, and they went way better than expected. As it stands, I’m in a qualifying position, so hopefully, it will pan out. It was pretty rad travelling to other parts of the world to skate with the big dogs. They are still talking about the Olympics happening in July 2021, and still talking about more qualifiers. I’m just skating and waiting to see what happens. It’s not like my one goal in life was to skate in the Olympics, but if it happens, it will be super cool.
Do you think that the delays will work in your favour?
Yeah, probably. I’m a bit bigger and stronger now, but having all these comps get cancelled or postponed makes it hard to keep pushing that side of things.
Plenty of skaters hate that skateboarding is in the Olympics. What’s your take on that? What would you say to the naysayers?
Yeah, some people don’t like it. Some people don’t like skateboarding competitions at all. For me, I’ve been able to go to China, the USA and Brazil, hang with some great skaters, skate sick spots and do some cool stuff. Without the Olympics, I probably couldn’t have done that, so I have benefited. Skateboarding is so much more than a competitive sport, so much bigger and rawer. The Olympics has no chance of changing skateboarding; skateboarding will always be about rolling with your mates, having fun and doing cool stuff.
Reckon you’ll pass the drug tests?
I had one a couple of months back. It was a trip! I haven’t heard anything back, so I think I did OK.
Was it a blood test, or did you have to piss in a cup?
I had to piss in two cups! I’d just gotten back from a surf and I was dehydrated, so it took ages. When I finally needed to piss, I was so stoked, but it still took two goes.
Not just another brick in the wall, Kieran takes advantage of some unconventional architecture in Canberra, launching a photogenic frontside shove-it across the channel.
With Kieran’s comp schedule on pause, he’s had more time to explore grittier street spots and janky DIYs, including this huge backside tweaker at The Tannery in Melbourne.
How was the tour you did with the Santa Cruz team a while back? Did you have a good time with everyone?
It was the best! That was my first team skate trip and it was an experience, to say the least. It was pretty full on. The American boys were here for a good time, skating hard and partying hard. Jesse [Noonan] was fully pumped up. It was Jesse maxed out. One morning we all walked outside and he was sitting there with a whole watermelon. Without saying a word, he just started smashing it over his head. Full head butts. The Americans were losing it. Later that day, we did a demo, and we bought a heap of watermelons. Kids were smashing them over their heads everywhere. I want to go on more trips with Santa Cruz, do more filming and just have fun with really good skaters.
Did you get to know Henry Gartland on that trip? It is so sad that he died by suicide in January.
Yeah, I went on two trips with Henry, one here and one in Santa Cruz, California. Henry was the biggest legend. He was mates with everyone, super talented, always had something funny to say and had so much energy. For the Aussie tour, we had a party van and another van. Henry [Gartland], Jake [Wooten], Jesse, Aimee [Massie] and I hung in the party bus, and Jake and Henry just found ways to make it all fun. Seriously, I’m so bummed about Henry. Talk to your mates, make sure they are OK and ask for help if you need it. I’m going to miss him!
Most of your photos were shot on a recent trip you took with Wade McLaughlin and some other crew. Where exactly did you go and what was the vibe of the trip?
Yeah, it was so fun. We started in Melbourne, went through Eden and visited Reece Warren for a few days, and then made our way out to Canberra. All the Melbourne crew got a little scared because Sydney had an outbreak of COVID while we were on the road. They all jumped on a plane home before they got locked down. Wade and Mashy [Mitchell Howse] headed up to the Sunny Coast and I met them up there a few days later. From there, we just skated the Goldy and Brisbane for a few weeks. It was sick. We hooked up with lots of sick skaters and filmers and skated loads of sick spots.
Was that your first time visiting Nimbin?
[Laughs] I’ve been to Nimbin a few times before but never stayed a night. It was hilarious. Somehow Wade and I ended up wearing girl’s clothes. So many good memories.
How was sharing a van with Mashy?
Hilarious. Mashy’s seat was off-limits by the end of the trip. He had his own fungus growing on that shit. Mashy didn’t change clothes for the first week or so. He just fermented in his own juices. My favourite Mashy adventure was down at Eden. It was the first night of the trip. We rocked up to Reece Warren’s place and there were a few people over having beers and stuff. Within about an hour, Mashy was butt naked out on the front lawn fighting some random. That went for about 10 minutes. I was dying by the end.
Which trick in this interview is your favourite?
I would have to say the crook. I got bodied over the rail on a few attempts before landing it. It felt so good rolling away from that one. The noseblunt at Beenleigh was the same day as the crook and it was such a big gap that getting speed was doing my head in. I reckon if you had a moto for tow-ins, you could do some massive stuff there.
You’re mostly a transition skater, but you can really hold your own in the streets. Which do you prefer and why?
I’ve skated heaps of street recently. It’s sick when you go to new spots and get to try new stuff, stuff that really pushes you. But tranny is cool because you can generate so much speed and blast long and high. The sound of a long, hard grind on pool coping is music to my ears. Do it all, have fun, keep it fresh. I get really inspired by guys who can skate anything and have fun doing it. People like Cardiel and GT.
What’s next on the agenda for you, besides representing team Australia in the Olympics? Got any video parts planned?
I’ve got so much in the pipeline. Santa Cruz and OJ both want parts. I got a heap of clips stacked over the summer, and I’m super keen to hopefully step up for the next Nike SB video too. As soon as I can hit The States, I’m heading over to Santa Cruz to skate and film. I can’t wait for COVID to piss off.
Flying through the sky like a BMXer juiced up on energy drinks, Kieran launches out and into a noseblunt on an X-Games-sized quarter at Beenleigh.
