The day before he was crowned our Australian SOTY, Rob Pace was planning to drive four hours to go skating in Canberra. He tried to convince Riely Walker and Brendan Gardoll that they should all trek it down to the ACT, since rain was predicted for Sydney. Riely and Brendan, his photographer and filmer respectively, ignored Rob’s texts, then took him to skate a kinked rail in Sydney in the rain, before coercing him to his SOTY surprise at Federal Park. That was when Rob’s homies ran out to spray him with champagne and he copped the gold SOTY cup. “I was in disbelief,” said Rob. “I had absolutely no idea.”
The past year has proven that Rob is among Australia’s most talented, driven and prolific skateboarders. He put out four parts in total – Strider, Starless, Jump Ramp Service and a Project Distribution leftovers part – showcasing a plethora of footage. The first part, Strider, was supposed to come out in late-2020 but was delayed by music rights and dropped in February 2021. After getting a bit burned out on the same old spots, Rob filmed Jump Ramp Service, a joke part that involved using a kicker to hit the unhittable. Then Starless was the clincher – proof that Rob had spent the final six months of 2021 skating like an absolute maniac, all while holding down a full-time job as a fitter and turner on the Central Coast. I spoke to Rob about his road to SOTY, sponsorship changes, his appreciation for gaps in handrails, and his plans for The States.
Rob, congrats on becoming our Skater of the Year. You certainly worked hard for it. How was the surprise from your perspective?
Oh, it was crazy. I had absolutely no idea that it was going to happen. And the boys that I was skating with on the day, Riely and Brendan, lead me on, that’s for sure. They told me that we were shooting some Volcom [catalogue] stuff, and then when we got there, everyone was running out and it was crazy. I was in disbelief.
So you had no inkling it was going down?
I had absolutely no idea.
Who did you think was going to win?
I didn’t really know, to be honest. It’s always a bit hard to pick it.
You were deadset on
