Keegan Palmer has nothing left to prove. At just 21, the slender Aussie with the surfy blond locks and the wandering accent is already one of our most decorated athletes, but in the realm of skateboarding, he is unparalleled. The only man in history to win gold at an Olympic skateboarding event, Palmer has achieved what many thought was impossible not once, but twice, and he’s already eyeing a three-peat.
“I want to do the next few Olympics, from L.A. to Brisbane,” he tells me. “I need to keep up with this new generation of kids coming through.”
It sounds almost crazy to say, but at 21, Palmer is already one of the sport’s elder statesmen. The Gold Coast native, who was once labelled skateboarding’s ‘Air Apparent’, has spent over six years on the pro tour circuit, a figure that makes him practically a veteran. During that time, success has been steady, but it was a string of top-four finishes at the Dew Tour Finals and Park Skateboarding World Championships leading into 2020 that had Palmer primed for a massive showing at the Tokyo Games. What would eventuate, however, would stun even him.
The then-18-year-old became the first skater in history to win an Olympic gold medal, taking out the Men’s Park Competition with an utterly ridiculous 95.83 run. Finishing ahead of Brazil’s Pedro Barros (86.14) and American Cory Juneau (84.13), Palmer’s return shocked the world and put the skateboarding community on notice. Many labelled the result a fluke, unconvinced that the Aussie had the fortitude to back it up, particularly against the might of the all-conquering Brazilian skaters, but just three years later, he did it again.
“I think the coolest part about the first one is that it was the first time skating was in the Olympics. It was such a huge thing for me and my career,” he says. “It really helped me break through into the pro-circuit.”
“The second one, was really just to show everyone that it wasn’t just a fluke and that I’m a really decent skater. I can keep up with all these kids and guys that are coming through and really ripping. It was a really meaningful one for me, I was able to work hard, and prepare for the competition better.”
A Goliath-sized talent in a David body, Palmer encapsulates everything that is great about the modern Olympics. He is open and honest, refreshingly positive and full of energy, adding some much-needed exuberance to the ancient games. But don’t mistake his casual demeanour for carelessness. Keegan Palmer is here to compete.
“People don’t realise there’s a whole mental side to skating. Being able to be strong-minded when people are landing really good runs before you, and you have to drop in. It’s a tough thing to learn, but over time I’ve learnt to deal with it and express those feelings.”
Part of what makes the Aussie so special is the ever-evolving drive to do something different. In his park runs, Palmer hasn’t been afraid to try new things, pioneering never-seen-before tricks like the kickflip body varial 540. By doing so, he reveals, he hopes it will inspire a new generation of skaters.
“The eyes that are getting put on skating are going to be super good for us, you know the level of skateboarding is just going to grow and grow, and everyone’s just going to be getting better and better,” he says.
“The Olympics have put a whole new eye on our sport, and I think it’s a great thing because it will hopefully facilitate the opening of new skateparks, so kids can get a lot better at skating. Then for all the third-world countries too, you know, being able to see skateboarding in there is quite cool because now they’re getting skateparks built in their countries. The Uganda guys are super sick, they’re all shredding.”
Palmer tells me that his passion for skateboarding started when he visited Brazil for the first time as a kid. “The way the Brazilians skate really inspired me. They skate really fast, they skate really hard. I also had a lot of family who were into surfing growing up, and I was into surfing my entire life. I got into skateboarding when I was young when I was surfing, and then it pretty much went from there.”
After winning gold at the tender age of 18, you’d be forgiven for thinking Keegan Palmer’s road to success has been easy, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Throughout his young career, Palmer dealt with his fair share of setbacks, including multiple broken bones and months of recovery that challenged a successful young man to deal with adversity at a pivotal moment in his life.
“I’ve broken a lot of bones: both my wrists, both my ankles, my femur, both my knees, both my collar bones. I’ve knocked myself out a few times, but I think the biggest thing that teaches you is to never give up.”
“You’re able to overcome these things and be better than it. When I broke my femur, it was a really tough time in my life. I was so young, my career was just starting to take off, I was 12 years old, and that was six months of doing nothing for a while. When six months came around, I was just itching to skateboard. I was able to overcome this, but there were definitely some dark times in there.”
Of course, a strong support network is essential, and Palmer acknowledged the help and backing of key people like coach Alex Dennis and parents Chris and Cindy. “They’ve done a lot for me over the years, from when I was a kid to even now they still help me with everything. They’ve played the biggest role in my journey.”
Constantly learning and maturing, Palmer always says very little has changed in his life outside the sport. He still surfs, plays a lot of golf and doesn’t mind the odd gaming session. In a real sense, he’s still the same Keegan Palmer he was before he hit the tour, and that’s a remarkable thing. Whereas some sports require endless hours in the gym, a meticulous approach to diet, and a true ‘no days off’ attitude, those who have succeeded in skating live and breathe the lifestyle to the point that it never becomes work.
“Training days for us are pretty cool. We’ll either just call the homies, my coach Alex, whoever, and we’ll just go skate a park for like an hour, hour and a half. We’ll have a few ideas on what we want to work on, but otherwise, we’re just going to go and skate. I think, that’s what’s really different with us and skating, we can really freelance.”
Few sports have such a natural crossover between activity and lifestyle, and Palmer wants to focus on this moving forward. It’s part of the reason he has teamed up with sneaker and fashion brand Golden Goose.
“That’s the cool thing about skateboarding. I think a lot of people get their fashion from skaters. The way we dress, and do everything, we have style. The baggy pants, and the cool shoes, and I think that’s the cool thing about my partnership with Golden Goose. They’ve been super helpful, they listen to our ideas with shoes, and we’ve been able to create such a cool skate shoe together. It’s such a family brand. We’re all into fashion, and fashion brands are into skateboarding, so it’s awesome.”
“We did our first fashion show together in Paris last year, and it was an extraordinary experience because I’ve always wanted to do stuff like that since I was a kid. To be able to be included was insane, and now to have my own shoe that I’ve helped design with them is really a dream come true. I’m in love with the shoe that they’ve made for me, and what we’ve come up with. It’s beautiful, and I really love it.”
As far as what’s next for Keegan Palmer? Well, he’s focused on growing all aspects of skate culture, both on the stage and off it. There’s nothing in the calendar as far as sneaker releases are concerned (yet), but there are other dates on his mind. With preparations for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics already underway, the Australian prodigy has the opportunity to make history with the first skateboarding three-peat.
Victory in Paris may have already cemented him as the Olympic Skaeing GOAT, but a third time in succession would undoubtedly take the legend of Keegan Palmer to new heights. No longer the Air Apparent, all hail King Keegan.
