JOE caught up with Kerry footballer and fashion enthusiast Paul Galvin for a chat about his wide range of interests, including Gaelic Football, style and how he goes about maintaining his beard.
Ask around and you won’t find many people in this country who don’t know who Paul Galvin is.
To GAA followers he’s been one of the best wing-forwards in the country for the past decade, a former Footballer of the Year, a four-time All-Ireland winner and three-time All-Star. With over 53,000 followers, he’s also the most popular GAA player on Twitter.
To those with an interest in fashion, he’s one of the most prominent male figures in that area in Ireland and regularly updates his new website with styles that have caught his eye from all around the world as well as bits and bobs about Gaelic Football, music and even wordplay.
A fierce interesting and engaging character, Paul was good enough to take time out to talk to us about the new website and about his interest in fashion as well as giving out some absolutely brilliant advice about maintaining a beard that isn’t going away anytime soon.
JOE: Paul, you recently set up your own website and it seems to have a bit of everything from fashion to football to music, exercise and even a bit of wordplay. What prompted you to set it up in the first place and what did you hope to achieve?
Paul Galvin: I set up thisispaulgalvin.com as a means to express my interests mainly. Working in fashion means you must have an online presence. A blog is important in projecting your personal style and interests and Twitter is a means of spreading on-line awareness.
My Twitter presence grew on its own and was already in place so a site was the next logical step. Writing was the other main motivation as I love to write. By creating it and expressing myself through it I have already achieved my goals.
JOE: What has the reaction been like so far? Has it encouraged you to possibly expand or are you happy enough with how it is at the moment?
PG: The response has been very positive. I post all content and I enjoy corresponding and interacting with people, answering questions and offering advice both on football and fashion which I do on a daily basis.
Outside of Twitter I have never advertised it except where I have been asked about it. I don’t believe in advertising in the conventional sense and I don’t believe in advertising myself. I believe in self expression. I have no plans to grow it other than organically. I am what I am. It is what it is. Where it goes nobody knows.
JOE: Obviously Paul, you’d be well known for your interest in fashion and you’ve built up a profile in that area over the last number of years. Have people’s reaction to you and your interest in fashion changed from a few years back when people perhaps mightn’t be as open-minded about it as they are now?
PG: I have always had an interest and love for fashion from when I was young. I didn’t suddenly develop it or propagate it. From my earliest memories I recall being aware of what I wore and didn’t wear and how comfortable I felt according to how I dressed.
I have always customised and altered the clothes I wore from my early school days. I reject the use of the word ‘profile’. I have never understood it in any context and I have never worked towards building it in any sphere.
Regarding people’s reactions, I don’t pay too much attention either way so I don’t know if it has changed or not. Although I will say I feel young men in particular are becoming more relaxed and open about fashion in my experience. This is a positive healthy development and should be harnessed by social and governmental agencies as part of a wider initiative in promoting expression, creativity and positive mental well-being amongst young men in particular.
JOE: You regularly cite the influence of others on your website and blogs Paul and the people you take inspiration from. From a cultural perspective, whether it be music, style etc, who have been your biggest role models?
PG: Fashion is about borrowing inspirations or re-interpreting existing visions and aesthetics. My site has original content by way of my writing, shoots, wordplay, and dress-sense and also highlights other individuals and blogs I enjoy.
Creative people have always inspired me. I love the creative imagination of designers, rappers, musicians, writers and poets. Poetry in particular is the most original form of expression there can be.
I don’t have any role models that I refer to or that spring to mind. I think you lead a much more interesting, adventurous life if you follow your own path and be your own man. A great piece of writing, lyrics, metaphor, poetry or style inspires me more than people.
JOE: Currently, in the public sphere, are there any male figures whose style you would most admire and why?
PG: Serge Pizzorno, Sam Lambert, Kid Cudi and Lapo Elkann would be some who dress with individuality and expression.
JOE: And what designers/high street shops are catching your eye right now?
PG: In design I’m watching what Aitor Throup does next. I like what Hedi Slimane does and Christopher Bailey too. If you’re a student of designers you’re better off watching what womenswear designers are doing as it is normally a precursor to menswear and “trends” or looks filter through a season or two later.
I’m not a fan of trends. The high street has now recognised its own ubiquitousness and has reached out to designers and celebrities by way of collaboration in order to gain competitive advantage. This has worked in most cases as people love to wear something they feel is unique and one-off. Fast fashion has consumed the high street so in turn it must now look at new ways to stand out. This is happening through collaboration with fashion houses and designers.
JOE: What are the worst fashion habits of the Irish male population or what fashion habit annoys you the most?
PG: There are no fashion habits that annoy me. There are some that amuse me but I’m not one for forcing people to wear something or not or scolding them for their fashion choices. You must only wear what you feel comfortable in and if someone wants to make you feel uncomfortable for those choices then that says a lot more about them than you.
The funniest habit I see amongst the Irish male population is over-sized collars, bootleg jeans and generally wearing clothes that are blatantly too big. Of course wearing clothes that are too small for you isn’t advisable either but this is usually just a phase.
JOE: Do you think Ireland is a particularly fashion conscious nation or would you say we’re lagging behind the rest?
PG: Ireland is fashion hyper-conscious. I think Ireland would enjoy itself far more if it were totally fashion-unconscious. They’re only clothes after all. Irish people take fashion too seriously in my opinion.
JOE: You’ve done plenty of travelling as well Paul and in your experience, what places would be ahead of the rest or at the forefront in terms of style in your experience?
PG: The most fashion-forward progressive, experimental place I have been lately is London. It is funny how it can be so nearby and so fashion-orientated and yet so in contrast to Ireland, especially when there are almost two million Irish people living there.
JOE: What do you think will be the next trend that takes hold on the streets of Dublin, Killarney and elsewhere in Ireland?
PG: I really don’t know. I’m not that interested in trends. Recently colour has been more evident on the streets by way of chinos and socks so I’m guessing prints will be the next step for Irishmen. An emphasis on tailoring and less fabric would be a step in the right direction in my opinion.
JOE: This mightn’t be something you want to give away Paul but who would you say is the worst dressed player on the Kerry team and why?
PG: The style on the Kerry team is actually very good at the moment. Marc Ó’Sé and Kieran O’Leary, for example, are very well dressed guys. They would probably all point the finger at me (for being the worst dressed).
JOE: Finally Paul, it’s hard to remember you at a time when you haven’t had a beard and in that time, they seem to have become more popular at home and abroad. Is the beard here to stay for the foreseeable future? Is it hard to manage? Have you any tips to keep it well groomed?
PG: Yes my beard is here to stay. It is my strength in that slow, patient beard-stroking often precedes my very best ideas and creatively inspires me to write and sometimes wear my tee shirts back to front which I have taken to doing lately as I prefer how they fall when worn back to front.
That beard ain’t going anywhere
Mine is a very low maintenance beard requiring only a trim with a scissors weekly along with some soft, gentle strokes in the late evening to get my juices flowing… Ahem, my creative juices that is.
Stroking your beard keeps it plump and full of spring and is the most satisfactory grooming routine I know of. The only other grooming routine or maintenance I undertake is cutting my hair and using Layrite Deluxe pomade on it. Layrite holds really well, is long-lasting and gives a slick, sheen finish. Try it!
JOE: Great beard tips Paul and thanks for taking the time to talk to us.
PG: Cheers
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ podcast – listen to the latest episode now!
