Shane McDermott
Actor · Artist · Galveston
A few unexpected turns. And I’m still figuring out what’s next.
1993
Airborne
“Just as long as I live near the beach and don’t have to wear a tie.”
Mitchell Goosen · Airborne, 1993
Mitchell didn’t have much of a life plan — live near the beach, avoid ties and, if possible, be stylin’. At 17, that sounded pretty reasonable to me too. More than thirty years later, people still stop me to quote the movie. I’m incredibly grateful that this strange little rollerblading film somehow stuck around.
From the Archives · The Cincinnati Enquirer · 2018
25 Years Ago, He Was a Cincinnati Heartthrob. Where Is He Now?
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Houston to New York
A Kid in the ‘90s
I grew up in Houston and moved to New York young enough to think that was a perfectly normal thing to do. I started modeling with Ford, then somehow found my way onto television and movie sets — Swans Crossing, Airborne and eventually All My Children. For a kid from Texas, the whole thing was a pretty great adventure.
Interview · /Film · 2017
Shane McDermott, Star of Airborne
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A New Direction
Life After the Camera
When I wasn’t working, I traveled. I lived in Seville, Spain for six months, wandered through Europe and into Africa, and later spent another six months driving and camping across America. Somewhere along the way I discovered California, surfing and paint. Eventually those things became more interesting to me than auditions.
In 2001, after a couple of frustrating years in Los Angeles, I quit acting and moved back to New York. I bartended, painted whenever I could and started trying to figure out what came next.
One Blade Magazine · 2020
Shane McDermott: 15 Minutes
Airborne, skating and what happened after Mitchell Goosen.
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2003 · Galveston, Texas
Finding Galveston
By 2003 I was looking for three things: water, room to paint and somewhere I could afford both. Galveston checked the boxes. It was historic, a little rough around the edges, surrounded by water and definitely not New York or Los Angeles. I liked it almost immediately.
A year later I bought an 1856 house in the East End Historic District to use as a studio. During the renovation, the house collapsed. That’s a longer story.
Paint · Place · Expression
The Art
I started messing around with paint while I was living in California. After I left acting and moved back to New York in 2001, it became more serious. I worked nights behind a bar and spent most of the rest of my time painting, studying art and trying to get better.
Painting was one of the reasons I eventually came to Galveston. I needed space to make a mess, and Galveston gave me plenty of both — space and opportunities to make a mess.
Community · Preservation · People
Living Galveston
Art. Historic Homes. Community.
I came to Galveston for the water and a place to paint. Somehow I ended up rebuilding an old house, becoming a real estate broker, restoring properties, starting businesses and putting down roots on the island. More than twenty years later, I’m still here.
Galveston became home — not just because of the buildings or the beach, but because of the people. The art, the history, the odd characters and the sense that everybody here is somehow part of the same slightly dysfunctional little island family.
Living Galveston Real Estate →
Galveston County Daily News · 2021
Seaside Scenes: IBC Actor-Turned-Realtor a Galveston Treasure
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Recent Events
Still Rolling.
Apparently Airborne wasn’t finished with me either. Thirty years later there are screenings, reunions and people who somehow still remember every line. A whole new generation keeps discovering the movie too. I’m happy to keep rolling with it.
30 Years Later
Mitchell Goosen, Revisited
More than thirty years after Airborne, I sat down with the guys from The Confused Breakfast to talk about Mitchell Goosen, making the movie and what happened after the credits rolled. Turns out I remembered more than I thought I would.
Every chapter has a longer story.
The movie was only part of it. Pick a chapter and keep going.
From the Archives
Interviews, old stories, magazine pieces and a few things I had almost forgotten about.