Shane McDermott
Actor · Artist · Galveston
A life that took a few unexpected turns.
1993
Airborne
“Just as long as I live near the beach and don’t have to wear a tie.”
Thirty years later, people still ask me about the hair. I played Mitchell Goosen — the role people still stop me to talk about.
Houston to New York
A Kid in the ‘90s
I left Houston young to chase an acting career in New York — modeling first, then a run of roles that included Swans Crossing, Airborne and All My Children.
A New Direction
Life After the Camera
I stepped away, explored new places, met amazing people, and discovered there’s a lot more to life than what happens in front of a camera.
Art · Expression · A New Home
Finding Galveston
Art, historic architecture, and a little island on the Gulf helped me find my next chapter. Galveston’s history, people and creative spirit felt like home.
Community · Preservation · People
Living Galveston
Art. Historic Homes. Community.
Today I’m fortunate to call Galveston home — creating, restoring, and giving back to a community that inspires me every day.
Recent Events
Still Rolling.
The story didn’t end in the ‘90s. Recent screenings, anniversaries, art, Galveston and whatever happens next.
Actor
New York, Ford modeling, and the lead role people still remember three decades later — Mitchell Goosen in Airborne.
Read that chapter ↓
Artist & Designer
Painting picked up in California, sharpened by two decades of restoring Galveston’s old houses.
Read that chapter ↓
Real Estate Broker
What began as a way to fund my art became Living Galveston Real Estate.
Read that chapter ↓
Here’s the long version — from a kid in Houston, to New York, to an island I never expected to call home.
A city of adventure
I left Houston at a young age to chase an acting career in New York. The city opened my eyes to cultures, lifestyles and possibilities I’d never seen before. I started as a Ford Model before the acting work began.
Lead roles, and time between them
As Mitchell Goosen in Airborne and in other lead television and film roles, I spent much of the 1990s acting. Between jobs, I traveled — six months living in Seville, Spain, and trips across Europe and into Africa.
Six months, camping across America
A cross-country drive introduced me to the shocking beauty of the West Coast. I settled in Los Angeles, picked up surfing, and started experimenting with paint for the first time.
Walking away
After two frustrating years chasing acting work in LA, I quit for good and moved back to New York. I worked as a bartender and spent every free hour painting and studying art.
Galveston
Yearning to be near water where I could keep surfing and find a cheaper place to paint, I moved to Galveston, Texas. I thought it would be a good fit for both. I had no idea how right that would turn out to be.
The house that collapsed
I bought a historic 1856 house in Galveston’s East End Historic District to use as a studio. During renovation, it collapsed — the contractor wasn’t properly insured and went bankrupt. So I bought a nail gun, pulled the permits, and rebuilt it myself. To pay for it, I started selling beachfront and waterfront properties on the West End.
The most important role
Becoming a father to two boys changed how I saw my work, my home and the island itself. Galveston stopped being just a place to surf and paint — it became the place my sons would grow up.
Living Galveston Real Estate
After more than twenty years in real estate, I became a licensed Texas Real Estate Broker and founded Living Galveston Real Estate — built on the same idea that first brought me to the island: Galveston isn’t just houses. It’s a lifestyle.
Still one story
Galveston began as the place where I came to paint and live near the water. It became my home — the place I’m raising my sons and the center of everything I continue to build and create.
There’s more to each chapter.
This is the short version. Every thread above unspools into its own story.
Mitchell Goosen at your service. I’m not from around here. What to tell. Don’t know what I want to be when I grow up. Don’t care. Just as long as I live near the beach and don’t have to wear a tie. Then I’ll be stylin’.
Mitchell Goosen – Airborne 1993
Shane McDermott / Cincinnati Enquirer – Interview – 2018
Shane McDermott – Mitchell Goosen in Airborne – 30 Years Later – The Confused Breakfast Podcast
“Let me tell you what stylin’ is. The perfect session: A-Frame wave, ground swell, spittin’ out salt water in your face, doing a little lip action move, a 360 without a bounce. I call it a Liquid Drano Wannabe Bullwinkle. I tell you no lie, my friends. It’s a consciousness raiser.”
Airborne Screening – October 2024 – Los Angeles, CA
Shane McDermott Now
Shane McDermott – Art
