Paul Smith. Photo by Tarek Serraj.
This article originally appeared on VICE Spain
Thirteen years ago, Paul Smith left his hometown of Dagenham to look for a better life in Spain. Like many other adventure-seeking Brits, he settled in Magaluf, where, in 2009, he opened his first club – Pure. Today, he is the proud owner of four bars on the strip of Punta Ballena, including Carnage – the Magaluf club that organised the blowjob contest we all freaked out over last summer.
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Seemingly overnight, Smith became the face of “mamading” – that’s the term that’s since been applied to the sport of performing sex acts in exchange for alcohol. In a strange twist, the Carnage scandal somehow led to the arrest of the Calvià police chief, as well as of two more officers.
I was curious to understand what could tie a series of blowjobs to a police chief, so I got in touch with Smith. Over the phone, he claimed that the Calvià police and the district’s council have had it in for him ever since last summer, which apparently has driven him to change his route home every night and record it on his phone – just in case. He admitted that he sounds paranoid but insisted he has evidence. Here is the rest of our conversation.
VICE: What happened in the summer of 2014?
Paul Smith: Technology put me in my place. No only me but the whole of Magaluf. That video became viral and shamed us all. Okay, I don’t deny my part in it but I don’t think I deserve to take all the blame for what has been going on in Magaluf, and this is what is happening at the moment. They are blaming me for 35 years of bad publicity.
Everyone says that I’m a mafioso, that I’m like the baddie in films. What is it that makes me so evil? Because I organise booze cruises? What if somebody did something they shouldn’t have in one of my clubs? I wasn’t the first and I am definitely not the only one planning these drinking games.
But you asked to give a press conference straight after the scandal exploded.
The press was going crazy. Everyone was trying to get an exclusive – to talk to the girl, or to me. I didn’t want to say anything, but then the council of Calvià told me that it would be best to organise for a press conference for PR purposes. They told me that in order to put an end to all the noise that the video had caused, I would have to talk.
So my lawyer and I met up with people from the council in an office outside Calvi à. They assured me that if I didn’t do the press conference things would get worse for me. Just before the meeting ended, I asked them if they would leave me in peace once I did it. They agreed. It all turned out to be a huge lie because they gave me a fine of 55,000 euros after the press conference.
And then somehow you got the local police chief in prison.
Yes. A few years ago, the police of Calvià put drugs on my premises in an attempt to shut it down. I had been warned by a person with a lot of contacts to be careful, because someone wanted to shut us down. When it actually happened, I couldn’t believe it.
Did you ever tell the authorities?
I had CCTV footage of one of them actually placing drugs in my club, so I asked for a meeting at the Calvià police headquarters. I wanted to tell José Antonio Navarro, the head of the Calvià police, what his officers had done. Navarro attended that meeting along with his right-hand man. The other people there were my lawyer, some of my guys and myself.
We sat down and my lawyer said that some people had placed drugs in my premises. We didn’t tell them about the footage. They both laughed and said that it was all bullshit because that kind of thing doesn’t happen. Then, all of a sudden, Navarro said, “Yes, we actually did it, but it was to train the sniffer dogs” Everyone went silent. It was unreal.
The video shows a Calvià police officer placing drugs in Smith’s premises.
How come you only came forward with the incriminating footage last year?
I didn’t want any trouble so we kept it all a secret for two years. I was worried about the consequences of turning the police against me. I wanted to protect my business above everything else.
But after the mamading incident at Carnage and the subsequent fine, I felt that I had put up with enough. They were using me as a scapegoat and I thought that this time I didn’t have anything to lose. Thanks to the evidence that I gave to the judge, Navarro was arrested.
And now you think his people will come for you this summer?
Yes, I think so. I have a tough year ahead of me. I have already been told that I am not wanted in Calvià after what happened last summer. My booze-cruise business is probably one of the most legal endeavours of the sort in the area but I think I’m still going to be blamed for a bunch of things this summer. They aren’t going to let me work peacefully.
Street drinking has been banned in Magaluf now.
They made that decision last month and I have no choice but to comply. I just hope that the law applies to everyone else as well.
Do you feel at all that Magaluf might be changing for the better, since the mamading scandal?
Well, at the moment it looks like they are trying to attract a better type of tourist. They don’t want hooligans. We have been dealing with hooligans for the past 35 years and it has worked. It has made Calvià one of the richest districts in Europe. So, I don’t understand why they would want to change things.
I mean, I understand that it’d be nice to clean Magaluf, show a bit more authority and do things well. But don’t punish the businesses – they are only giving people what they want. All we do is provide good music, reasonably priced alcohol and a relaxed atmosphere.
All that the people who holiday here want is to have a good time. They want to leave their worries and problems at home. They want to come here for a while then go home with no memories. If you don’t remember anything when you get home, it means you’ve had a good time.
Are you a mafioso?
No way! This couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m a family man and I work hard.
But you’re not a saint, either.
I don’t think anybody is. No, I’m not a saint – I do things. I don’t always abide by the rules, but it’s the same for 90 percent of the people in this world. It’s not just me.
