Did the Apostle Paul exist?

Yes.

Toto

Unlike Jesus, Paul actually wrote stuff and established churches.

Of course, he could be a fictional character, a massive fraud. But he's not as sympathetic a character. If you were going to invent one, you could do better.

Why do you ask or care?

I actually think there is an interesting point here.

Most skeptics seem to have no problem believing in Paul's existence. Indeed, some have argued vehemently that Paul was the "true" founder of Christianity, and that Jesus simply a tool he used. What I find curious about this position is that it ignores the complete lack of secular references to the apostle Paul.

Yes, most of us agree that we have some of Paul's own letters. However, despite the fact that Paul's activities took him all over the Roman map, from Palestine, to Syria, to Greece, and eventually to Rome, and despite the fact that he seems to have come into more conflict and contact with Jewish and Roman authorities, we have NO secular references about Paul. (I could be wrong on this one, but I believe it is true. Is anyone aware of any secular sources about Paul?).

I think this illustrate an important point. It is NOT unusual for what secular sources we do have to NOT record such figures as Jesus and Paul. Arguably, Paul stood a much better chance of being picked up in their records, but he wasn't.