A Vicarious Travel to Tampa Pro 2009!

Before we even begin this epic journey I would like to take a moment to thank a few people who made it all possible; first and foremost Nate Sherwood and the crew at Skateboard.com, Ryan Clements (You truly are master of the madness), Brian Schaefer, Rob Meronek, 24/7 Skate shop in Brevard county, And my wife Samantha for trekking with me and being the best photobot/ skate rat companion I could ever ask for.

        As you draw closer to Tampa, tired and weary from the travel you notice something small, But it alone is enough to get you pumped. Vehicles begin to become more and more frequently adorned with skateboarding stickers and decals, every gas station and fast food joint is littered with board wielding, skate rats, complete with thrashed shoes, heavily  skated decks and the look of sheer excitement in their eyes. You sail down the street closing in on the location you’ll be camping (preferably the Days Inn on Melbourne Blvd.) and at every fork in the road skaters from far and wide are cruising the streets. You are here…but the events don’t start until bright and early tomorrow so what do you do? Fret not weary traveler, for Tampa is full of seedy joints to drop your hard earned cash and liquor is never more than a stones throw away. We opted to attempt to double our drinkin’ funds and hit the Seminole Casino which was a bust, however the thrill of flicking a lit cigarette onto the ground of a multi million dollar establishment is somewhat sweet. A fair warning to those who have rarely come into contact with crackheads, lurkers, beggars, and general shady individuals…Tampa’s home population is filled with these and If you don’t know how to handle yourself I would advise you to travel in a moderately sized group if possible. Fending off sketchy crackheads is not easy, but with solid practice you too can learn to avoid them with the speed and finesse of the most silent of ninja’s.         As the sun blasted it’s way through our janky hotel rooms blinds it felt as if chlorine was being dumped into our eyes by the truckload. 8:45am we were posted up outside SPoT(Skate Park of Tampa) awaiting the opening of the doors with the guys from Concrete Wave who were here to cover the Vert event. From the very start of the day your rubbing elbows with your favorite pro’s, Film Bot’s, and industry peeps. The beauty of the Tampa Pro is that everything is accessible and no one person is on any higher of a level than another. It honestly is and always has been more like a convention, or gathering of friends than it is a contest. As soon as the doors open you walk into one of the most perfect and immaculate shops your eyes have ever seen. If you don’t have access to any real local shops, or your local shops a bust you need to think about hitting up Skateparkoftampa.com and placing an order for anything you need. Not only do they ship on the same day and have tons of product selection, but they stuff your package with a grip of free product, stickers, DVD’s, magazines and love. It’s almost like a surprise goodie bag with every order. As soon as we stepped over the thresh-hold SPoT went from a pristine and quiet haven to all out semi controlled chaos in a matter of minutes. Ryan Clements hooked us up with our press passes and it was time to get to work….Kinda. A lot of people may have a different concept of work then we did on this trip so I will break it down for you. If your definition of work is Bro’ing down, Consuming free adult beverages, Hanging out with good people and getting tattoo’ed with Torey Pudwill while explaining to him the pro’s and con’s of a menthol cigarette…than YES, we did tons of work!!!         As people started filling in and spreading out all over the park the energy level was ridiculously high for it only being around 9:15am. Chaz Ortiz was already out on the course flowing around “warming up”. If you call frontside bluntslides down the concrete ledge followed by massive frontside flips and full cab’s down the stiars “warming up”. The atmosphere was dope and we took the opportunity to hang out and speak to a few guys. Sean Malto was hangin’ out supporting his fellow GIRL riders and friend Mikey Taylor who competed in his first pro contest this weekend at SPoT. Constantly floating between the main course and the mini course with the bowl the areas separated by a midway were full of kids getting a quick convo and sig from their favorite Pro’s. At an event like this you meet some of the best people on earth and starting up a conversation is as easy as mentioning a trick or skater your stoked on. Through out the day we had the opportunity to snap ton’s of photo’s and speak to a lot of different guys. Red Bull girls equipped with backpacks loaded down with ice and product were on the scene providing a much needed energy kick whenever a few too many shots started to slow you down. I noticed the crowd all kind of shifting and turning around and as we looked behind us it was a head-to-toe tatt’ed Antwuan Dixon super hyped. I snagged him for a quick photo and he showed the camera some middle finger love. However I can say I’m one of the few who got a few words with him and a photo during the event because only a few minutes later he was escorted off the property and eventually banned from SPoT for good this time. I’m not going to go into the details of what went down because in the end it doesn’t really matter much and you can probably hear all the he-said-she-said bullshit on another site.         Unfortunately that event wasn’t the last time the authorities would poke their faces into the SPoT that day. Karl Watson, pro skateboarder and overall positive dude unfortunately took a deck to the face and had to receive a lil’ medical attention for a broken jaw and cheekbone. It was a freak accident and we all pray for a speedy recovery Karl. No more than a few hours later he was back at the SPoT smiling and keepin’ it lighthearted. Toward the end of the day Eric Koston took the time to have some fun with a few of the groms out on the mini course. The Qualifiers were loaded with bangers and I am definitely glad not to have the responsibility of scoring so much amazing talent. The skaters were all super diverse and the course this year was kind of a back to basics layout with a twist. The new concrete ledge and the tech center were well used and the stairs/ hubba/ handrail were blowing minds for days. The beer was on tap and free thanks to PBR and the grills were manned and ready to rock later in the day. The day’s events at SPoT were coming to a close but it was no where near over. ON TO THE TAMPA PRO PARTY with Ghostface Killah and Raekwon!         The Venue at the Ritz was off the hook and multiple bars were serving drinks to the thirsty crowd of skaters. However the free beer ran dry pretty quickly (we were thirsty) and it was on to Vodka and Redbull’s (had to keep the energy level high ya know?). the music and show was ridiculous and hanging with Torey Pudwill again was a pleasure. Butteryass Donovan Strain was in attendance with his lovely lady on his arm and he stopped to have a few words with us which was dope. Everyone was psyched and the press passes had us up close and personal with the members of Wu Tang. On the way out my wife took a moment to profess her love to Erica Yary from Active and I may have done the same…things were a little cloudy at this point. Shout out to Erica Yary for being super down to earth and taking a few moments out of her ridiculously busy schedule to hang out. On the way out we stopped to have a word with Mark Appleyard and Lindsey Robertson who were posted up outside the Ritz enjoying some of the Ybor City air. As you walk the strip every establishment is lined with industry peeps, pro’s, and skaters all just hanging out.         Finally getting back to the hotel you may think your ready for bed….you were wrong. The party is only at halftime and it’s about to kick off the second half now. The Hotel is alive with music, lights, booze, skateboarding, and general debauchery and a lack of jhonny law. A local on the floor below us was riding his longboard around the perimeter of the hotel with an air horn helping people to realize that the party was not yet over. We took this opportunity to engage in a little more adult beverage “sampling” and finally stumbled in to bed around 4 or 5am.         Bright eyed and bushy tailed at the SPoT @ 9:30am we were ready to go to work…I think. We met back up with Mikey Taylor who was somehow already skating and laughed about the prior night’s events. Torey Pudwill showed up later and immediately decided he was going to destroy the park in practice. We both agreed that the FREE tattoos being done thanks to Atmoic Tattoo’s was just too good to pass up. After deciding what we were getting it was time for the needle and ink son! Torey got the crail board from the crailtap logo on the inside of his bicep and I opted for the Large SPoT logo on my forearm since it is going to be my last time coming to this event before I move over seas. It has been a major part of my life since I was 13 years old and I will miss and love it forever. Clad with fresh tatt’s and bandages it was time to watch the finals. Great runs by everyone and I have to say that Jereme Rogers is a machine. With no practice or skating at all the entire weekend he dropped in and pulled off one of the most incredible spontaneous runs ever. Greg lutzka was steady Killin’ the course as well as Chaz Ortiz, Paul Rodriguez and tons of others. Best Trick was centered around the Tech center and hammers were flying around all over the place. Karl Watson made sure to duck as he wanted to avoid a hammer to his freshly fixed dome. At one point I felt pity for the tech center getting slaughtered with reckless abandon and was forced to look away. The sound of the crowd roaring after each hammer was served up steamy was tremendous and shook the walls of SPoT.         The product toss was an all out mosh pit as always and I caught a limited edition SPoT cap to the face while it was traveling mach 90 like a shuriken of death, THANKS RYAN CLEMENTS!!! Tons of great product was launched at the crowd and quickly devoured whole. They announced the top 12 and gave out special awards while we all crowded around the pyramid and Greg Lutzka, Paul Rodriguez, and Chaz Ortiz were takin’ home the fat cardboard checks in that respective order. Along with money and prizes going to the top 12, Riders were also awarded for fan favorite, random kickass tricks, Just for showing up awards, and a multitude of other on the spot handouts. The 100,000 dollar purse was spread out well and everyone had a complete blast.        
       As I write this out I can’t help but smile, at the same time it’s a little bittersweet. This will probably be the last time I ever attend a SPoT event, or an American event period. But it was the most fun I have ever had, and I got the opportunity to hang out with some of the sickest and most down to earth people of all time. Let’s continue to love and nurture skateboarding so that events like this one will continue to thrive for generations to come. Continue to be proud of your thrashed shoes and don’t let anyone talk you out of skateboarding if your heart is truly in it. Skateboarding is life. --Joshua Glick   I want to take the time to use this spot for a couple thank ya’s and shout outs so bear with me and definitely check these people out! JoeVarricchio over at SHRED SHED in Lake Worth Florida. Your shop has been a staple in my life since I was 13 years old. You continue to spotlight some of the best skateboarders in south florida to date and run a shop that caters to real, true skateboarders. It was a pleasure seeing you this weekend and I hope the shop only continues to grow into everything you could ever hope it to be. If your in palm beach county and tired of getting your shit from a shop full of people that have never stepped on a board than hit Joe up or stop by the shop @ 1101-B North Dixie Highway LAKE WORTH, FL 33460. Ali Amos is a career skateboarder. She lives, breathes, eats, and sleeps skateboarding and also happens to run one of the largest parks and skate camps in the world known as the Black Pearl. It is 64,000 square feet of pristine flowing terrain in the Caiman Islands and is basically heaven on earth. She has poured every ounce of herself into this park and it is readily visable. You will not be disappointed so check out www.Blackpearl.ky or shoot them a call at (345)947-4161. Nate Sherwood for your undying dedication to skateboarding and never taking anything too serious. We only get one life on this earth so let’s not stress over it and have some fun, walk a mile in Nate’s shoes and it will be the most fun and interesting mile you have ever walked. Ryan Clements for being master of chaos and crowd control. You were super slammed busy all weekend with the event so we didn’t see much of each other, but much respect and thanks goes out to you. My wife Samantha for being my road buddy and going absolutely wild this weekend. It’s truly rare to be able to say your wife is your best friend and mean it. Much love. Skateboard.com and 411vm for motivating kids around the world to get out and skate!
Greg Lutzka, Paul Rodriguez, Chaz Ortiz, Jani Laitiala, Kyle Berard, Keegan Sauder, Peter Ramondetta, Dennis Busenitz, Nick Dompierre, Pete Eldridge, Mikey Taylor, Jereme Rogers, Brian Anderson, Eric Koston, Mike Carrol, Sean Malto, Brandon Beibel, Jeron Wilson, Karl Watson, Donovan Strain, Torey Pudwill, Alex Olsen, Mark Appleyard, Stefan Jonowski, Johnny Layton, John Rattray, Lindsey Robertson, Tony Trujillo, Felix Arguilles, Antwuan Dixon, Joey Brezinski, Gershon Mosley, Reese Forbes, Matt Beach, Geoff Rowley, Elissa Steamer, Rick Howard, Javier Nunez, Sierra Fellers, Mike Peterson, and many many more!