A Regular Week In Tampa Article at Skatepark of Tampa

A Regular Week In Tampa

Posted on Tuesday, May 26, 2009 by Ryan

Photos by Clem and Taylor Galloway
Words by Clem

It's very rare that we're home for several weeks at a time, but for the past couple of months I've only taken one trip...and that was to Cuba. So life has been relatively normal (whatever that is) in Tampa recently. Here's a little documentation of what we do in west-central Florida when there is no skateboarding event to attend. It started at Profile early in the week, then I took Friday off to be a tourist and skate, and Saturday was spent doing some serious fishing with Frosty and friends.

Matt Coplon is on the left and of course that's Schaefer on the right. Matt is on our BMX Team and he heads up the marketing and team management at Profile over in St. Petersburg. After years of him inviting us, we finally took him up on the offer of a tour
I've never seen so many high-tech machines in one spot. Matt said that most of them are made in Europe and are specifically designed for Profile's needs
This contraption takes solid pipe and turns it into a hub. The water blasts constantly to keep the heat down
That machine in the background cuts out these gears
In addition to making all types of high-end bicycle parts, Profile manufactures steering gears (I think that that's what they said) for sprint cars
That's a lot of scrap aluminum. Before the economy took a dump, recycling scrap metal was pretty lucrative. Since manufacturing is down globally, raw materials are now less in demand. That is your macro-economics lesson for the day, kids
This RV was custom made and hand-built by the owner of Profile. He's got cars, motorcycles, and living and sleeping quarters in this baby. Let's take it on the next SPoT Team trip!
Schaefer showing us an example of a powder-coated finished product
Check out the label. I'm sure fixed gear bikes are fun to ride, but the trendy-ness of them is just so easy to clown. Thanks for the tour, Coplon
This is our cat, Caesar. I've had him since I was 20 and I'm 35. He was six when I got him. How old does that make him? We're talking 21. There's your basic math lesson of the day, kids. Caesar has seen it all in my life. I had to take him to the vet and he was SO bummed
My pal Taylor came to town and we went to the Dali Museum in downtown St. Petersburg. They don't let you take pictures inside the building, so this is all you get. I highly recommend that you head over there one of these days in the very near future
What? What in the world were we doing at the now defunct 688 Skatepark on the other side of the Bay? I won't tell you
But I will tell you that the place is still out of business and is in pretty bad shape as far as the ramps go
This is the new Foam Pit at Skatepark of Tampa. Just kidding...that's still 688 and the foam is still 10+ years old. Ew
From our visit at 688 we headed to South St. Petersburg to skate their Street Plaza. Hats off to St. Pete for doing it right...no pads, a great course, and no BS rules to follow...just show up and skate. I recommend that place to anyone, even if there isn't any tranny
Schaefer BLASTING over the hip. He was directing me on how to take this picture as if we were shooting for the cover of Thrasher with my point-and-shoot
Taylor knocks out a rock n' roll on the steep banked wall
Frontside slasher by me, Clem, on the steep banked wall. This is my favorite obstacle at the St. Pete Street Plaza. Couldn't we have had a least one quarter-pipe though? Okay, I'll quit complaining
The next morning we got up early to go fishing, hopped on the boat with the crew, and headed to the first stop. We got a couple of bites, I think someone caught something we had to throw back, and we were on our way
While cast-netting for some more bait we saw these girls doing the same thing...in bikinis and t-backs nonetheless. Frosty told us that she's the infamous fisher-woman from the area. Too funny
See, we did catch something. This is Frosty's boy, Bash-Em. They're both from Palmetto and have the tattoos to prove it
Captain Dick, Frosty's Pops, leading the charge with Bash-Em pointing out where he thinks the fishes might be hiding
Catching nothing can be tiring. I took at nap while Derewenko looks as over it as he ever does
This was one of our last stops of the day. That bat that Dick is holding is a cut off whiffle-ball bat. You put the fish in it, shake them violently to disrupt their equilibrium, and pitch them out into the water. When the fish you're trying to catch go nuts and start eating them, you know exactly where to cast
Back at the dock Frosty threw the remaining bait to the pelicans
This is a killer pic of a great blue heron. They were on the dock and if the pelicans got close, the herons would get all territorial and try to peck at the pelicans
Caption by Taylor - That black blob in the water is a sting ray. Clem searches for the meaning of life within the ray

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