Back in January, we packed up the van with our crew and local homies and hit the road to Miami. We were on a mission for footage and shenanigans, while Brian Schaefer was in business mode at the first ever Agenda Trade show hosted in Miami. Our crew never officially made it to the trade show, but huge shout out to the folks at Agenda who are always hooking us up!

The trip started out like any other; almost the whole crew asleep while I logged road miles. We drove straight through, no stopping, to make sure we were able to fire it up to the max once in Miami. When we arrived, we made a quick pit stop by the hotel to check in, and then took straight to the streets. Unlike Tampa, we were able to park in one spot and skate around the city for the day, which was epic. First spot: the orange peels. If you’ve been to Miami, and never skated these, you’re blowing it. No offense. This spot is epic. Coincidentally, we ran into some other friends and bay area residents there; Danny Renaud and the infamous Django of the Westside Skateshop video series. Those dudes rule! Shortly after our session at the orange peels, Uncle Sam’s brand new iPhone was stolen by a couple of low life scoundrels. Ever spent a couple of hours tracking your phone on the “Find my iPhone” app? We did, and let me tell you, it’s tough. But what would a road trip be without a few unexpected hoops to jump through, right? After spending most of the night tracking down Sam’s phone, he decided enough was enough, and sacrificed his beloved iPhone for the trip and the session. And he still had fun! Sam is the best. After an epic filming mission downtown, we headed back to our hotel to call it a night.

The following day, we all awoke to a beautiful day in "The City of Vice". We packed our gear into the van, and hit the streets once again, this time starting out at the legendary "White Blocks" ledges and manual pads. There we ran into some neighborhood kids who were super psyched on skateboarding, so they hung out with us for the morning while we skated. One of the best feelings of being a skateboarder is seeing that twinkle in the eye of a kid who just stepped on a board for the first time; nothing like it in the world. I hope those kids know that they made our day, (and our session) epic and worth it. After warming up with some skating and basketball at White Blocks, we proceeded into downtown and Key Biscayne for a day filled with cruising and good vibes.

After we completely obliterated ourselves in the streets, we headed to the MIA TF where Jay’s Ramp Jam contest presented by adidas was in full swing. Major shoutout to the adidas crew for holding down Miami and Florida with this event and all of their contributions! Another rad set of dudes. We met up with the likes of Brian Schaefer when we arrived at the TF, who was kicking it with Bobby Boyd of adidas, and Miami local legends Danny Fuenzalida, Ed Selego, and Joel Meinholz - just to name a few. The tricks for cash contests were off the Richter scale... kids were flying across the course and bouncing off of the walls for that cash. After it was all said and done, it came down to the mini ramp jam contest for all of the marbles. And wouldn’t you know it, one of our newest team riders and favorite dudes ever, Zion Wright, took the gold and all the money. $1000 in cash plus a little on top to be exact! Congrats again, kid!

After Zion murdered the mini ramp contest and collected his earnings, we all piled back in the van for a red eye drive back to Tampa. Just like in the beginning, the whole crew caught their Z’s while ol’ Eric logged those road miles. I actually enjoy it though (shhhhh, don’t tell anyone that). Huge shoutout to adidas and the MIA crew again for making this happen for the skateboarding community. That’s what it’s all about, right?

- Thanks for reading!

Words by: Eric McKenney
Video by: Frank Branca
Photos by: Eric and Frank