St. Pete Bowl Session

Words and Photos by Rob Meronek

I skipped the street mission on Sunday for another bowl session at this bowl in St. Petersburg, Florida, mainly because Paul Schmitt was going. So now I’ve got my tranny dose for the rest of the year. I used to be the little kid looking up to Paul Schmitt, pro at the time, and now I’m working with him in the skate industry and having backyard bowl sessions and beers with him. I sure did something right in the last decade to be in this position. Today, Paul owns a company that makes skateboards for all your favorite companies. Check out a tour of his place.

Rob

A wide view of the bowl - imagine that in your back yard

Skating until the last bit of sunlight - that's Will doing a rock and roll on the extension

Tully's nosepick turned nose blunt stall on the extention, but you know he still yanked that right back in

The darkness was the only thing that shut down the session. We had fun times hanging out afterwards, talking about times 10 plus years-past

Paul Schmitt is 42 and is still ripping. He used to own the old company Schmitt Stix and now has a wood making company that turns trees into that deck that's under your feet. You have most likely ridden one of Paul Schmitt's boards - his company makes decks for many of the largest skateboard companies in our industry

Minus the beer, this is how 90% of my time growing up skating was spent - back yard mini-ramp (we didn't have bowls back then), friends, and if we were lucky, a girl or two hanging out