SPoT Ben Hill Demo 2001

On Thursday, May 24th, I brought the crew to Ben Hill Jr. High School to do a demo. It was some type of Field Day for the 7th graders and what better way to reward them than to arrange for the Skatepark of Tampa Team to show up? Skateboarding demos at schools don’t happen too often. The establishment usually has certain guidelines that demonstrators need to follow (full pads, insurance, etc.), but this time all we had to do was show up with some obstacles and skate. Skaters enjoy skating under those types of circumstances.

The F150 was packed with an array of obstacles, Scotty, and myself. Barry followed closely in the Xtreema with Seeman, Giles, Adam, and Abdias, and Ian met us on location courtesy of John Sr. Upon our arrival,

we witnessed about 400 students playing tug-o-war, shooting baskets, and seriously dancing to Britney Spears teenager pop-type music. What did I expect? After all, the audience consisted of early teenagers and preteens. As we set up the ramps, the students started to gather. We changed the tunes to Metallica’s And Justice For All, which was cool when I was in Jr. High (I soon learned it is not as cool now) and it was on.

The boys couldn’t wait to skate. Check out the photos for the highlights. At the beginning of the demo, there must have been 250 kids watching, but the non-skaters quickly lost interest. I was surprised and impressed with how many kids there were skateboarders. They hung out and supported the Team the entire time. For their

dedication they were rewarded with t-shirts, stickers, S.P.O.T. Free Session passes, and a Vans shoe gift certificate went to the winner of the Student Longest Manual Contest, a kid named Patrick. I think Abdias even gave the shirt off his back and some members of the Skatepark of Tampa Rock Star Team even signed autographs. Also, I learned that even teenyboppers go for the bad-boys, because 16 year-old Seeman was literally running from girls trying to get a kiss from him.

The demo was over as quickly as it began and the Team was treated to a Hooters lunch for their efforts. Hey, if they’re not going to be in school, I at least should teach them something worthwhile. Thanks go out to Leigh Dawson and her son, Brandon, DVS, Vans, and the students and faculty of Ben Hill Jr. High for making this event possible.

Adam backside 180s off the jumper	Scotty with a board transfer	Scotty is going to get this trick named after him	Yikes, where did that pole end up
Giles over the pole off the kicker	Adam smith grinds the stick o gum	Adam nollies off the jumper	Barak kickflips off the jumper while stressing about his truck