Tampa Pro Chill Time 2009
Posted
on
on Saturday, March 21, 2009
by Rob
Random party photos from Tampa Pro 2009.
By Rob Meronek
The images below can also be viewed as a slide show.
The images below can also be viewed as a slide show.
 That's Adam Kearley at the Ghostface show. Thanks for cooking up all those hot dogs I ate all weekend, Adam. I was surprised to find out he knows as much Wu Tang lyrics as I do. Well, almost |
 There was much man love going around all weekend. That's DJ Wade with Allen Russell going in for a Dan Pensyl move |
 David Clark and Andy Henry from Nike SB who got 8th in the TM Contest |
 I wonder how many SPoT logos got inked down all weekend? |
 Wouldn't it be crazy if you let Antwuan Dixon have a tattoo gun? Well, look at what he did to Ricky Martin's arm. Nice work |
 I got some of Sierra's photos mixed in with mine. Looks like she was hanging with Ben Gore and Pat Stiener. Ben's getting a little loose with unmatched double fisting - liquor and beer |
 Hope Erik Bragg got tipped well for his performance on the pole at Czar |
 Brian Anderson got The Skateboard Mag Fan Favorite Award |
 I always have to fan out on Brian Anderson |
 Lots of girls think Nick Dompierre is a very beautiful boy and they went home after seeing him at a party last year and look him up on Myspace to get the scoop. Especially this girl in the middle here |
 Rob Brink, thanks for the bloggage. Scott Koerner, thanks for the Dakine bags. Scott was getting so much practice in the days before the TM Contest that I thought he was going to request the Theme from Rocky to be played in his run |
 Ryan Dodge, smokes are not cool anymore. Maybe they'll be back in next year |
 Dennis Busenitz won the Gatorade Labor of Love Award for just destroying it all weekend. $2,500 and a year's supply of the goods |
 The cameras they used to film the high def live webcast were those crazy ones you see at the jock fests. Someone asked Ira Ingram how he was doing while filming it and he said, "If I was any better I don't think I could handle it." Those cameras are amazing |
 That's the camera zoomed in from across the street course into the stands. Serious perv out potential behind the lens of that thing |
 The champagne flies as Greg Lutzka is announced the winner of this year's Tampa Pro |
 Speaking of perv out, I'm thinking exactly what Carrot Top is behind Charlene and Brittany |
 All seven of them snuck onto the street course to get a good spot. Clem is on the way to clean house |
 Let's do a foot fetish with them before they get the boot |
 Yet another member of the FSEC (Former SPoT Employee Club), Craig Kaths, at Reservoir Bar |
 Oliver, Joey Brezinski, Jenna, Justin Williams, Sue, and do I spy Scott Johnston? |
 Looks like they went out dancing every night |
 Hunter left his man purse so he made one out of a sweater |
 Sean Malto was hurt so he took his runs on the pool table in the Snack Bar |
 Ryan Dodge, Damiana, and Wieger partake in a Big Al original invention at the Reservoir Bar. The shoecuzzi. What shoe does Dodge have? |
 I always wondered how those things might smell |
 Duffy is another Skatepark of Tampa OG still holding it down at parties with us |
 My gear that night was super wacky so I can't really call out Dyet's jacked shirt here |
 Must be pretty hard to announce when you're getting TV/Webcast orders running into your ear through an FBI style earpiece |
 Whoa, Eric Bragg, who dat? |
 That's Felix on the $10,000 bill that Chaz got for 3rd Place |
 It's about time for another foot fetish. I wanna follow that leg all the way up to heaven |
 Right now we're having a quick Fuel TV meeting about the webcast because we've never done it this tech before |
 The instructions that go to those FBI earpieces come from the producers. They tell Clem, Schaefer, and Vern these "throw to" numbers that they refer to so the proper intros and returns can be done when switching between segments of the webcast |
 How many people do you think it takes to pull off a live HD webcast? Well, here's the staff just from Fuel TV. It's a serious production |
 If you were losing your voice at the Ghostface show like me, thanks for coming to our skateboard party |
 Charlene's grinding on Jenna freaked out those bouncers back there a little |
 Wieger's pick up method on my girlfriend was simply to pull her towards him and say, "I leave soon." Glad that didn't work. He's probably with this girl right now |
 Meanwhile, back at the Contest, more permanent stickers are being put down |
 You can find the kiddies out on the streets in front of the club. I wonder what kind of trouble they got into that night |
 Javier Nunez did a perfect nollie half cab heelflip switch 5-0 on the bump to ledge and got three grand plus a Dean Guitar for Best Trick |
 Jeff Taylor used to work at Adio but now he's the Brand Manager at etnies |
 John Lucero came up to accept Shriuken's award with him on the phone |
 More FSEC keeping it straight illegal in the bars - John Paul |
 Porpe is bringing the rage to the VIP section at Ghostface right now |
 I guess Karl Watson's collision on the course resulted in a fractured jaw. He was back at the Contest skating later so he's all good. Must have been that 10 minute Matt Field hug |
 If anyone in this photo has lice, then we all have it now. Serious hair farmers except for Strubing blowing it with a plain old normal dude cut |
 Drink up Lutzka, you just won Tampa Pro again |
 Thanks for hanging out all weekend at the Pro, Manny |
 Matt Field, please take me to the cow pasture next time you go right before the Contest. Thanks |
 Here's the 10 minute hug Karl Watson got from Matt Field after having the jaw breaker collision on the pyramid. Get well soon, Karl. We have a cow pasture to raid |
 Mike Frazier, thanks for skating the Vert Contest last minute to make up for the lack of billionare invites we had to make more than nine vert skaters show up for a good old fashioned skateboard shindig. Maybe they need the Vert Contest to be in the Bucs Stadium to feel at home |
 Who do you think is more busy? Top vert skaters still doing last decade's tricks or top street skaters putting out one of the best video parts of today? Must be the vert skaters because this top street skater hung out all week in Florida and spent six hours at Skatepark of Tampa last weekend doing nothing but chilling and hanging out with all the kids at the etnies demo. Thanks for coming, Mikey Taylor. This was his first pro contest and he made it to the Finals with a smile on his face the whole time |
 It's a classic party scene at Reservoir Bar with Matt Milligan in the center of the party tornado. I spy Mike Carroll |
 I think the only way for the top vert skaters to really put themselves back on the skateboarding map is to do the Moat Race next year. Who do you think would win out of Bucky, Colin, Danny, Jake, Rune, and Bob? Maybe Andy would take it on the pogo stick |
 For the first time ever, the Moat Race was live on the internet in HD. Wow. Someone should have shoved the camera guy in |
 Hopefully you made some time to check out the Neal Hendrix photos in the Snack Bar all weekend. Except for this weekend when he was busy in front of the cameras for Fuel, Neal has skated every Vert Contest at Tampa since it started. He must have been extremely unbusy for the last 15 years |
 Dylan Perry's nightlife is showing |
 If it was too crowded for you inside, you could hang out outside and watch the Contest live on the TV outside. I spy some gargantuan merons |
 If your company sent stuff for the product toss, it's much appreciated |
 At least while I was out, Sunday night was fairly mellow at Rock N Sports in Ybor City for the After-Party. I bet Reservoir Bar after this got flipped |
 Wow, it's all three Selego brothers together at the Ghostface show. Andrew, Matt, and Ed Selego. Ed Selego is at a hip hop show? Double wow |
 Red Bull Sarah, the 10 vert skaters thank you for getting the vert ramp up to par for the Contest. Everyone else in the building is thinking of other things that 75 large can do for skateboarding. We'll see next year |
 What a great crowd turnout for the Vert Contest. I'll just leave it at that |
 Find yourself in the vert crowd |
 These are the stairs leading up to the vert ramp deck. Notice anything missing? That would be a big fat clueless meathead suckurity guard. As long as it wasn't out of control, anyone could walk up the stairs of the vert ramp if there was room |
 PLG also picked up one of those Dean Guitars for winning the Vert Contest again. Thanks to all the vert skaters like PLG that have consistently shown up to mix with their fans face to face at contests like this one |
 DJ Wade needs lots of straws for all those drinks he has, right? |
 Bill Weiss was on the First Place $20,000 bill that went to Lutzka along with yet another Dean Guitar. See you all next year. Except, well, you know |
Chill Shots From Earlier in the Week at Tampa Pro
 The text message of the week is from DJ Wade. The screening for Tampa Am Street is super strict. Anyone can enter Tampa Am Vert. Looks like DJ Wade doesn't know that. There are plenty of legit ams in the Vert Contest, but there's also a large group making for a nice kickturn contest. Sorry I don't have time to shoot photos. About 40 new pros just rolled in today to sign up and it has been killing my time all day |
 If you work at SPoT in the Maintenance Department, here are the rules for Frosty's Dungeon. I like rule number five |
 Adam Kearley does the product photos for the site. He painted this pure evil above the quarter pipe in Frosty's Dungeon |
 The corpo part of SPoT is called Innetech. This is my workspace in Innetech and those piles of boxes are all going to South Africa with Schaefer. Dirty Bird is going, too. You wish you were as well traveled as Dirty Bird |
 Here's another Text Message of the Week. Hell yeah, Ed Selego is in! |
 It's only Friday and already the free tats are going down. Thanks to Atomic Tattoo |
 Which logo are you getting? |
 Abdias Rivera is in town to support his twin in the Pro Contest, Angel Ramirez. In a prior decade, I was a CPA, so I'm helping Abdias with his taxes. He dropped off this box of receipts. Time for a filing system, Abdias. If you are making money in skateboarding, make sure to take care of your taxes |
 Ryan Clements is logging a ton of TV time. I think this is a local news station or something |
 Thursday night, we had a small gathering of people in town for the Contest. Right here, we're with Rudy Johnson, Eric Koston, Rick Howard, Joey Brezinski, and others watching the Plan B promo. A true skate nerd's dream chill time session |
 So I swiped Sierra's chill cam and found all kinds of sketchy party photos from Thursday night at The Castle. First up is Kevin Coakley and Pat Stiener doing ballet |
 The scene at The Castle. I don't miss it. Where's The Senator? |
 David Clark isn't pro, he's just here hanging with the Nike crew and that ballet guy there |
 While I upload this photo in the Shop right now, Danny Supa is right in front of me getting the full 20 question breakdown from some little kid |
 So now Dan Pensyl has David Clark's shirt on and he's throwing out the man love on him. Strubing is jealous. Damn, Sierra, what was going on that night? |
 Wow, now Strubing is giving the ballet dancers a piggy back ride |
 Look how sketchy this crew is looking |
 Ian Gow, Matt Milligan, David Clark, and Strubing with the new oriental slant eye gesture |
 There were plenty of photos with these lovely ladies in Sierra's camera. Unfortunately, nothing nekkid or super incriminating |
 Weiger is all over Sierra's camera, too. Plenty of sketchy dude nekkidness included |
 Alright, now we're back to my chill camera. I was at Reservoir Bar last night and it was like the Contest was there. Dan Pensyl was there not making out with any dudes, Steve Stratton from Volcom, Danny Falla, Greg Chapman, Brian Howard, and Anthony Furlong |
 That's Adam Jimenez, Innetech inventory technician extraordinaire, along with that one dude, Brittany, David Clark, Strubing repping the Skatepark of Tampa Party Team, and DJ Wade. Good night everyone, I need some sleep |
 Here's a sample of the locals at the Reservoir Bar. Welcome to Tampa |
 Wow, Wieger had a good time last night. That's the biggest motor boat I've ever seen. Thanks for the photo Oliver |
 Tampa Pro 2009 Skate PhotosEd Selego hit me up yesterday for a Contest spot then showed up today and did one of the hardest tricks so far of the weekend. Too bad this was after time in his run, but Schaefer still threw out a hundo for it. Ed is off Habitat by the way. Who's picking up? |
 RB Umali and I will see you at Ghostface |
