|
Kona's 30th Year Anniversary
Posted on Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Kona's 30th Year Anniversary
Words by Ryan Clements
Photos by Jorge Angel, Jake Schrickling, and Jonathon Mann
Captions by Jorge Angel and Ryan Clements
Met the boys, iced down the drinks, and it was a 9am departure from Skatepark of Tampa.
We were straight off to Jacksonville for Kona’s 30-Year Anniversary, but we made a quick
pit stop in Orlando.
Orlando
First we hit the mini-ramp at USS on I-Drive. I think that the guy working was hung-over
and certainly over us because he was a bit hesitant to let us skate. Not much convincing
was really needed, but I could tell that he wasn’t feeling it. So I would like to take
this time out to say ‘thanks’ for putting up with us.
From there we drove a couple of miles down the road to Vans Skate Park. I can never
really get over the mall atmosphere of that place. The NO SKATEBOARDING signs out front
don’t make me feel so welcome either. But upon our entrance we were taken care of very
nicely by the manager Jose and the young lady at the counter.
I don’t really know the rules, but we got to skate with helmets only and we even shot a
bunch of pics. In the past we got scolded for busting out a camera, but we got away with
it this time. I can’t say that I’m the biggest fan of the Street Course, so the session
ensued in the pool/bowl with Giles, Levi, Jonathon (who took a helluva slam on a roll-in),
and myself.
The A/C was cranking, but it didn’t help much – we were still drenched in half an hour’s
time. It was off to J-ville…
Jacksonville
Due to closed bridges it was pretty difficult to get to the country’s (maybe the world’s?)
oldest privately-owned skate park, but we finally made it around 5pm. There were cars
parked what seemed to be everywhere, with people walking and skating in the street as we
approached the site. After finding a place for the F-350 to reside, we walked up to
realize that everyone was waiting to get in…and when I say “everyone” I mean like 3000
people. Marty Ramos was gracious enough to take care of us and before we knew it we were
literally the only ones skating the entire park. How’s that for service?
Then the rain came. But cement parks in Florida dry up very quickly. Then the rain came
again, but it dried up with just enough time to get the Tombstone Best Trick Contest
handled before sundown. 6’ of vert is scary, but there were a handful of guys that were
fearless enough to take on that beast. Benji Galloway showed off by doing a fs invert in
flip flops and won the damn deal. Not sure what anyone else got, but Buck Smith and Mike
Peterson did dual bs bonlesses. It was epic!
Immediately following the Best Trick was the Vert Demo…featuring Tony Hawk. Oh hell
yeah…for real, Tony Hawk was there. I can only imagine that many of the 13-year-olds who
are reading this and think that being hyped on Tony Hawk is “gay,” but I happen to be a
big fan of the Birdman.
Also present were some other living legends such as Mike McGill, who threw down a McTwist,
and Christian Hosoi who was out with an injury. Adam Taylor, Sergie Ventura, and a few
others rounded out the Demo squad.
Good times and thanks goes out to Kona for the amazing hospitality we were shown.
Congratulations on 30 years and we’ll see you in 30 more!
Atlantic Beach
We booked out of there and made it to our hotel. Just by chance the coolest bar in town
happened to be across the street – Landshark. They had cheap beers, hot wings, good
music, and skateboards on the walls. How come we don’t have one of those in Tampa?
The morning came early, but we were on a mission. The Official Body Surfing Championships
of the World were once again on and I, Ryan Clements, once again took the title. Any
challengers?
Starbucks was next, where we were pleased to find that Matt Giles got the cover of the
Metro section with a fs layback rock that he didn’t even land! Ha. How about that? I
know that locals of J-ville are cursing us for that one.
Next we met Mike Peterson, BC, and Pete Kelly at the Atlantic Beach Skate Park for a
quickie. That place was built by Grindline (or possibly Dreamland…can’t recall) and is
SUPER gnar. Just the type of place that Rob would really, really hate…vert and pool
coping everywhere.
Peterson showed us how to skate that place, but too bad Jorge raged too hard the night
before and had to catch up on sleep while we were skating, or else we’d possibly have some
pics to share with you.
All good things come to an end and we had to book it back to Tampa. We had to say goodbye
to the weekend and yet another amazing skate trip. Thanks to all of our friends in
Jacksonville that we got to hang with…your hospitality was greatly appreciated. Until
next time…
Ryan
 First stop was USS Skateshop in Orlando. The shop has a mini ramp inside and Matt Giles has krooked grinds on lock  Levi Combs – hard ramp to do a hurricane  Next stop was Vans Skate Park in Orlando. Giles punked out and got the backside nosegrind with no helmet  Ryan Clements with a helmetless rock n’ roll  Levi is following the park rules by wearing a helmet, but he still has a nice backside tailslide on the deep end of the pool  When it rains at Kona the place turns into a water park  The Tombstone Best Trick got started with Buck Smith doing a lien-to-tail  Mike Peterson is always killing it. This is a backside disaster  Local Joe Ohio was killing it as well. This backside smith was just one of the many tricks he landed  Tony Hawk was there. Who’s the other kook in the picture?  Tony Hawk sure draws a large crowd  Ray Barbee was in the mix and entertaining the crowd with some tunes  The festivities were over and it was time to head out  This is a good perspective on how big the tombstone truly is. Who dat?  Adam Taylor ripping with THE big dog – kickflip indy  Buck Smith can get away with full pads any day of the week. This is a sweeper  Matt Giles on the approach. Damn there were a lot of people there  Mike “Darkness” Barnes got himself some with a rock n’ roll  Birdman on a lien melon – not sure if this one is Rob Meronek approved or not  Jorge looks a bit weird in this one
Discuss This Article on Facebook
Other Popular Articles on Skatepark of Tampa.com
This Week
Jail Birds
by Rob on
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Find out who gets arrested in Tampa...
Emerica's Stay Gold Premiere at The Bricks
by Rob on
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
Complimentary sauce courtesy of Emerica, everyone in your crew, and a damn good skateboarding movie. If you were here, thanks for stopping by.
Dirty But Sophisticated III
by Rob on
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Photos from the Dirty But Sophisticated III music, art, and fashion show...
A Random Saturday Night at SPoT
by Rob on
Sunday, January 07, 2007
One again we burn stuff and cause general ruckus heavy metal parking lot style on a random Saturday night at SPoT...
|
All Time
Jail Birds
by Rob on
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Find out who gets arrested in Tampa...
A View of America For My Euro Friends
by Rob on
Monday, August 20, 2007
After spending over a month getting lost in Europe and showing all my American friends all the weird little things that are funny to me there, I thought I'd do the same thing in reverse for all the new Euro friends I made while out there.
|
|
|
Next Event: Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon Art Show at The Bricks,
Friday, September 24, 2010 [ Details...]
Backpacks In Stock Now
Vans
Joel Tudor Duffle Bag Olive $59.00
FREE SHIPPING
Vans
Special Delivery Messenger Bag Black $36.00
DGK
Patches Backpack Black $36.00
DGK
Big Bold Backpack Red $34.00
DGK
Big Bold Backpack Black $34.00
DGK
Big Bold Backpack Purple $34.00
DGK
All Day Skate Backpack Black $41.00
DaKine
Duel Backpack Bomber $57.00
FREE SHIPPING
DaKine
Point Backpack Black/ White Stripes $43.00
DaKine
Point Backpack Black/ Checker $43.00
DaKine
Coast Cooler Backpack Bomber $50.00
FREE SHIPPING
DaKine
Coast Cooler Backpack Black $50.00
FREE SHIPPING
DaKine
Axis Backpack Wrap $49.95
FREE SHIPPING
Volcom
Withdrawal Backpack Black/ Tie Dye $58.00
FREE SHIPPING
Nike SB
SB Shuttle Bag Black $160.00
FREE SHIPPING
Nike SB
SB Backpack Grey $90.00
FREE SHIPPING
Nike SB
SB Backpack Black $90.00
FREE SHIPPING
Nike SB
SB Daypack Grey $50.00
FREE SHIPPING
Nike SB
SB Daypack Black $50.00
FREE SHIPPING
Vans
Mohican Backpack Black/ Black $28.95
|
