Robert Brink - Writer

Tampa Pro 2004

July 14, 2005 | Skip To The Comments (0)

Tampa Pro 2004
By Rob Brink
TransWorld Skateboarding August 2004

You can always count on SkatePark of Tampa's contests to be packed with sick skating and fun times. What made this year even better was the invitation for past winners to get a free ride to the semifinals without having to qualify—all past Tampa Pro royalty were present: Gershon Mosley, Mike Vallely, Eric Koston, Kyle Berard, Kerry Getz, and Tony Trujillo.

Of these veterans, honorable mentions include Vallely, who threw down a crazy twelve-to fifteen-foot bomb drop into a bank ramp from up in the rafters. Koston didn't place but won Worst Trick for a strange boneless handplant 180 to noseblunt slide to dismount type of thing. Kerry gave the finger to the ledge he missed a trick on and focused his board in his run but still nabbed fifth place. Kyle Berard unintentionally broke his board and killed it on a new one that he snagged from the shop—so much for getting used to a new shape. Kyle got third.

Random non-skate info includes Caine Gayle being followed by MTV cameras all weekend for the reality show Made. Ricardo Carvalho relentlessly barreled over skaters and media personnel on the course, which ended up becoming an on-deck squabble between him and Stacy Lowery. I would've bet my money on Stacy had the two not kissed and made up. Patrick Melcher, Corey Duffel, and Kareem Campbell were the fashionistas for the weekend, flairing themselves out with various accessories and clothing they definitely didn't get from their sponsors.

Rumor had it there was a vert contest. Pierre-Luc Gagnon won, and Danny Mayer won best trick. It may be “uncool” to say, but a vert contest just isn't the same when Danny Way, Colin McKay, Bucky Lasek, Bob Burnquist, Tony Hawk, and Rune Glifberg aren't around-but then again, will vert ever be the same after Danny Way's part in The DC Video? SPoT employee Ryan Clements won a few six-packs and some pocket change for first place in the old man/VIP street contest.

There are a few skaters who didn't place high (or place at all) but deserve some mention for making things fun and exciting to watch-not just your typical shit. Reese Forbes is pure power--he 50-50'd the big rail from over the end of it. Dennis Busenitz is pure speed—lots of tricks and lots of pushing. Stefan Janoski is pure casualness—effortless tricks. Darrell Stanton is pure rubbery legs-and that's a rad thing. And Tim O'Connor is pure comedy-satirical benihana and heelflip Indy attempts over the pyramid with his pants around his ankles.

Chris Cole annihilated best trick with a kickflip backside noseblunt down the large rail, 270 ollie to Lipslide, inward heelflip off the entire bank structure, and backside tailslide to big spin out. Chris skated really well in the finals, but only received fourth place, which had the crowd booing. Greg Lutzka and Billy Marks—who qualified first but just couldn't keep it together in the finals—also destroyed the best-trick rail with some flip-in madness.

And finally, the Bastien/McCrank show—first and second place, respectively. Rick had consistent runs full of lovely maneuvers--the backside tailslide nosegrab around the bowl corner was especially delightful, as was his 360 flip over the pyramid. But Bastien Salabanzi went above and beyond contest skateboarding, combining the hardest tricks and doing them every try. Big spin flip over the hip, tre flip up the step-up gap to kickflip fakie on the quarter to switch heel down the step-up—all in the blink of an eye with no push or setup time, full Cab kickflipping the pyramid every try. No joke, he must've landed this 50 times over the course of the weekend, which is something most people wouldn't do more than once at this stage in the game. Perhaps Bastien's “self cheering” and alleged ego are a little much to stomach at times, but the kid is young and his skating is undeniable, so hopefully the other stuff will pass with time. Congratulations to Bastien and everyone who left happy, and thanks to Brian Schaefer for always hosting a sick event year after year.