Skatepark of Tampa — Attraction in Tampa

I skateboarded in the late 80s and up till around 1996 then moved to Florida from New York and found a full time job that limited my skating. Unfortunately skating kept getting further away, until I finally gave it up. That was almost 23 years ago now, then about 2 weeks ago a buddy invited to SPOT with his family for the ASKATE clinic for autism. In my 23 years of living here I never made it to SPOT and I always wanted to, even tho I quit skating I still would keep up on skateboarding and watch it whenever I could. Well I finally made it to SPOT to skate with some amazing kids with autism and let's just say being there and seeing it person sparked something inside me. I immediately went to the shop and bought a complete board, obviously I went old school and purchased a 8.98 Rudy Johnson deck with the old school independent trucks and some spitfire wheels. The gentleman that helped me was amazing, being 41 and out of the game for so long I has alot of questions and he answered them all. The entire staff was very helpful and friendly, needless to say I'm back on a board and currently relearning my balance and the fundamentals. I know I'll never do half the stuff I did back then but just rolling around is a great feeling, so I have SPOT and the amazing folks at ASKATE to thank for sparking me and getting me back on a board after 23 years off. Once I learn some more I will be definitely visiting...

Brian, and the entire team, have created a one of a kind institution here in Tampa, dedicated to all things skateboarding. When I first came to Tampa, in early 1992, there really wasn't much going on for a twenty-something year old skateboarder from Washington D.C. I think there really was only Mike McGill's park in Oldsmar, at the time. I was so frustrated when skating downtown because of the gestapo control the local police had enforced on skateboarders at that time. There was a great community, though, with the Bro Bowl pretty much making up the epicenter. That all changed, however, with the establishment of SPOT. Now, years later, we can thank all the incredibly hard work, and community outreach that Brian, et al, have engendered, which has culminated in making the city of Tampa one of the most iconic skate scenes in the world. I'm now older in years, with a teenager of my own, who's completely engrossed in this well established skate boarding scene, all thanks to the years of hard work, and dedication of the SPOT family and the skateboarders whom call this region home. Do yourself a favor and come for an amazing session, while making sure to peruse one of the most well appointed skate...

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ We first visited SPoT last week for my niece’s birthday, and it turned into way more than just a fun afternoon. Rocco, the instructor for both kids and adults, was incredible—patient, humble, and dialed in to exactly what each person needed to progress. In under an hour, he helped us land four basic move/tricks, and you could feel everyone leveling up without pressure.

Because of that experience, my daughter and I signed up for an annual membership the same week. A full week later, here we are—back at SPoT, looking at boards in the shop, committed to showing up and learning together. We live on the other side of the bay and still make the drive, which should tell you everything about the vibe, the people, and the value.

Special thanks to Rocco for helping convince my 15-year-old daughter to stick with skateboarding and—just as importantly—getting this 44-year-old guy to fully commit too. Also big shoutout to Zeth for the help today in the shop.

We started surfskating just four months ago, and now, because of SPoT, we’re on a whole new path. See you on...