TAMPA, Fla., Oct. 18, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Another
chapter of Tampa Pro history is in the books! Monster Energy
congratulates team rider Kelvin
Hoefler on taking second place at the 27th annual Tampa Pro
street skateboarding competition on Sunday. In front of a
high-energy crowd at Skatepark of Tampa (SPoT) and global audiences tuned in via
live stream, the 27-year-old Olympic skateboarder from Guarujá,
Brazil, claimed a podium finish in
one of the most heated finals in event history.
Speaking on the level of competition in Sunday's street final at
SPoT, broadcast commentator Paul
Zitzer said: "The best final of all time!"
Presented by Monster Energy as the official title sponsor, Tampa
Pro is the most respected grassroots contest in skateboarding. The
legacy began with the first skateboard competition at the SPoT
warehouse in 1995. Since then, several of the world's most iconic
street skateboarders have won the coveted Tampa Pro title,
including reigning SLS World Champion and Monster Energy rider
Nyjah Huston.
In 2020, the 26th edition of Tampa Pro was contested right
before the global coronavirus pandemic sent public events into
lockdown. This year, the event missed its usual early March
timeslot, but thanks to the commitment of Brian Schaefer and the SPoT team, Tampa Pro
returned in October with all elements firmly in place for 2021.
The elements that make Tampa Pro such a treasured tradition in
skateboarding include world-class skateboarding, culturally
relevant art displays and music, as well as a dose of unpredictable
action only to be found at SPoT. This weekend, Tampa Pro showcased
art by pro skateboarder Kris
Markovich across the street course and in a gallery show.
For an unforgettable live concert experience, pro skateboarder
Mike Vallely, winner of the
inaugural Tampa Pro contest in 1995, played the music of punk rock
icons Black Flag with his new band, Complete Disaster.
True to Tampa Pro tradition, the skateboarding was in a league
of its own all weekend. The grueling qualifiers session saw
skateboarders from across the world – including riders from
Brazil, Belgium, Canada, Japan, and the
United States – battle for limited spots in the Semi Final.
Fresh off winning a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics, Monster
Energy's Hoefler emerged from the pressure cooker qualifier session
in first place with 82.50 points, earning a Golden Ticket directly
into Sunday's finals on the strength of a flawless run.
On Saturday, the Best Trick competition lit up the SPoT street
course with never-been-done tricks and massive transfers. When all
was said and done, Florida native
Jamie Foy took the crown for
finessing a frontside bluntslide across the tall flat rail, popped
270 into a backside noseblunt slide down the kink rail below.
On Saturday night, the legendary concrete bowl at Skatepark of
Tampa (SPoT) provided the backdrop
for the Madness Concrete Jam contest. Under the floodlights, the
crowd was treated to next-level bowl skating by some of the best
riders on the circuit. This list includes Monster Army rider and
recent X Games gold medalist Liam
Pace. As the session heated up, the 20-year-old from
Tucson, Arizona, covered every
angle of the park with liptricks, transfers and huge airs.
Highlights such as 540 Indy air over the channel, long crooked
grind to fakie in the deep end, huge lien crossbone airs, Cab
backside disaster, frontside Smith on the wall box, and a tall
50-50 pull-in on the roof earned Pace the 'You Killed It' Award for
his overall performance.
On Sunday, the Semi Final cut down the field of street skaters
to a final ten riders. Making a strong showing, Monster Energy
rider and newly minted pro Gabriel
Fortunato from Suzano, Brazil, put his repertoire of technical street
tricks on full display. But despite landing tricks like crooked
grind up the hubba, fakie crooked the ledge, and 360 kickflip
noseslide down the hubba Fortunato missed the cut into the
finals.
Once the street final got rolling, the pressure inside Skatepark
of Tampa intensified. New
competitors such as Brazil's
Lucas Rabelo, Minnesota's Jack
Olson and Japan's Kairi
Netsuke went head-to-head with seasoned pros and previous Tampa Pro
winners in an epic showdown. As several competitors put down near
flawless routines packed with heavy tricks, the formula for winning
became: Land a perfect run stacked with difficulty – and end it all
on a banger!
That's exactly what Hoefler delivered on his second of three
final runs. Starting out with a huge gap out kickflip backside
lipslide on the centerpiece rail, the Brazilian put together a
flawless run: nollie frontside nosegrind the box rail, switch
frontside bluntslide and kickflip frontside blunt fakie down the
rail, fakie backside lipslide the flat rail into a fast-footed Half
Cab 270 out the hubba, a perfect kickflip backside nosegrind the
tall box rail, frontside kickflip the quarter pipe, and frontside
noseslide the entire flat ledge. On his third and final run,
Hoefler upped the difficulty with a gap-out sugarcane grind down
the rail.
As a novelty introduced for Tampa Pro 2021, the judges' scores
were kept hidden during the contest until the final results were
announced in the awards ceremony. Cheered on by the crowd and his
peers, Hoefler received $5,000 in
prize money and the trophy for second place, his second podium
finish at Tampa Pro.
Hoefler is a two-time X Games gold medalist and took home the
silver medal in Men's Skateboard Street at the Tokyo Olympics this
summer. He has taken first place in high-profile competitions such
as Dew Tour, Street League Skateboarding, and in 2017 was included
in the Guinness Book of World Records for "most wins of the World
Cup Skateboarding men's street world rankings".
In case you missed this weekend's live webcast from the Tampa
Pro 2021 contest, you can watch a full replay on the official
Skatepark of Tampa YouTube Channel. Watch the 2021 Tampa Pro:
Qualifers and Best Trick here and 2021 Tampa Pro finals here.
Thanks to Brian Schaefer and the
entire crew at Skatepark of Tampa
(SPoT) for another epic chapter in Tampa Pro history and continuing
the tradition.
For more on Kelvin Hoefler and
the Monster Energy skateboarding team visit
http://www.monsterenergy.com. Also follow Monster Energy on
YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.
###
About Monster Energy
Based in Corona, California,
Monster Energy is the leading marketer of energy drinks and
alternative beverages. Refusing to acknowledge the traditional,
Monster Energy supports the scene and sport. Whether motocross,
off-road, NASCAR, MMA, BMX, surf, snowboard, ski, skateboard, or
the rock and roll lifestyle, Monster Energy is a brand that
believes in authenticity and the core of what its sports, athletes
and musicians represent. More than a drink, it's the way of life
lived by athletes, sports, bands, believers, and fans. See more
about Monster Energy including all of its drinks at
http://www.monsterenergy.com.
Media Contact
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Agency, Inc., (949) 300-5546, kim.dresser@indiepragency.com
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SOURCE Monster Energy