Tampa Florida is known for its beautiful bay, cigars, gasparilla and a pretty decent football team. Little does Tampa know; they have a 20-year-old gem sitting right in their backyard.

  The skate park of Tampa is celebrating its second decade this year and Brian Schaefer, proud owner of SPOT, reflects on these past 20 years and what the skate park means to Tampa and the culture of skateboarding. Sitting down with Brian and his dog knuckles in their humble abode in the heart of YBOR; he shared his excitement for what the skateboarding world has to offer.

First and foremost congratulations, but I have to ask what does 20 years mean to you?
  BS: What does 20 years mean to me and SPOT? It is most of all skateboarding and it has been an incredible ride to have skateboarding pay his bills. Also, the industry support as we have had over the years. The American dream so to speak.

What are some big events that you feel reflect on Spots’ success?
  The success of the skate park, if I may is an intertwined product of skateboarding and the industry. The events and the people that support those main companies and in return the support have created that strength to assist with SPOT. Also my affiliation at the time traveling, with an organization called world cup skateboarding and being out there and participating assisted giving the template to improve to create better events.

With the Tampa Pro coming up, what can you tell the people about it who might not be familiar with it?
  As you know the skate park of Tampa has been 20 years in business. Tampa Pro is the polar opposite, if I may, of the X-Games and the Dew Tour and what they see on TV. Bigger, mainstream, with non-endemic sponsored brands supporting this TV production. While on the back end, there is Tampa Pro that is supported by even more core industries and by the guys you don’t necessarily see at the big events in the world of skateboarding. It is one of the bigger, participated events that are not on TV.

Who are some people that have helped you along the way?
  There are so many people. Ryan Clements was a big part of the park for 15 years and was a major asset. Rob Meronek has been with us 12 years with his digital modern day forefront for skateboarding and incorporating with his ability to run the best site ever. Everybody involved, from the guy who sweeps the floor to the guy ringing up anyone behind the counter or into skating. Without the people wanting to participate in it we would have no value to SPOT. The support we get is unbelievable and because of the industry. It’s a scene and a lifestyle.

How do you feel about the current state of Skating?
  I think its like any industry, it is always changing and you have to progress figure out how to change with it. You have to find creative ways even if it’s not popular to form with it. Right now the skateboarding brands alone that are outside the bubble meaning into the mainstream or that standard corporate road aren’t going to survive. Meaning that brands that have gone into the skateboarding bubble like Levis, Nike, and Converse they are alright. It’s a tricky little state that skateboarding is in right now but people are always going to be skateboarding. Demographics are different brands are different, and ultimately it is trying to continue to cultivate the experience.

What made you decide to open up The Bricks?
  (You can check out The Bricks at bricksybor.com which is Brian’s Restaurant) With Spot, we have created SPOT in this community with that model and being 3 miles away from YBOR, we have always done events in YBOR and none of the restaurants could really facilitate our wants. We wanted to capture that urban feel and hospitality for our events when we host and try to create our own culture and scene. The Bricks is an extension; it definitely has a small artery from SPOT. It was timing, I wanted to do it for 10 years and it happened.

What are some other ventures you see yourself doing?
  We host SPOT productions which is an umbrella company that houses the events like the Canada AM, Amsterdam AM, and China AM to name a few. Those competitions deal with the Tampa AM when it comes to qualifying for the contest. We do anywhere from twenty to thirty events nationally and internationally. We hope to expand on that, but as far as any ventures outside of those, we just really want to build the products and the companies that we have now to maximize, so that they can be at their best.

Do you feel that Tampa is still what it is now then what it was 20 years ago?
  It definitely has slowly grown and becoming an urban community. It has more opportunities then it ever has. People are actually moving into downtown and around YBOR city. It’ll take a long time but it definitely gets better every year. Tampa definitely has a progress lifestyle that moves with the urban world. Tampa in general it is better then it has ever been and Mayor Buckhorn is a pretty good guy.

For more news on the Skate Park of Tampa you can go to www.skateparkoftampa.com/spot
You can also visit the park at 4214 E Columbus Dr. Tampa, FL 33605
The Bricks is located at 1327 E 7th Ave. Tampa, FL 33605