"Boards For Bros" and Still Rollin Strong in Christmas 2011

"Boards For Bros"

"Boards For Bros"

The Tampa parks and recreation started working on the idea of a free skateboard park back in 1976, after some planning, the park has been built in 1979. Little did they know at the time, The Bro Bowl would become the longest open free skateboard park in the United States. The Bro Bowl is a vintage style skateboard park with elements taken from that place in time. The 70's era of skateboarding was all about Free Style, Downhill, Slalom and Covering. The Bro Bowl is made up of a downhill style snake run ending up in a mellow mogul filled bowl. Boards for Bros is the gnarr idea that was brainstormed one day in 2006 at this historic Bro Bowl. The Bro Bowl is located in an economically depressed area of downtown Tampa and is a legendary skate spot that most everyone who is any one in the skateboarding industry has ripped. "The Godfather of Florida Skateboarding" Bruce Walker would drive over 3 hours on any giving day to ride this park and Tony Hawk has ripped it as well, The names go on and on as do the gnarr stories of the run-ins with the locals. Bones Brigade Legend, Mike "Mc Twist" McGill said he was shot with a BB gun at this location and pretty much everyone none who have skated the Bro Bowl has a gnarr story of their own.
Tampa, Florida’s Bro Bowl is how “Boards for Bros” got it’s name and this was the same spot that the founding "trio" came up with the idea of “Boards for Bros”. Skateboarding with their families, friends, and their usual crowd as the local kids stood by watching. The "trio', thinking they could refurbish and repurpose their used skateboards and hand out the free skateboards to the underprivileged children of Tampa Bay, while they were skating the Bro Bowl.

Womble dressed in his Santa outfit. Photo By: RobMeronek

After meeting a couple of days later, over Thanksgiving they begin working on the idea, organized the collection of used skateboards, refurbished them and got ready to give them out to kids in some of the most depressed areas of Tampa’s ghettos around the holidays. Within 30 days Womble was dressed like Santa, outfit and all he was giving out 45 new boards to the underprivileged children of Tampa, Florida and “Boards for Bros” was born.
This original Founding "trio" of Boards For Bros are skateboarders Paul Schmitt, Ed Womble, and Ryan Clements.
Ed Womble

Life long Soul Skater, Ed Womble

Womble, 51, is a former professional skateboarder and has lived off U.S. 21 in Mooresville for about 13 months. Womble moved to Mooresville from Tampa due a job transfer with his company Wright Line and Womble still actively skates. Ed worked with children as a Skate Park Manager and Instructor at the YMCA were he Managed and gave classes to young children learning the basics and disciplines of skateboarding as a wonderful sport that rewards individual efforts as a true life lesson and Ed found it to be a very rewarding job. With 30 years of experience in data centers, and new air flow management technologies, Ed shares his experiences blended with knowledge of new technology to assist potential and existing customers in making the right decisions in their data center. Ed seems to have it all going on.

Paul Schmitt (“Professor Schmitt”)

Paul, skateboard industry to be the ‘Godfather’ that owns and operates the largest and most successful skateboard manufacturing company in the World and is the founder http://www.createaskate.org/ . For nearly three decades Schmitt’s company has been considered the innovative leader in design and manufacturing of the highest quality skateboards for skateboarders around the world. In fact, Paul Schmitt is considered by many within the billion-dollar of modern day skateboard deck manufacturing. His reputation has earned him the apropos nickname, “Professor Schmitt” and he empowers students to learn math, science & artistry through the relevance of a skateboard“.
Ryan Clements

Ryan Clements. Photo By: Rob Meronek

Ryan is the General Manager at the Skate Park of Tampa aka “The S.P.o.T.” and can be found doing anything from microphone banter at events to hiring and firing you. Ryan Clements and was the man in 2006 Trio that had access to old skateboarddecks and parts given to him by skateboarders after they would buy a new deck, wheel or trucks at "The SPoT".
As the Trio were Skateboarding with their families,  friends, and their usual crowd on that day in 2006, the local kids stood by watching. The founding trio realized they could be the ones to make a change in underprivileged children of Tampa’s lives. The Trio group of skaters, and by extension, the entire family at Skate park of Tampa that also included Rob Meronek and Brian Schaefer who are involved in a little bit of everything at SPoT.
Since that first year, Boards for Bros has been collecting and refurbishing skateboards for the kids in Tampa, and now skaters to hit the world. A lot of people in the skateboarding industry have taken, notice started donating complete skateboards and starting up their own used board donations. The skaters who give their old boards to the project, he said, learn the rewards of donating for a good cause. Since that first year, Boards for Bros has been collecting and refurbishing skateboards for the kids in Tampa, and now skaters to hit the world. A lot of people in the skateboarding industry have took noticed started donating complete skateboards and starting up their own used board donations.

The crew at work. Photo by: Rob Meronek

The founding trio realized they could be the ones to make a change in underprivileged children of Tampa’s lives, this group of skaters, and by extension, the entire family at Skate Park of Tampa that included Rob Meronek.
(Rob Meronek

Rob Meronek

Meronek is Owner/Partner SPoTlight Productions, Damn Am, Skatepark of Tampa http://www.skateparkoftampa.com/
SPoTlight Productions is a full-service event production company based out of the walls of Skatepark of Tampa, in Tampa, Florida. Although not exclusively specific to skateboarding events, SPoTlight can make your contest, demo, or party a complete success, from concept to execution. SPoTlight has been very fortunate to garner major skateboard industry support and presence at all of their events, which is the major difference that sets their projects apart from the standard, made-for-TV skateboarding events.
The Damn Am is a top amateur skateboarding contest series. The first Damn Am started in 2001 at the Volcom Warehouse in Costa Mesa, CA and has been going strong ever since. The success of that event led to three other annual Damn Am events taking place in Minneapolis, Holland, and Australia. Meronek is also great at Software Developer, Certified Public Accountant, Certified Management Accountant, Photographer, Writer that specializes in ASP.NET, C#, SQL Server, business process design and automation, Nikon photography equipment.

AND

Brian Schaefer

Brian Schaefer at The Bricks of Ybor. Photo by: Rob Meronek

SPoT Founder, Schaefer is the man that started The Skate Park of Tampa in 1993 and actual lived at the skate park while as he got it started http://www.skateparkoftampa.com/ . Then he went and started a restaurant/bar in Ybor called The Bricks. Schaefer took his inavative ideas and put them to work at The Bricks by adding Lives music and great art shows to a very unique and original www.TheBricksYbor.com/FOOD Menu. Brian Schaefer can be found there on any given day or night and his job description is endless as a server, busser, chef, accountant, host, sales rep, buyer, bookkeeper, groundskeeper, dishwasher. If the person he just hired doesn’t show up for their Friday night shift he handles it and he'll most likely buy you a beer and then bus your table. The main thing that makes it takes for a restaurant to be successful is the man in charge to not only be that, but he is there to make his dream happen and Brian Schaefer is doing just that, "KILLIN IT".)
The Skate Park of Tampa organized the collection of used skateboards, refurbished them, and gave them out to kids in some of the most depressed areas of Tampa’s ghettos around the holidays.

Boards For Bros 400 spot decks. Photo By: Rob Meronek

Since that first year, Boards for Bros has been collecting and refurbishing skateboards for the kids in Tampa, and now skaters to hit the world. A lot of people in the skateboarding industry have took noticed started donating complete skateboards and starting up their own used board donations. The skaters who give their old boards to the project, he said, learn the rewards of donating for a good cause. Since that first year, Boards for Bros has been collecting and refurbishing skateboards for the kids in Tampa, and now skaters to hit the world.

Boards For Bros spot wheels. Photo By: Rob Meronek

A lot of people in the skateboarding industry have took noticed the hard work and differents Boards for Bros have made and have started donating complete skateboards and have starting up their own used board donations. Making change one new skateboarder at a time and proving the the skateboard community is a very carring group of highly driving and intelligent members of society whos changes will be seen for generations to come.

The kids of boards for bros. Photo by: Rob Meronek

Boards for Bros 2011 seen all new places that included Boards for Bros Kabul, Afghanistan, Boards for Bros South Africa and Ed Womble has now teamed with Elizabeth and Steve Davis, owners of Embassy Board Shop on Main Street in downtown Mooresville expanding Boards for Bros to the Mooresville community. He, to help.

This year, Womble played the roll of Santa again and handed out skateboards in neighborhoods to the underprivileged children of Mooresville.

Photo: Ed Womble Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Boards for Bros Mission Statement:

To inspire kids to use skateboarding as a gateway to a healthy life by giving them refurbished skateboards through a joint industry effort.
Participating Shops
The shops below are giving 10% off Emerica gear on the day you donate hardgood to Boards for Bros.
Active Ride Shop - all locations
Ambush, Kennsaw, GA
BC Surf & Sport, Littleton, CO
Billy's, Newhall, CA
Blue Tile Skateshop, Columbia, SC
Church of Skatan, Santa Barbara, CA
Clockwork Skateboards, Macon, GA
Epidemic Ride Shop, Cathedral City, CA
Escapist, Kansas City, MO
Fifty-50, Azusa, CA
Furnace, Cypress, CA
Goodtime Boardstore, Grass Valley, CA
Homebase Skateshop, Bethlehem, PA
Huntington Surf & Sport, Huntington Beach, CA
Identity, Anaheim, CA
IDS Boardshop, Los Angeles, CA
Index Skateboarding, Dallas, TX
K-5 Surf & Sport, Encinitas, CA
Kinetic, Wilmington, DE
Krudco, Rochester, NY
One Way Boardshop, Santa Maria, CA
Pacific Drive, San Diego, CA
Pharmacy Boardshop, Las Vegas, NV
Pharmacy Boardshop, Palmdale, CA
Pit Crew, Frederick, MD
Plus Skateshop, Fort Walton Beach, FL
Pride Surf and Skate, San Diego, CA
Rukus Boardsports, Baton Rouge, LA
Society Ride Shop, San Carlos, CA
Solstice, New Bedford, MA
Subsect, Des Moines, IA
Surfride, Costa Mesa, CA
Uprise, Chicago, IL
Vertical Urge, Raleigh, NC
Westside Skateshop, Tarpon Springs, FL
Boards for Bros only accepts hardgoods donations: trucks, wheels, boards, hardware, bearings, and griptape. Please do not send shoes or clothes.
Send any donations no matter how small or large to:
Skatepark of Tampa
Boards for Bros
4215 E. Columbus Dr.
Tampa, Florida. 33605 U.S.A.
Stay on board with what Boards for Bros are up to on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/BoardsForBros @BoardsForBros and FaceBook: www.facebook.com/BoardsForBros.
All of us here at The HOLLYWOOD Summit Show commend you all at The Skate Park of Tampa and "Boards For Bros" for your amazing heart and the great gift you have given to communities all over the world. It makes us very proud to be skateboarder. We thank you all and we wish you a very Marry Christmas!

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