Tom Schaar Takes First Place in Skateboard Vert | 30th Annual 2024 Tampa Pro

The most epic skateboard competition just turned 30! Monster Energy congratulates team rider Tom Schaar on taking first place in Skateboard Vert at the Tampa Pro 2024. In the iconic skateboarding competition at Skatepark of Tampa (SPoT), the 24-year-old from Malibu, California, earned the $5,000 prize purse with a perfect run in the finals.

 In the Skateboard Street final on Sunday, 31-year-old Kelvin Hoefler from Sao Paulo, Brazil, took second place amid heavy competition.

In Saturday’s Independent Best Trick contest, 26-year-old Gabriel Fortunato from Sao Paulo, Brazil, took the win and $1,000 prize money with a long-distance hardflip to manual transfer.

From March 4-7, 2024, the 30th edition of the Tampa Pro contest attracted the world’s best street, vert, and bowl skateboarders to Florida. Celebrating its 30th year, the longest-running competition in skateboarding featured riders from Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, United Kingdom, and the United States. Celebrating all aspects of skateboard culture, the event also featured musical performances, fan activations, and art showcases.

Presented by Monster Energy as the title sponsor, Tampa Pro is the most respected grassroots contest in skateboarding. In 1995, the skateboard competition was first contested at the SPoT warehouse. Several of the world’s most iconic street skateboarders have won the coveted Tampa Pro title, including Monster Energy rider Nyjah Huston (winner in 2014 and 2020).

Here’s how the 30th edition of Tampa Pro unfolded for Team Monster Energy:

Men’s Skateboard Vert: Tom Schaar Clinches First Place with Stacked Final Run 

In Friday’s Men’s Skateboard Vert competition on the brand-new SPoT halfpipe, Monster Energy’s Tom Schaar dropped in as the fifth-place qualifier from eliminations on Thursday. When it all came down to final attempts, the 24-year-old from Malibu, California, soared above the rest of the pack with a stacked run.

Putting together kickflip Indy, huge tailgrab backside 540, frontside bluntslide pop over the channel, Caballerial backside lipslide revert the channel, switch backside disaster the extension, fakie frontside Smith, frontside 50-50 to lipslide the channel, backside 360 tailgrab to fakie, no-hand nosepick disaster, backside crossbone air, kickflip Indy to fakie, and backside disaster revert earned Schaar the trophy for first place and $5,000 in prize money.

“Vert’s back!” said Monster Energy’s Schaar upon winning the Men’s Skateboard Vert event at Tampa Pro 2024. The win also qualified Schaar for the upcoming Tony Hawk’s Vert Alert contest from June 14-15 inside Jon M. Huntsman Center at the University of Utah. Stay tuned!

Considered a pacesetter in the progression of vertical skateboarding, Schaar made history as the world’s first skateboarder to land a 1080-degree aerial. He currently owns 11 X Games medals (1 gold, 4 silver, 6 bronze).

Skateboard Street: Kelvin Hoefler Takes Second Place in Down-to-the-Wire Final

In Sunday’s Skateboard Street final, twelve of the world’s best street skateboarders went head-to-head for the coveted title of Tampa Pro winner. As competitors battled to put down a perfect 60-second run on the brand-new SPoT street course, the fight for the top spot came down to a duel between 31-year-old Kelvin Hoefler from Sao Paulo, Brazil and Japan’s Yuto Horigome.

When all was said and done, Hoefler took home a close second place for a perfect third run stacked with signature tech moves: nollie frontside nosegrind the entire box rail over the kink, Caballerial frontside bluntslide fakie the A-frame rail, backside sugarcane grind revert the Euro gap rail, Half Cab backside Smith grind fakie the Hubba, kickflip backside lipslide the handrail, kickflip backside tailslide fakie the handrail, fakie ollie backside lipslide the A-frame rail, kickflip frontside lipslide the A-frame rail, and a bonus frontside noseslide pop-over to backside tailslide the ledge earned Hoefler the second-place trophy and $5,000 in prize money.

Hoefler is a two-time X Games gold medalist and took home the silver medal in Men’s Skateboard Street at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. 

Also taking an award in skateboard street, 23-year-old Giovanni Vianna from Santo Andre, Brazil, earned the Bronson Speed Killer Award and $500 in prize money for his overall performance this weekend.

Independent Best Trick: Gabriel Fortunato Takes the Win with Technical Transfer Trick 

On Saturday, the Independent Best Trick contest opened up the entire SPoT street course to a no-holds-barred jam session. Over the course of 60 minutes, the newly redesigned course saw several never-been-done tricks and transfers, courtesy of the world’s best street skaters.

When the dust settled, it was 26-year-old Gabriel Fortunato from Sao Paulo, Brazil, who took the win and $1,000 prize money with a mind-boggling transfer trick. Stoking the fans and judges inside the park, Fortunato launched off the centerpiece kicker with a massive hardflip into a manual on the Hubba ledge, traversing a more-than-ten-feet gap in the process.

Cariuma Concrete Jam: Tom Schaar Takes Second Place in Bowl Contest, Yam Behar Finishes in Third Place, and Trey Wood Wins the OJ Door Gap Best Trick

On Saturday night, the Cariuma Concrete Jam brought a capacity crowd to the famous SPoT concrete bowl for a high-energy progression session. In a party atmosphere, spectators experienced some of the top international bowl skaters work the redesigned course amid a musical performance by Monster Energy band, Scowl.

In a session filled with heavy tricks and near collisions, Monster Energy’s Schaar secured second place with a versatile display of tricks including crooked grind fakie, frontside bluntslide, frontside nosebluntslide to 5-0, and backside 540 tailgrab over the channel door, as well as kickflip Indy airs and Caballerial backside disaster the extension for $1,000 in prize money.

Also bringing the heat to the session, 22-year-old Yam Behar from Givatayim, Israel, attacked the concrete bowl with fast lines and technical moves like frontside nosebone airs, frontside stalefish tweaks, kickflip lein air, and backside tailslides. Behar also landed a frontside boneless transfer off the rooftop into the deep end after battling for several attempts and emerged from the session in third place. Monster Energy’s Trey Wood won the OJ Door Gap Best Trick.