SPoTlight Productions, Inc.

SPoTlight Am Awards

We have been slowly working on turning the Damn Am events into more of a series that leads up to the end of the year at Tampa Am. Step one was moving Tampa Am to December. Step two is the SPoTlight Am of the Year Awards. SPoTlight Am of the Year awards will take place at ASR in January 2009. It will be based on 2008 Damn Am events and Tampa Am in December. Here are the full details: SPoTlight Am of the Year Awards Announced.

2008 Schedule

Billabong Damn Am, Minneapolis, Minnesota: June 6 - 8, 2008
Top Am Contest. LIVE WEBCAST!
DVS Copenhagen Pro, Copenhagen, Denmark: June 27 - 29, 2008
Pro Contest. Details...
DC King Of, New York, New York: July 4, 2008
Pro and Top Am Contest.
Volcom AmsterDamn Am, Amsterdam, Holland: July 18 - 20, 2008
Top Am Contest.
Billabong Vancouver Damn Am, Vancouver, Canada: August 8 - 10, 2008
Top Am Contest. LIVE WEBCAST!
Element Pro Contest, Helsinki, Finland: August 23 - 24, 2008
Pro Contest.
ASR, San Diego, California: September 4 - 6, 2008
Trade show and mini-ramp demos.
Surf Expo, Orlando, Florida: September 12 - 14, 2008
Trade show and Top Am Mini-Ramp Contest.
DC King Of, Los Angeles, California: September 20, 2008
Pro and Top Am Contest.
Vans Downtown Showdown, Hollywood, California: October 11, 2008
Top Am and Pro Team Contest. LIVE WEBCAST!
Volcom Damn Am, Costa Mesa, California: October 23 - 26, 2008
Top Am Contest. LIVE WEBCAST!
Texas Skate Jam, Houston, Texas: November 8, 2008
Pro and Am demo and contest. LIVE WEBCAST!
Tampa Am, Tampa, Florida: December 4 - 7, 2008
Top Am STREET Contest. LIVE WEBCAST! This is the first year Tampa Am is in December instead of January. Tampa Am VERT is during Tampa Pro in March.

About SPoTlight Productions:

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.

Contact Information

Brian Schaefer - brian@spotlightskateboarding.com
Ryan Clements - ryan@spotlightskateboarding.com
Rob Meronek - rob@spotlightskateboarding.com

How SPoTlight Productions Came to Be:

World-renowned Skatepark of Tampa reigns when it comes to real skateboarding events. The Tampa Am and Tampa Pro have been going strong for over a decade and continue to gain momentum. Founder and owner, Brian Schaefer, thought that wasn't enough, so a few years back he started Damn Am, along with Rob Meronek, Skatepark of Tampa software engineer. Damn Am nationally consists of two annual top amateur contests that cover both the east and west coast and one International event, the AmsterDamn Am. The Skatepark of Tampa Crew, which consists of Schaefer, Meronek, and Ryan Clements, was continually being asked to run more and more skateboarding events such as organizing demos at ASR and Surf Expo to running events like Texas Skate Jam and Adio Battle of the Shops. It was time to consolidate and put all of these events under one roof, SPoTlight Productions.

Skatepark of Tampa Mission Statement:

Skatepark of Tampa is dedicated to skateboarding. Founded in 1993 during skateboarding's dark years, SPoT soon became a shining light on the east coast. Over the years Skatepark has become world-renowned for it's "for skateboarders, by skateboarders" events, specifically Tampa Am and Tampa Pro. Skatepark of Tampa was started to simply provide a consistent, fun place to skate with friends and will continue provide a 'real' facility for skateboarders to visit from around the globe. '93 'til infinity...

Tampa Am:

The Am has been going strong since 1994, making '07 its 13th Anniversary. It runs every January and attracts ams from around the world. In addition, the entire industry seems to be in attendance to witness the amazing skating and partake in the debauchery known as Ybor City. Although not billed as such, it has unintentionally turned into the Am World Championships. The registration process is long and grueling with the 200+ contestants, but more even get turned away because there could easily be 500 competing since a spot in the Contest is in such demand. Most of today's top pros have skated Tampa Am and for many it was very influential in their "discovery" by the industry. The continued success of Tampa Am led into the need to bring other Tampa-style am events to other parts of the country, and eventually the world.

Tampa Pro:

Tampa Pro has been known as the last “real” pro skateboarding event in the United States for several years as it falls annually in March since 1994. The Florida weather makes it the perfect time of the year for pros to visit Tampa. Tampa Pro has been a staple event for so many years that nearly every single professional skateboarder has competed at Tampa Pro at some point in their careers. For the past several years the purse has been $50k, but starting in '07 it will be $100k. It's a great event where the fans are right there with the pros...no security, no hype. Just real pros skating in a real atmosphere.

To add a little more spice to the event, four years ago the Team Manager/Industry VIP Street Contest was introduced into the weekend schedule. This event allows the industry to participate in the skating as opposed to sidelining all weekend.

Damn Am:

The Damn Am Series was created by Brian Schaefer and Rob Meronek as they noticed that there was a need to bring the Tampa-style am contests to skateboarders outside of Tampa. If you can't get into Tampa Am directly through your sponsor, entering a Damn Am is the only official way to qualify for Tampa Am. Basically, the “flavor" of the Tampa Contests is taken to locations around the country and Europe, too.

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 the inception of the Minnesota Damn Am, taking place every June at 3rd Lair Skatepark in Minneapolis, MN, which has been running strong since 2003. In 2006, Volcom decided to help us take the Damn Am Series over the pond and the AmsterDamn Am was born and has been etched into the schedule as a yearly event.

The top 12 finalists at all Damn Am events get an automatic spot in Tampa Am, with the first two places getting thrown right into the Semi-Finals.

In addition to a damn fun time, the Damn Ams have assisted with many ams getting noticed on their way to professional careers. To say that most of today’s top pros have skated in a Damn Am Contest is not a stretch of the truth at all. In fact, with most of the industry watching at these events, it’s not difficult at all for a stand-out skater to pick up a new sponsor and gain some notoriety.

Events SPoTlight is Currently Running: