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Or: Emerica Flattens Florida

Photography by Patrick O’dell

Well, it was time to make the annual pilgrimage to the Tampa Am contest. Instead of heading straight to Tampa, though, we decided to start out in Miami for a few days to skate and film at some of the many awesome spots that city has to offer. Emerica pros Leo Romero, Kevin "Spanky" Long and ams Braydon Szafranski and Matt Allen; along with Emerica Team Manager Justin Regan and myself, Emerica Team Assistant Jeff Henderson; flew out to Miami to join up-and-coming Emerica Am Brandon Westgate and Thrasher photographer Patrick OÂ’Dell. Enjoi pal Jerry Hsu also tagged along with us.

Once we all met up at the airport, we did the handshakes, rented a couple of mini-vans and were off to our hotel in South Beach. We got to the hotel pretty late, but because of the time difference, some of us were restless, so we went to an all-night diner near the hotel. We bumped into Jason Dill, who was eating at the diner, which was kind of random. We ate, went back to the hotel and crashed.

Holy Cow! What a trip! I’m happy to report that the Dirty South Kids in Emerica Tour went off with fantastic results and that the Emerica team is finally back in their respective homes recovering from this latest adventure. The turnouts were incredible! So many Kids in Emericas showed up to hang out with the team at every stop. Some shops were definitely overwhelmed by the crowds, and signings lasted into the wee hours at many of our visits. Fueled by the apparent enthusiasm for skateboarding witnessed at every stop along the way, the Emerica cast on this trip—consisting of Andrew Reynolds, Heath Kirchart, Tosh Townend, Erik Ellington, Bryan Herman, Leo Romero and Matt Allen—were all too eager to meet as many of their fellow skateboarders as would come their way.

El Rey Theatre
Los Angeles, California
February 1, 2003

By Ed Templeton

Bryan Herman’s Eyebrows
(Emerica Ams Visit Miami)