Tampa Pro 2017: Lopez Wins!
The online gossip in the run up to this, the 23rd annual Tampa Pro, may well have centred around the somewhat controversial decision to stream the event through Dyrdek's new 'Pay per view' service ETN Live but, now the dust has settled, all we'll likely remember is the well-deserved victory of Flip Skateboards' Hawthorne, CA native Louie Lopez.
Few events in skateboarding carry the kudos of winning Tampa pro; though Street League or the Dew Tour may well pay more handsomely, neither can match the legitimacy of that sweaty little Floridian warehouse and we can think of few more deserving folk than the smiling Converse Cons rep Louie. Though he was pushed hard by the likes Kelvin Hoefler, Tommy Fynn and team mate Luan, Louie's big ol' bag of tricks and insane consistency was enough to etch his name into the history books alongside the likes of Ishod, Busentiz, Koston, Reynolds and more.
If you didn't get chance to catch the action live, fear not, there are sure to be a million and one highlight clips hitting the world wide web over the next day or two. Until then, keep yourself entertained with young Mr Lopez' amazing 'Holy Stokes' offcuts from last summer and remind yourself just how ridiculous on a skateboard he is!