A nearly four-year photo project documenting skaters across St. Petersburg and the surrounding Tampa Bay area is about to hit shelves, and its creator hopes it does more than just look good on a coffee table. Photographer Adam Hadden's 220-page hardcover book, “Pelican,” launches Saturday, Nov. 7, with a release party at The Bends in St. Petersburg, and Hadden says he wants the finished product to help push city officials toward building more skate-friendly public spaces.
The book was made in collaboration with professional skateboarder Jimmy Lannon for Magenta Skateboards, according to Creative Loafing Tampa, and showcases action shots of skaters in St. Petersburg and the surrounding area. Hadden compiled nearly four years of photographs for the project, and spent the last year and a half working on it each day after work to self-publish the book, per the outlet. Lannon is featured on the cover.
A Launch Party With Signed Copies and Local Films
The release event is set for 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, at The Bends, located at 919 First Ave. N in St. Petersburg — a spot community.cltampa.com describes as downtown St. Pete's legendary dive bar. Hadden and Lannon plan to bring 150 signed copies of the book, which will sell for $55 that night, with copies expected to go up for sale online shortly after. The night will also feature a showing of local skate videos, including “Glasses” by Ryan Bambery and “Florid” by Lannon himself.
The gathering doubles as something of a community checkpoint for Tampa Bay's skate scene, which already has infrastructure to show for itself — the station notes St. Petersburg's skate park, which opened in 2018, as one of the largest skate parks in Florida, with a 12-foot-deep bowl billed as the deepest in the state. That $1.25 million park at 600 12th St. South includes a street course, snake run and intermediate bowl.
From Photo Book to City Hall Pitch
Hadden's ambitions extend past the page. He said his goal was to start a conversation about bringing more skate-friendly architecture to the Tampa Bay area, and told the outlet, “Our end goal after the book is to have a tangible item we can present to city officials.” He added that he hopes the effort leads to more progressive approaches to skateboarding and ultimately more multi-use skate spots scattered across the city.
Lannon brings outside experience to that push. He worked in Bordeaux, France, with Connect, a skate urbanism festival that brings skate culture into urban planning — an event describing itself as a new international festival dedicated to skateboarding culture and its relationship to urban planning, highlighting its cultural and artistic aspects. Lannon was also listed among the featured skaters in a Monstro Creatives web series filmed on the streets and architecture of the same French city, according to skateboarding.com.
Why Skaters Say the Pier Isn't Enough
Lannon pointed to Bordeaux's infrastructure as proof that thoughtful planning can benefit skaters and the wider public alike, and argued that shared public spaces make cities more inviting while supporting mental and physical health for everybody. He contrasted that with his experience locally. “On the St. Pete Pier, the second they see skaters jumping around and playing, we get kicked out, but rollerbladers and longboarders are fine,” Lannon said, per the article.
He plans to build relationships with city planners and local elected officials, hoping to begin making those connections by the end of the year, with an eye toward advocating for less defensive public spaces and skate sculptures designed specifically with skateboarders in mind. Whether that outreach gains traction remains to be seen, but for now, the pitch starts with a book — 150 signed copies of it, waiting at The Bends.
