Region's skateboarders compete in Panama City, aim to spread skating gospel across the Gulf Coast.

PANAMA CITY— More than just tricks, prizes, and competition- one Gulf Coast organization is pushing for something much bigger: skateparks available to all communities and opportunities for generations to come.

Traveling across the Gulf Coast to do more than just raise awareness of their mission, they took to the downtown skatepark with the help of more than 20 skaters, some local and others who drove upwards of 4 hours to be there, as they covered the park for a Game of S.K.A.T.E on the evening of Aug. 29, 2026.

Split into two groups for the competition, youth and adults, there were many phenomenal talents and highlights throughout the evening, showcasing the hard work being put into skating behind the scenes, but also support from sponsors and partners such as Relief Skate Supply, Reset Mercantile from Alabama, Grime Official, Can’t Skate, Panhandle Nutrition and Chi Chi Couture Salon.

 With six winners in the end, some might say the real winner was actually the host of the contest and organizer himself.

The man, the myth, the legend

Tyler Prowant, outside of his military career as an Airman, is the president and founder of the Gulf Coast Skate Parks Association. With a vision he knew other skaters shared: to have a thriving skateboard community throughout the Gulf Coast.

Not only that, but also for it to be the next mecca of skateboarding. That if you want to make it in skateboarding, you don't have to go to the West Coast. That you should be able to live comfortable lifestyles with your families and friends here and enjoy skateboarding. In this vision, you would have an industry that supports you.

Prowant's mission is, in the next ten years, to bring ten times the number of skateboarders and skateparks, and to see the talent coming from the Gulf Coast being recognized on the international stage.

Prowant organized not only a series of events, but also a movement. Using his skate contests as a way to bring a healthy environment to the skateboarding community and spotlight raw, deserving talent. Skaters who grind every day in silence without recognition.

The vision

“My whole organization is about serving the skaters and when we do that, our culture, our society, everybody, like we talk about the future of skateboarding, we’re talking about the future of kids," explained Prowant. "Like these kids, whether they grow up to be someone who goes to the professional circuit or not- it's not as important as the lessons they learn of resilience, positivity, confidence; that's what skateboarding gives you."

Gulf Coast Skate Parks has hosted over 67 events, engaging with more than a thousand skaters.

Their efforts haven't gone unnoticed. In 2024, the GCSA was selected by the Mississippi Main Street Association out of 79 competing cities across the state and won the Outstanding Community Outreach Award. Along with grassroots funding and local volunteers, they’ve completed projects like the Biloxi DIY Skatepark in 2023 and the St. Martin DIY in 2025.

Advocating for safer communities and skateparks at one point in time might have seemed to be a difficult task, but Prowant's organization wants to make it as easy as possible. Doing more than just organizing skate contests, they help demonstrate the need for skateboarding facilities by taking an active role in the local government.

They described themselves as a bunch of skateboarders who decided to get together, tuck in their shirts, and go talk to city councilmen and mayors, and apply for grants and collect data. They want to do all of the hard work so that everyone can just come and enjoy themselves.

The backstory

Growing up out in the woods of Calhoun County, Prowant says this event was particularly special to him, as every time he and his friends would come skate, they would skate in Panama City or Dothan.

Skating with people with the same story as him was one of the very reasons he started doing the contests and pushing for more skateparks.

“So like all of the youth we highlighted today is very special to me and it's even more special because my sisters who are business owners and myself now as a business owner are all three out here supporting the scene,” Prowant said proudly, with his sisters not too far behind him.

Leading by example, the nonprofit work he does comes from not only a love for the sport, but he believes this is how he is fulfilling his duty to serve every day.

“My father passed away a couple (of) years ago, but he instilled in us that everyone has to serve," said Prowant. "I really believe everyone has a duty to serve, and service takes many forms. Not just military service; you could serve in your church, your community, your family, your friends, and so that's what we’re all out here doing."

"Even the guys who come and just buy a shirt or volunteer to set up and tear down," continued Prowant. "They're all a part of this skateboarding culture, and it's incredible. You don't find this in a lot of other places. People are willing to put in the work here.”

According to Prowant, this work is a form of service he's more than happy to do.

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This writer felt the excitement this love and appreciation brings to the contests, as the air was filled with jokes, friendly competition, and roaring cheers with every trick that landed. The excitement wasn’t limited to perfectly landed tricks either, with Prowant saying how some of his favorites were actually the ones that didn't land, loving people always trying to put in for it despite that.

Despite having a love of all skaters involved, Prowant said Shelton’s kickflip down the set was his favorite.

A shoutout to the youth

14-year-old Shelton, a regular to the Panama City Skate Spot, spent his Saturday signing up for the youth contest, where he had not only won second place for his 360 flip, he had also left an impression on everyone around him.

Taking a moment to talk with him after his second-place win, you might get an idea of what the next generation of skaters will have to look up to. Shelton didn't just show either; he trained and planned for this.

Overall, he felt pretty good about the contest. He told this writer he looks up to local skaters like Chad Harris for his tricks off the ramps, and some of his major influences were the 2005 movie, “Lords Of Dogtown,” and styles like skater Filipe Mota, who, in his opinion, has the best kickflips.

His favorite trick to learn so far is his Tre flip. His advice? Not to give up and to always try.

With the youth pushing our next generation of skateboarders, there was another kid who stood out among the named Easton. Prowant would go on to say that with all tricks aside, Easton was his favorite skater. 

“The reason I say Easton is because one- he's one of the youths, but he hasn't missed a tour stop. I don't even know if he's missed one," said Prowant. 'He's placed on (the) podium in several of them, but when he comes out, you can see the energy he brings out to the other guys, and skateboarding's one of those rare sports where people, when they compete, they root for their competitors. He is like the epitome of that.”

Adults can have fun too

Beyond just the youth, plenty of adults came out to not only support but also to compete.

Some drove hours to just skate the downtown micro park while others were regulars and have been skating this spot since it was built in 2020.  Shane Sandhoff is one of the many recognizable talents in our area, coming from Pensacola to join the others in support of the GCSA.

Watching his friends skate and land tricks that he would be able to go and say were his favorite, like the nolie hard flip down the stairs or the fakie 360 flip, brought that sense of community this exact event was organized for. Sandhoff was able to make that two-hour drive back as a first-place champion after he won the contest with a 270 board drag.

With a love for surfing originally, he slowly transitioned to skating and looked up to skaters like Andrew Reynolds, Co-Founder of Baker boards.

A bit of advice

Despite the park being small, he feels like everyone made the best of it and had a great time, saying it was definitely a fun competition.

“Just keep skating," said Sandhoff. "Don't let stuff get in your way of getting where you wanna be and stay away from drugs.”

One of the last takeaways Sandhoff shared was, “We should have pros that if they want to enjoy skateboarding and want to be pushed to the next level, then they should come from here."

"Not that that's the only way to make it, but it's definitely an awesome thing for everyone, and we all win when that's a scenario that happens,” said Sandhoff.

For the organizers and skaters who gathered at the Aug. 29 event, the future for skaters on the Gulf Coast starts with volunteer events at local skate parks. 

Whatever kind of talent readers may have, they should take after the skaters and bring it into their communities.

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