Third time Lutzka’s won the epic contest (2006 & ’08), which pretty much elevates him to “legend” status amongst street skaters at this most core event

CORONA, Calif., (March 23, 2009) – Monster Energy skateboarder Greg Lutzka saved his best for last, putting down the hammer on a third and final run at the most core of core skate contests, the Tampa Pro, and topped out on the podium over a couple venerable skateboarding names in Chaz Ortiz and Paul Rodriguez for his third career Tampa Pro win.

 
Said Lutzka of the competition: “Everyone down there was just killing it. P-Rod rode super smooth, switch back lips - nollied everything pretty much. Jereme Rogers was on point. Chaz Ortiz, the young kid from Chicago (in his first contest since turning pro), was bringing it down too.”

 
Lutzka waited until his final run to blow things up. Falling on his first two runs, the then two-time Tampa Pro champ got a look at most all of the aforementioned skaters, along with Dennis Busenitz (who Lutzka picked to win in a pre-contest interview on FUEL.tv) and Jani Laitiala, and pulled off what would be the weekend’s best run – hands down.

 
“I was kind of over it to tell you the truth. Wasn’t feeling my board that well,” said Lutzka of his first two runs. “Then on the last run I though ‘You know what – I’m just going to try and get into the music they’re playing and try to get into the zone’ and it ended up just working out for me and everything.”
 

The trick that had everybody’s socks rolling up and down was Lutzka’s switch 270 nose blunt on the rail – a trick no one else had pulled all weekend until Lutzka did it in classic last-second fashion.
 

“Just went for it, landed it and from there was just stoked, you know what I mean?,” he said. “That meant I landed the run I wanted to.”
 

The SoCal transplant from Milwaukee, Wis., opened his final run at the Tampa Pro with a nollie crooked grind, then over-turned a 180 to hit a switch boardslide on the rail, pumped up the tranny by the announcers’ table, then rocked a front half Cab on the box. With everyone’s eyeballs fixed on him, Lutzka then nailed a switch frontside flip 270 on the hip before pulling off his bananas switch 270 nose blunt on the rail – a trick where he almost looped out on the back end, but held on for the win.
 

Up next for Lutzka is “Hanging out, filming and doing it up!,” he says.
 

Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it skate, SX, rally, insane distance jumping, MX, MotoGP, road racing, supermoto, off-road, FMX, MTB, rock crawling, wake, mini bikes, surf, snow, BMX – name it – the athletes are rockin’ Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault, Monster Khaos, Monster’s fruit juice hybrid dubbed “M-80,” the party-friendly MIXXD, the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream drink line supercharged with our Monster Energy blend, along with the new Monster Energy “Hitman” energy shot. Lutzka digs ‘em – so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterarmy.com and www.monsterenergy.com