TAMPA, Fla. — Baseball and skateboarding don't look like an obvious sports collaboration, but the Tampa Bay Rays are proud to be part of one. Skating was one of the inspirations behind the Rays' “City Connect” uniforms.
Tampa Bay’s sports culture has been front and center in recent years, and skateboarding is a big part of it.
“We really wanted to use this platform to tell a story that maybe people didn’t know about Tampa Bay,” said Warren Hypes, the Rays’ vice president of creative and brand. “If you look at the history of skateboarding here — with the Bro Bowl, Perry Harvey Sr. Park, the vert ramp culture in St. Pete — it’s a really cool story that, especially on a national stage, a lot of people might not know about.”
Enter Jake Ilardi. He's a Sarasota-native, Olympian, and X Games veteran. Thanks to his grandmother, Ilardi had everything he needed to launch his skateboarding journey at just 4 years old. Now, he’s happy to represent his favorite baseball team while trying to expand the reach of his favorite sport. He'll be wearing Rays hats and board stickers in upcoming national and international competitions.
“Not everyone has a grandma that’s able to provide for them, like boards and shoes and stuff,” Ilardi said via video chat. “The Rays do a lot of give-backs with the community, like helping out with Boards for Bros, giving underprivileged kids boards. They’ve done meet-ups at local skate parks and skate communities.”
Baseball and skateboarding are just two of the pieces that make up the unique puzzle that is Tampa Bay.
“It’s like bringing the whole urban culture in with mainstream sports,” Ilardi added. “It’s super cool to see. A lot of people who are into tattoos, music, painting, skating... they also like baseball. It just kind of meshes into one and brings everybody closer together.”
The Rays are thrilled to have Ilardi sporting their gear on a national stage.
“He won the Jackalope Fest a couple weeks ago up in Virginia Beach, and he was sporting our Rays City Connect hat,” Hypes smiled. “He skated at the Tampa Pro Am and was rocking our gear there, too. It just seemed like a natural fit to bring him on as a brand ambassador.”
Ilardi says his personal mission is to keep raising funds and providing equipment so more people have access to more types of "wheeled activities."
“I have a non-profit called Skate City SRQ. Our mission is to bring more all-wheel plazas — not just for skateboarding, but bikes, scooters, in-lines — anything with wheels,” he said. “I just want to spread the wealth so everyone has a place to skate. I’m happy to use my power for good.”
The Rays will be wearing their City Connect jerseys when they get back in action tomorrow night at Steinbrenner Field. Tampa Bay hosts the Baltimore Orioles at 7:35pm Friday.
