The Shining Lights of Amelia

Dylan Russo

There are many beautiful places throughout North Florida, but nowhere is as special as Amelia Island. From sunrises to sunsets, a bustling little downtown, anglers, athletes, authors, artists, movie producers, photographers, beautiful families, and great schools to name a few. Amelia Island has it all, the vibes are fresh and faces are full of smiles. I relocated my family to the Island in July 2023 from the Hidden Coast of Florida. My wife and I wanted our children to be able to experience the roots of a strong community. We also wanted our kids to be able grow up next to the ocean. When we started visiting the island in March 2023, I learned that the surf community was alive and active as well as the skateboard community. It was then that I felt suddenly connected to the island as I am an action based photographer focused on surf and water photography as well as skateboarding and other action sports.

It felt that Amelia Island was calling our family to the area and it seemed like the perfect fit overall. As we began to meet folks throughout the surf and skate communities, we learned that it is in these communities that the shining lights of Amelia Island beam the brightest. Fernandina Beach has some amazing skateboarders like Poe Pinson, Dylan Russo and Egan McCarthy to name a few. If you didn’t know, Poe Pinson is on the USA skateboarding team and she has the possibility to go the next World Olympic Games. Dylan Russo is an amazing ripper who is a top competitor throughout north Florida. You can find Dylan at the local skate park in Fernandina Beach practicing and coaching the little groms learning to rip like Dylan.

Poe Pinson

Another top athlete in the skate community is 13 year old Egan McCarthy. He is always pushing the limits and going for bigger and better tricks. Poe, Dylan, and Egan are perfect examples of how true leaders are being developed and are positively impacting our community. Kids and young adults alike make Amelia Island shine. As I started to immerse myself into the surf community and befriend locals, I learned that more stars shined on the island.

Egan McCarthy

I linked up with the ESA (Eastern Surfing Association) First Coast organizer. I volunteered to film and help promote their ESA chapter. While filming, I started to realize that although their local ESA was smaller compared to other chapters, the First Coast team was full of young rippers, male and female, that were all next level athletes and competitors.

Noah Poteat

Within the group of young groms, Noah Poteat and Aiden Flynn started to crush all the competitions throughout the surf season. Noah and Aiden were recently selected as 2 of the 12 ALL-Stars throughout the ESA platform, from Maine to Florida.

Aiden Flynn

Noah and Aiden are products of their own hard work and dedication to achieve ALL-Star status. The souls in the surf community make up that flowing energy on the island that breeds ALL-Stars. Amelia Island has it all and is a hot spot to raise a family. You can experience Nature of all kinds from the ocean to the greenway. The communities are close-knit and the people are amazing. The island is full of history that attract visitors throughout the year as well. But it’s the young athletes of today that are making history and keeping the light shining on Amelia Island.