The idea was to give riders a reason to come south and spend time together. Warm weather made the invitation easy. The rest was what we already enjoyed about our own group: getting out on boards with people who were glad to be there.

Float Life Fest helped set the idea in motion, and at a later Fest I started making commitments. As I told the IOWA newsletter, "Once you've invited people, you have to follow through." That turns out to be a fairly effective way to turn a conversation into an event.

The first Stokebird ran February 3-6, 2022. We had planned for roughly 75 to 100 riders. When 150 free tickets went in a few days, the logistics changed. Charging that many boards is a different problem from the one we started with.

Anna became the principal organizer alongside me, and most of the ongoing work has been the two of us. She carries a great deal of the coordination: answering people, staying in touch with sponsors and keeping arrangements moving between events. Ahead of Stokebird 2025, for example, she handled sponsor communication and information with Chris Richardson at Miami Boardshop.

My dad, Gary, has helped with generators and logistics over several years, keeping boards charged and coming out to ride himself. Jeff Gross has helped more recently, and sponsors, volunteers and friends have each taken on parts of the work. I launched Stokebird, and Anna and I have built it with their help.

The IOWA newsletter's account of 2022 describes early boardwalk rides, late trail rides and skate park visits. Wynwood Brewing was the first day's home base. Float Gang organized a street-art photo hunt in Wynwood, won by a Drift Sisters group entry. The routes drew on years of local group rides.

Racing was around, but it was never meant to define the weekend. There should be room to enjoy a ride, stop and talk, or go find a different corner of the city with friends.

It kept going. Stokebird 5 was listed for February 26 through March 1, 2026, still described as a free annual gathering of Onewheel and other personal electric vehicle riders escaping winter together in Miami.

The gathering gave me reasons to make other things. Alpha One is the collection of Onewheel songs I made with AI music tools for Stokebird. When Get Stoke Fuel sponsored the event, I built a website for a friend's distributorship as a thank-you. Both have their own stories.