A Midwestern skater with a dream of getting sponsored puts his trust in his talent while contending with the parents, friends, and classmates who think he's throwing his life away. Derrick has a passion for skateboarding, but the only people who understand this are his fellow skaters. When it comes to Derrick's chosen sport, the ability to perform a move that has never been conceived or attempted could be his ticket to instant stardom. But the better Derrick gets, the worse his relationship grows with the skater he once admired most. Derrick has his trick, but in order to execute it successfully he will need to focus -- no simple task when you're faced with jealous friends, skate proofing, and prejudiced cops. When Derrick gets arrested for skating on private property, his parents try to force him to quit and his girlfriend slaps him with an ultimatum: choose her or the board. Frustrated, Derrick falls back on his dreams and runs away to Florida in order to compete in the Tampa Am, a high-profile skating contest. This could be his one shot at going from a relative nobody to a national celebrity, but when his crew abandons him at the behest of his jealous mentor, Derrick realizes that he alone is responsible for his own fate. Perhaps with the help of a top amateur's sister, who gives him a place to stay and a reason to believe in himself, Derrick will summon the courage to perform his patented trick and become a true superstar.