About Us
About
Locals talking to locals about the place we live. No tourism board, no review aggregator, just the friend who already knows the best spot.
Section 01
About Tampa Bay is Awesome
We're here for everything fun, delicious, and worth leaving the house for across Tampa Bay. The taco truck nobody's posted about yet, the festival that'll make your weekend, the overlook where the sunset hits just right. Nobody around here should ever have an excuse to say "there's nothing to do."
It started in 2014 with one Facebook page, Downtown Tampa Is Awesome, built to give local businesses the spotlight they deserved. It pulled in 5,000 followers in less than 90 days. Pages for St. Pete, St. Pete Beach, Clearwater Beach, Dunedin, Carrollwood, and more quickly followed, and today the Awesome network reaches more than 1.2 million people.
"Tampa Bay" means the whole region to us: Tampa, St. Pete, Clearwater, and every town around the bay, with Hillsborough and Pinellas at the heart of it.
- 2014the year the first Awesome page launched
- 1.2M+followers across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube
- 35–50posts a week across the Awesome network
- 4things we cover: Food, Events, Hidden Gems, Real Estate
What we cover
Our promise: we only hype what we'd actually tell a friend to go check out. We're not a listicle farm, and we're unapologetically biased toward the idea that Tampa Bay is one of the best places in the country to live, eat, and have a good time.
Section 02
Who is Mr. Tampa Bay?
Joe Malinowski is the guy behind the camera, the catchphrases, and the bite. He grew up right here, graduating from Tarpon Springs High School, and he's been finding the best of Tampa Bay ever since.
After two years at the University of South Florida, Joe started showing up at local networking events, then launched his own events and workshops. In his 20s he consulted for hospitality and e-commerce businesses, and that's where he saw what social media could do for a local spot. In 2014 he started the first Awesome page, and Mr. Tampa Bay was born.
On a busy shoot day he might hit five restaurants, and he still treats every one like a friend's place. He keeps coming back to the businesses he loves, and he'd rather pass on a place than fake the hype. He also hosts a podcast with local chefs.
The real estate side
Joe is also a licensed real estate agent. Knowing which neighborhood has the walkable downtown, the dive bar everybody loves, and the Saturday market worth waking up for turns out to be pretty useful when you're helping someone find a home. He teams up with Banyan Residential Group, a licensed Florida brokerage, to help people buy, sell, build new, and relocate across Tampa Bay. See how we can help →
Still standing, still eating
A few years ago, a routine dental visit turned up skin cancer inside Joe's mouth. He had several front teeth and part of his gums removed, and he has now been cancer-free for more than three years. Eating for a living takes some balance, so he keeps up long walks, bike rides, gym sessions, and fasting, and every so often he takes a week off to reset with vegan dishes and simple pho broth. Then it's right back out there finding your next favorite spot.
The Mr. Tampa Bay effect
- Jardin de Pollos, Dunedin: the Bolivian rotisserie chicken spot sold out for several weeks after his visit.
- Miku Ramen, Largo: sold 400 ramen flights in quick succession.
- Crepesology, Dunedin: one post, 200,000+ Instagram views, and business went wild.
As seen in
Joe "Mr. Tampa Bay" Malinowski is a licensed Florida real estate agent. Real estate brokerage services are provided by Banyan Residential Group, a licensed Florida real estate brokerage in St. Petersburg, FL. Broker: Bennett Andrews. Equal Housing Opportunity.