St. Pete Shorts

04/03/2026

Another outtake from Matt's History of Pinellas Smuggling series. This longer clip is of Tommy Powell discussing how he met and partnered with famous smuggler Mike Knight and started running re**er from Colombia.

Historian Matthew Bane of stpeteshorts.com and stpetewiki.com invited former convicted smuggler Tommy Powell to be a guest speaker in our history of Pinellas...

03/31/2026

Historian Matthew Bane of St. Pete Shorts teamed up with 1970s convicted ma*****na smuggler Tommy Powell to investigate part of the interesting history of ma*****na smuggling on the Pinellas Peninsula. Here's a brief outtake where Tommy explains how he fell into his first buy and got into the business.

Historian Matthew Bane of stpeteshorts.com and stpetewiki.com invited former convicted smuggler Tommy Powell to be a guest speaker in our history of Pinellas...

03/27/2026

Looking for a cool historical tour around St. Pete? Historian Matthew Bane is available for private historical tours along the Pinellas Peninsula, from downtown St. Pete to the beautiful and uncrowded Egmont Key and everywhere in between! Explore the hidden side of St. Pete and have a great day. Below is a 360-degree of historic Egmont Key from the top of a Spanish-American War-era Battery McIntosh.

03/27/2026

We've recently completed a cool web project for the Gulf Coast Maritime Museum, a small organization committed to the preservation of the heritage and history of the crafts, navigators, and builders along Florida's Gulf Coast. Check it out!

Our mission is to inspire, create awareness, and provide resources to our visitors, members,and supporters who share a common interest in the Gulf Coast’s maritime legacy.

12/22/2025

Did you know St. Pete Shorts does family histories and research as well as historical videos, writing, and polished interviews? We are thrilled to be working with the Hubbard family who originally settled in Pass-a-Grille in the 1930s. This photo is of Wilson Hubbard, Silas Dent, and Mike Hubbard, all notorious historical figures in their own right. Photo taken January 1949.

Get in touch or find out more at stpeteshorts.com!

11/16/2025

New podcast!

There is an epic tale of survival from the Spanish exploration of Florida that happened right here in Tampa Bay. The story of Juan Ortiz, captured by natives and enduring a 10-year ordeal of torture and eventual rescue, is one of the more interesting and well-documented stories you might not be aware of.

You can check it out two ways... a podcast on St. Pete Shorts: https://youtu.be/6jWexDWL4Ug or an article on St. Pete Wiki: https://stpetewiki.com/all-posts/the-most-horrible-ordeal-of-juan-ortiz

Enjoy!

During the Spanish exploration of Florida, a crew member of an ill-fated expedition that began at Tampa Bay was taken hostage by natives because of cruel mis...

10/31/2025

Pleased to reveal the historical presentation video we put together for Don CeSar place. To be presented at a gala celebration in a few days!

The Don Cesar hotel and residential development turn 100 in 2025! This video explores some off-the-track history of the building of the Don Cesar, problems t...

10/27/2025

I'm very excited to have been tapped as the historian to tell the story of Don Ce-Sar Place on its 100th anniversary at a sold out event this weekend. I will present an 8-minute documentary video produced by my little biz, St. Pete Shorts, revealing many unknown facts about the hotel, development, and builder Thomas Rowe. The video will be released on social channels following the event!

I was also interviewed by our local Spectrum News channel outside the hotel about the celebration and history of the iconic hotel and development.

10/03/2025

Working on a retrospective video for a 100th year anniversary for the Don Ce-Sar Place, across from the hotel. Had some interviews to do this morning and took some drone footage. Thought I'd share this snap.

09/02/2025

St. Pete Shorts hit the beach to check out the Treasure Island Drum Circle. Get a taste of the unique weekly event.

The Treasure Island Drum Circle is an informal gathering of people every Sunday evening on Treasure Island Beach, Florida. Recently criticized by Treasure Is...

08/20/2025

St. Pete Shorts offers videography, digital storytelling, documentaries and histories, as well as other content services in and around Tampa Bay. We take on personal and commercial projects to tell stories beautifully. Capture a special moment, event, vacation, or create a commercial promotion with our help!

St. Pete Shorts provides videography work, editing, and digital storytelling for both personal and professional projects. This short video is a promotion we ...