TAMPA, Fla. — A short documentary about a moving company racing to answer a last-minute call to action from the city of Tampa to help pick up storm debris, before Hurricane Milton hit the area last October, premiered on Monday at the Tampa Theater.
“We wanted to showcase and spotlight the resiliency and the grit of the Tampa community,” said Nick Friedman, College HUNKS Hauling Junk and Moving co-founder. “We're telling the story of how not one, but two unprecedented hurricanes that impacted.”
The film is titled "HUNKS vs. The Hurricanes."
Last September, after Hurricane Helene’s storm surge flooded tens of thousands of properties in the Bay area, there were piles of debris left. Less than two weeks later, as Hurricane Milton was barreling towards the area, city leaders worried the debris would turn into projectiles and missiles.
That’s when College HUNKS got a call from Tampa Mayor Jane Castor to help pick up the debris as quickly as possible, according to Friedman.
“To get the call from the mayor, it was humbling and an honor,” he said. “She saw our trucks realized, ‘Hey, that’s trucks and labor hauling junk.’ So we sprang into action and we helped primarily in the South Tampa area.”
Friedman said some of his employees, like Mario Martinez, were helping out even though their homes were damaged by the storm.
“I knew that more than likely my place wasn’t going to make it,” said Martinez. “But there was stuff we had to do… I really feel like I made a difference in my community.”
Castor said enough debris was collected by the city and private haulers in the end to completely fill the beer can building in downtown four times over. For their storm efforts, the College HUNKS owners were honored by Castor with a key to the city.
“We’re not first responders,” said Friedman. “So the fact that Mayor Castro recognized us as a local business who could help and lend a hand, it just meant the world.”
The premier for “HUNKS vs. The Hurricanes” at the Tampa Theater was a private event. On Tuesday, everyone will have a chance to watch the short documentary when it airs at 7 p.m. as a donation on the Tampa Bay Community Network, channel 639 on Spectrum. It’ll air again on Friday at noon on Spectrum 638.