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Mark Gonzales

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Not to be confused with Mark González.

Mark Gonzales (born June 1, 1968), also known as "Gonz", "the Gonz" and "the Godfather", is an American professional skateboarder and artist.[1] A pioneer in the development of modern street skating, he is considered one of the first street-style skateboarders alongside Natas Kaupas. Gonzales and Kaupas are also credited with the first known boardslides on a handrail.[2] Gonzales' pioneering influence on skateboarding has caused him to be known as the "God Father" of modern street skateboarding,[3] and he was named the "Most Influential Skateboarder of All Time" by Transworld Skateboarding magazine in December 2011. Gonzales was placed ahead of Tony Hawk (2nd) and Rodney Mullen (3rd)[4]

Mark Gonzales
Mark Gonzales by Skin Phillips
Personal information
Born (1968-06-01) June 1, 1968 (age 56)
South Gate, California, United States
Occupation(s)Skateboarder, artist, company owner

Early life

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Gonzales was born and raised in South Gate, California, United States,[5] and is of Irish and Mexican descent.[6][7]

Professional skateboarding

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Gonzales entered the skateboarding scene at the age of thirteen in South Gate, California, U.S. At the age of fifteen, Gonzales would come in to contact with Tommy Guerrero and Natas Kaupas who were developing their own styles of progressive street skating. Gonzales began pioneering a modern, innovative approach to skateboarding in a street context (subsequently dubbed "street skateboarding") His street skating actives included taking freestyle and vert tricks and employing them in a street context, developments which would end up causing Gonzales to be credited as one of the inventors of street skateboarding.[8][9][10] He was featured on the cover of Thrasher magazine's November 1984 issue riding a board from the Alva company, his board sponsor at the time, while performing a trick known as a "beanplant".[11]

Vision, Blind and ATM Click

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Shortly after his Thrasher magazine cover, Gonzales then joined the Vision skateboard team and entered his first contest as a professional in May 1985 at the 'Sacto Streetstyle Contest' held in Sacramento, California.[12][13][14] Soon after turning pro, Gonzalez won the 1985 NSA Sure-Grip Beach Style contest held adjacent to the pier in Oceanside, California.[15]

 
Blind Logo designed by Mark Gonzales

In 1989, Gonzales left Vision and co-founded Blind Skateboards with Steve Rocco. The company name was chosen as a slight on his former employer, Vision.[16] Gonzales proceeded to further influence the progression of street skateboarding with the 1991 Blind Skateboards video Video Days[17][18] Directed by Spike Jones, Video Days is often credited as the most important skate video of all time.[19] Starring Gonzales alongside Rudy Johnson, Jason Lee, Guy Mariano and Jordan Richter, Video Days paved the way for modern street skateboarding. Whilst at Blind Gonzales also designed the original Blind Skateboards logo which is still used today.[16] Gonzales would leave Blind in 1993, after experiencing frustrations that were similar to his time with Vision.

Gonzales then started another company called ATM Click and followed it with a venture with Ron Chatman called 60/40 who sponsored future Menace skaters Fabian Alomar and Joey Suriel.[18] In 1993, Gonzales created controversy after he appropriated a Vision design that was used for one of his signature model boards for an ATM Click design; Gonzales then proceeded to also use the graphic for Real and Krooked signature skateboard models following his move to Deluxe Distribution.[20]

Deluxe Distribution

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Under the Deluxe Distribution company, Gonzales skated for Real Skateboards and appeared in three of the company's videos: Kicked Out of Everywhere, Non Fiction, and Real to Reel.[21] In 2002, Gonzales then launched Krooked Skateboards in partnership with the Deluxe company[22] and, as of February 2016, Krooked is an operational company that has released four full-length videos.[23]

In 2007, Gonzales appeared in the skateboarding video game EA Skate[24] and filmed a commercial to promote the game's release.[25]

Sponsorship

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As of 2013, Gonzales was sponsored by adidas,[5] Krooked,[26] Spitfire,[27] Independent,[28] and Supreme. In 2016, Gonzales joined the Pro-Tec skate team.[29]

Influence

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In the summer of 1986 Gonzales performed an ollie from one wall down to another platform at Embarcadero Plaza in San Francisco, U.S. and the obstacle had been known as the "Gonz Gap" since his completion of the trick;[30][31] the trick also helped to popularize The Embarcadero as a location for skateboarding.[12] Later that year, Gonzales - along with fellow progressive street skater Natas Kaupas - was the first person to skate handrails.[32] Gonzales was also the first person to ollie the Wallenberg Set, a four-block, nineteen feet-long, four feet-tall gap in San Francisco, California, US.[33][34][35]

In reference to the early era of street skateboarding, professional skateboarder Mike Vallely stated in a 2007 interview: "At the time, the best street skaters in the world were Mark Gonzales, Jesse Martinez, Tommy Guerrero, who all three were Mexican kids, and Natas Kaupas, who was a Lithuanian dude that lived at the beach in Santa Monica."[6] In an interview for the Adidas website, Gonzales explained in reply to a question about his influence with the Blind company, "I wanted to work with my big brother doing construction—at the time I felt old, but had a young chick."[5]

In 2006 Gonzales was awarded the Legend Award by Transworld Skateboarding,[36][37] and the magazine selected him as the most influential skateboarder of all time (followed by Tony Hawk and Rodney Mullen) in December 2011.[4]

Art and writing

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Mark Gonzales is an acclaimed and internationally exhibited artist. Having previously exhibited at many different galleries including; Gallery Target in Tokyo, Japan. Chandran Gallery, San Francisco, USA. Janet Borden gallery, New York, USA and the Stadtisches Museum, Abteiberg, Germany. He is currently represented by Parrasch Heijnen Galley In Los Angeles.[38]

London-based art curator Emma Reeves has explained in an introduction that she wrote for Interview magazine: "He makes art all the time, and he has been making art in some form or another for almost as long as he has been skateboarding." In the same article Gonzales goes on to reveal that he likes creating "zines" the most, as "it is the most free thing to do. I can write anything and just put it in a zine, and then it’s out there. It is like blogging but on paper.".[1] In 2008, Drag City released a book called The Collected Fanzines that consists of reproductions of old zines that he created together with director Harmony Korine.[39]

Gonzales was featured in the music video for the song "West Coast" by Jason Schwartzman's band, Coconut Records;[40] the music video featured a sequence that was originally filmed in 1998 at the Stadtisches Museum, but was edited for the purpose of the music video with Gonzales' permission. Gonzales also directed and appears in the Coconut Records music video "Any Fun", alongside actress Chloë Sevigny and skateboarder Alex Olson.[41]

Gonzales is also a published poet and author. His published body of work includes Social Problems,[42] High Tech Poetry, [43] Broken Dreams, and Broken Poems.[44] Gonzales has revealed that he is constantly writing poetry.[5]

In 2011, Gonzales designed and painted the London Flagship Supreme Store. Gonzales would send letters to the New York store entitled “Supream” during the early years of the brand. This led to many collaborations with Gonzales and Supreme, with the latest being in the S/S21 collection.[45][46] Gonzales has designed sculptures and paintings for Supreme's retail locations in New York (Manhattan), San Francisco, London, Paris, Tokyo (Shibuya), Nagoya, and Osaka.[47]

Personal life

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As of 2024, Gonzales resides in Paris and New York City, with his wife, Tia, and their two children.[5]

Filmography

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The following is a list of films in which Gonzales appears:

Videography

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  • Sure -Grip Beach Style (1985)
  • NSA 86' Vol. 4 (1986)
  • Mondo Vision (1987)
  • Thrasher: Savannah Slamma (1987)
  • Psycho Skate (1987)
  • Ohio Skateout (1988)
  • All Pro Mini Ramp Jam Hawaiian Style (1989)
  • Blind: Video Days (1991)[51]
  • Thrasher: The Truth Hurts (1993)
  • Supreme: A Love Supreme (1995)
  • Deluxe: Jim's Ramp Jam (1996)
  • Real: Non-Fiction (1997)[52]
  • Deluxe: World Wide Distribution (1999)
  • Real: Kicked Out of Everywhere (1999)[53]
  • Real: Real To Reel (2001)[54]
  • 411VM: Vancouver 2002 (2002)
  • Streets: San Francisco (2003)
  • Closure (2003)
  • Thrasher: Rocket Science (2004)
  • ON Video: Winter 2004 (2004)
  • Fourstar: Super Champion Funzone (2005)[55]
  • Fourstar: Catalog Shoot (2005)
  • Get Familiar (2006)[56]
  • McBeth - Mark Gonzales - The Journal (2006)
  • Krooked: Kronichles (2006)
  • Krooked: Gnar Gnar – the production was shot with an old VHS camcorder and was limited to 1000 VHS copies (2007)[57]
  • Adidas: A Five Day Excursion To Paris (2008)
  • Krooked: Naughty (2008)
  • Adidas: Diagonal (2009)
  • Fourstar: Gang of Fourstar (2009)
  • Krooked: Krook3D (2010)
  • Poweredge: We Are Skateboarders (2012)[58]
  • Transworld: The Cinematographer Project (2012)[21]
  • Supreme (brand): Cherry (2014)
  • Adidas : "Away Days" (2016)

Gonzales also appeared in the 29th part of the web series 7 Day Weekend, produced by professional skateboarder Dustin Dollin—in the episode the pair skateboard, drink beer and converse while in France.[59]

References

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  1. ^ a b Emma Reeves (March 2013). "Gonzo for Mark Gonzales". Interview Magazine. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
  2. ^ https://www.redbull.com/gb-en/history-of-skateboarding [bare URL]
  3. ^ "First & Last: Mark Gonzales". July 22, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Blair Alley (December 20, 2011). "THE 30 MOST INFLUENTIAL SKATERS OF ALL TIME". Transworld Skateboarding. Bonnier Corporation. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Team – Mark Gonzales". adidas. March 2013. Archived from the original on March 20, 2013. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
  6. ^ a b Jim Murphy; Luke Ogden; Marc Falkenstein (April 1, 2007). "MIKE VALLELY". Juice (skateboarding magazine). Juice Enterprises, Inc. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
  7. ^ "CONROYCHRONICLES".
  8. ^ "Mark Gonzales". September 7, 2016.
  9. ^ Mortimer, Sean (April 30, 2008). Stalefish: Skateboard Culture from the Rejects Who Made It. Chronicle Books. ISBN 9780811860420.
  10. ^ "Pioneers: The Mark Gonzales Ride - ESPN Video". Archived from the original on March 6, 2020.
  11. ^ "November 1984". Thrasher Magazine. High Speed Productions, Inc. 2013. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
  12. ^ a b Kevin Craft (October 12, 2005). "16 THINGS: GONZ". Skateboarder. GrindMedia, LLC. Archived from the original on September 13, 2012. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
  13. ^ Shatto, Chris (July 1985). "Mark Gonzalez Interview with CS. Ripper". EDO Mag – via Internet Archive.
  14. ^ Hamm, Keith (October 15, 2011). "Birth of Street? Sacto Street Style '85". X Games. Archived from the original on January 3, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  15. ^ "NSA Sure-Grip Beach Style 1985 Results and Footage". Brettstedet. September 25, 2004. Archived from the original on January 3, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  16. ^ a b "Mark Gonzales: 40 facts about the influential skateboarder".
  17. ^ Chris (2013). "Blind 'Video Days' | skate video". Trashfilter. Archived from the original on January 14, 2011. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
  18. ^ a b "Blind Skateboards". Skately. Skately LLC. 2013. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
  19. ^ "50 Best Skateboard Videos of All Time".
  20. ^ "roots: the first vision mark gonzales graphic by andy takakjian". disposable: random essays on skateboard art. January 31, 2010. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
  21. ^ a b "Mark Gonzales skate videos". Skatevideosite.com. 2005–2013. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
  22. ^ "Krooked". Skately. Skately LLC. 2013. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
  23. ^ "Krooked Skateboards skate videos". Skatevideosite.com. 2005–2013. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
  24. ^ "Profiles". skate. Electronic Arts, Inc. 2010. Archived from the original on January 22, 2013.
  25. ^ EASkateTV (April 17, 2011). "Mark Gonzales "The Gonz"". YouTube. Google, Inc. Retrieved September 16, 2012.[dead YouTube link]
  26. ^ krooked skateboards (March 2013). "About". krooked on Facebook. Facebook. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
  27. ^ "Spitfire Skateboards". Warehouse Skateboards. Warehouse Skateboards, Inc. March 2013. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
  28. ^ "Mark Gonzales: Independent Truck Company Pro Skate Team". Grind TV. GrindMedia, LLC and Yahoo! Sports Network. March 14, 2007. Archived from the original (Video upload) on October 12, 2013. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
  29. ^ "Mark Gonzales joins the Pro-Tec skate team | Adventure Sports Network". Adventure Sports Network. November 16, 2016. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  30. ^ Thrasher, September 1986.
  31. ^ RIDE Channel (March 6, 2013). "Jamie Thomas Gets Karate Chopped, Ollies The Gonz Gap Daily, and More ..." (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
  32. ^ "Mark Gonzales". Giant Bomb. CBS Interactive Inc. 2013. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
  33. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Ask The Phelper - The Gonz". YouTube. January 5, 2010.
  34. ^ "Mark Gonzales: Why Skateboarders 'Don't Give a F--k'". Rolling Stone. June 21, 2016.
  35. ^ "Mark Gonzales - Unrecorded Hearsay & Half-Forgotten Conversations". www.huckmagazine.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2014.
  36. ^ Transworld (April 21, 2006). "8TH ANNUAL TRANSWORLD SKATEBOARDING AWARDS NOMINEES ANNOUNCED". Transworld Skateboarding. Bonnier Corporation. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
  37. ^ airn720 (January 24, 2007). "TWS Legend Award Mark Gonzales" (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  38. ^ "Mark Gonzales".
  39. ^ "The Collected Fanzines". Powell' City of Books. Powells.com. 1994–2012. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
  40. ^ audiobee (April 17, 2007). "Coconut Records "West Coast"". YouTube. Google, Inc. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
  41. ^ youngbabyrecords (July 6, 2009). "Any Fun - Coconut Records". YouTube. Google, Inc. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
  42. ^ 林文浩 (May 26, 1998). SOCIAL PROBLEM: MARK GONZALES. Little More. ISBN 978-4-947648-71-6.
  43. ^ Gonzales, Mark (2002). High Tech Poetry. Contingency Pub. ISBN 978-1-881390-31-2.
  44. ^ Gonzales, Mark (1998). Broken Poems.: Stories, Poetry and Drawings. Erzählungen, Gedichte und Zeichnungen (in German). Tropen. ISBN 978-3-932170-17-1.
  45. ^ "Items Overview fall/winter 2019 - Supreme Community". Supremecommunity.com. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  46. ^ "Gonz Logo Beanie - Orange - Shop - Supreme". www.supremenewyork.com. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  47. ^ "Supreme stores".
  48. ^ Aidan Ralph (film directed by Spike Jonze) (February 12, 2007). "How They Get There - A Short Film With Mark Gonzales". YouTube. Google, Inc. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
  49. ^ joeyfurocious (December 21, 2009). "Mark Gonzales in Gummo". YouTube. Google, Inc. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
  50. ^ yohey01 (January 14, 2007). "beautiful losers". YouTube. Google, Inc. Retrieved September 1, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)[dead YouTube link]
  51. ^ Don1970 (July 23, 2008). "Mark Gonzales "Video Days" Blind (1991)" (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Retrieved March 15, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)[dead YouTube link]
  52. ^ lelandgtaylor (February 11, 2008). "mark gonzales - non fiction street part" (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
  53. ^ skaidernation (November 6, 2009). "Mark Gonzales - Real Kicked Out Of Everywhere" (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Retrieved March 15, 2013.[dead YouTube link]
  54. ^ skaidernation (November 3, 2009). "Mark Gonzales - Real Skateboards Real To Reel '01" (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Retrieved March 15, 2013.[dead YouTube link]
  55. ^ bicyclekickflip (December 16, 2010). "Mark Gonzales Super Champion Funzone" (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
  56. ^ Zynkero (February 13, 2010). "Mark Gonzales - 'Get Familiar'" (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
  57. ^ chompy (April 2, 2007). "Gnar Gnar – Krooked – 2007". Skate and Annoy. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
  58. ^ calikristos (April 6, 2010). "Mark Gonzales WE ARE SKATEBOARDERS Teaser" (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
  59. ^ pissdrunx4ever (September 10, 2011). "Dustin Dollin's 7 Day Weekend Prt 29 (Mark Gonzalez)" (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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