Mark Gonzales — The Gonz, the Most Influential Skater in History

You can invent a trick. You can win a contest. But reinventing an entire discipline, that only happens once a century. Mark Gonzales didn’t just skate the streets — he decided the streets belonged to him.

⏱ Reading time: 5 min

Mark Gonzales

USA — California
Street
Krooked Skateboards
Born in 1968

Founder of Blind and Krooked. Named « most influential skater of all time » by Transworld Skateboarding in 2011. Artist, poet, living legend.

40+

years in career

10+

video parts

3

brands founded

The Kid from South Gate

South Gate, California, 1981. A 13-year-old kid of Irish and Mexican descent steps on a board for the first time. Nobody knows it yet, but this moment will fracture skateboarding history into two parts: before and after Mark Gonzales.

Three years later, at 16, he graced the cover of Thrasher Magazine — November 1984. At an age when most kids are still learning to ollie properly, Gonzales already displayed a style nobody could quite grasp. Too fluid for vert. Too inventive for freestyle. Too wild for the rules.

In 1985, he turned pro for Vision Skateboards. But Gonzales wasn’t just another ramp skater. He looked at the street and saw what nobody else did: an infinite playground.

Embarcadero 1986 — The Day Everything Changed

Summer 1986. San Francisco. Embarcadero Plaza. Gonzales stood before a gap between two concrete walls nobody had ever dared to attempt. He gained momentum, ollied — and landed on the other side. This jump would become the « Gonz Gap », a pilgrimage for an entire generation of street skaters.

That same year, with Natas Kaupas, he became the first skater to ride handrails. We remember the era when skateboarding lived exclusively in bowls and half-pipes. Gonzales took vert tricks, ripped them from the ramp, and put them on the asphalt. He didn’t improve street skating — he invented it.

Later, he would also be the first to ollie the legendary Wallenberg Set in San Francisco — a 19-foot gap, four blocks high. The kind of spot most pros just pass by without even thinking about it.

Video Days — The Tape That Rewrote the Rules

In 1989, Gonzales left Vision to co-found Blind Skateboards with Steve Rocco. Two years later, the bomb dropped: Video Days, filmed by a young, unknown director named Spike Jonze.

This 1991 VHS is unanimously considered the most important skateboarding video ever made. Gonzales skates everything in it — parking lots, streets, ditches, half-pipes, public plazas. Excerpts from Willy Wonka punctuate his part. It makes no sense. It’s brilliant.

The part ends with a frontside boardslide on a rail that will forever be etched in collective memory. Video Days launched the careers of Guy Mariano, Jason Lee, and Rudy Johnson. But it’s Gonzales who sets the tone — free, unpredictable, artistic.

The Artist Behind the Skater

What separates The Gonz from everyone else is that he was never just a skater. Poet, painter, sculptor — his works are exhibited in galleries worldwide. For Gonzales, skateboarding and art aren’t two separate activities. It’s the same creative impulse.

In 2002, he launched Krooked Skateboards with Deluxe Distribution. Krooked boards, instantly recognizable with their naive and colorful graphics, have become collector’s items. Each board tells a story — a scribbled drawing, a handwritten poem, an absurd message.

His partnership with Adidas has lasted for years. In 2025, the special edition Aloha Super signed by Gonzales reminded the world that The Gonz remains an intact cultural force. His collaborations with Independent Trucks and Supreme continue to fuel this unique aura — halfway between underground skateboarding and contemporary art.

The Gonz’s Legacy

In December 2011, Transworld Skateboarding named him « most influential skater of all time. » The following year, he entered the Skateboarding Hall of Fame. These titles only confirm what the community already knew since the 80s.

Mark Gonzales proved you could be a legendary skater, a respected artist, and a visionary entrepreneur — without ever compromising your authenticity. At 57, he continues to skate, paint, and push boundaries. The Gonz hasn’t retired. The Gonz will never retire.

To discover another architect of modern street, check out the portrait of Rodney Mullen, the godfather of street skating.