To anyone who knows anything about skateboarding Mark Gonzales needs no introduction. To those who don't know, The Gonz is a legend, a fearless and anarchic exponent of a style of street skateboarding probably best described as insane.
Weekend with the Gonz from the Fourstar Super Champion Funzone extras.
The most influential skater in the history of skateboarding hands down is Mark Gonzales. If you disagree with that then you’re wrong. You can pinpoint Mark back to everything, and know that Mark did it first. A, he did it first; and B, he did it like Mark, which is a really psychotic combo. He did it the best. Everything after was not the same. Everything was so all over the place. Look at Mark’s feet on his frontside ollies—nobody’s got that. It’s like his heels are one the board. It’s just the fucking greatest thing ever. -Jason Dill
For Gonzales, the limits of possibility simply do not exist. And that’s probably why he’s inspired generation after generation with his skating. Our conversation about learning tricks reminds me about his recent documented attempts at kickflipping on a bike — an act that is seemingly impossible. But is it? “I think I can make it. I haven’t gotten very close at all. Mentally I’ve always been real close but physically I’ve always been real far away from it. The reason I think I’m getting close is some of my friends think I’ve totally lost it. So that’s why I think I’ll be close to making it soon. It’s always when you’re super laughed at, that’s when it’s gonna happen. It’s always when someone thinks, ‘What an idiot,’ that’s when you’re gonna pull it.”
10. Every year during its annual sales convention, Adidas invites its star athletes to meet and greet the public and stockholders. One year the shoe giant invited The Gonz and as he was introduced, he skated out on stage with tennis star Martina Hingis on his shoulders. The big wigs at Adidas went berserk. Recalls Lance Mountain, “Adidas was freaking out like, ‘What is he doing? He’s gonna drop our trophy.’”