Mark Gonzales

2.1. Pioneering and Innovation

Gonzales played a foundational role in the development of modern street skateboarding, a discipline that emerged from his innovative approach to adapting existing tricks. He began taking freestyle and vert tricks and employing them in a street context, a pioneering development that led him to be credited as one of the inventors of street skateboarding. Notably, Gonzales and Natas Kaupas are recognized for performing the first known boardslides on a handrail. His early prominence was underscored when he was featured on the cover of Thrasher magazine's November 1984 issue, showcasing him performing a "beanplant" trick while riding a board from his then-sponsor, the Alva company.

2.2. Team and Company Affiliations

Following his Thrasher magazine cover, Gonzales joined the Vision skateboard team. He competed in his first professional contest in May 1985, participating in the 'Sacto Streetstyle Contest' held in Sacramento, California. Shortly after turning professional, Gonzales achieved a significant victory by winning the 1985 NSA Sure-Grip Beach Style contest, which took place near the pier in Oceanside, California.

In 1989, Gonzales departed from Vision and co-founded Blind Skateboards with Steve Rocco. The name "Blind" was deliberately chosen as a subtle jab at his former employer, Vision. At Blind, Gonzales continued to profoundly influence the progression of street skateboarding, most notably through the 1991 Blind Skateboards video Video Days. Directed by Spike Jonze, Video Days is frequently cited as one of the most important skate videos ever produced. The video starred Gonzales alongside Rudy Johnson, Jason Lee, Guy Mariano, and Jordan Richter, and is widely regarded for paving the way for modern street skateboarding. While at Blind, Gonzales also designed the original Blind Skateboards logo, which remains in use today. He eventually left Blind in 1993, experiencing frustrations similar to those he had encountered during his time with Vision.

After leaving Blind, Gonzales founded another company called ATM Click. Subsequently, he ventured into a new project with Ron Chatman, establishing 60/40, a company that sponsored future Menace skaters such as Fabian Alomar and Joey Suriel. In 1993, Gonzales generated some controversy when he repurposed a Vision design from one of his signature model boards for an ATM Click design. He later continued to use this graphic for his signature skateboard models under Real Skateboards and Krooked Skateboards following his move to Deluxe Distribution.

Under the Deluxe Distribution company, Gonzales skated for Real Skateboards and made appearances in three of the company's videos: Kicked Out of Everywhere, Non Fiction, and Real to Reel. In 2002, Gonzales further cemented his relationship with Deluxe by launching Krooked Skateboards in partnership with the company. As of February 2016, Krooked Skateboards remains operational and has released four full-length videos.

In 2007, Gonzales expanded his presence into the world of video games, appearing in the skateboarding video game EA Skate. He also filmed a commercial to promote the game's release, further solidifying his status in mainstream media.

2.3. Sponsorships

Throughout his career, Mark Gonzales has secured significant sponsorship deals with prominent brands within and beyond the skateboarding industry. As of 2013, his sponsors included adidas, Krooked, Spitfire, Independent, and Supreme. In 2016, Gonzales further diversified his endorsements by joining the Pro-Tec skate team, a well-known brand specializing in protective gear.

2.4. Influence and Recognition

Mark Gonzales's influence on skateboarding culture and techniques is profound and long-lasting. In the summer of 1986, Gonzales performed an ollie from one wall down to another platform at Embarcadero Plaza in San Francisco, United States. This obstacle has been known as the "Gonz Gap" ever since his successful completion of the trick, and his feat also played a role in popularizing The Embarcadero as a prime location for skateboarding. Later that same year, Gonzales, alongside fellow progressive street skater Natas Kaupas, became one of the first individuals to successfully skate handrails. Gonzales also holds the distinction of being the first person to ollie the Wallenberg Set, a challenging four-block gap in San Francisco, California, US, measuring approximately 19 ft long and 4 ft tall.

Reflecting on the early era of street skateboarding, professional skateboarder Mike Vallely stated in a 2007 interview that "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."

Gonzales has received significant recognition for his contributions to skateboarding. In 2006, he was awarded the Legend Award by Transworld Skateboarding magazine. The magazine further solidified his legendary status in December 2011, when they selected him as the "Most Influential Skateboarder of All Time," placing him ahead of iconic figures like Tony Hawk (who ranked second) and Rodney Mullen (who ranked third).

3.1. Art Exhibitions and Works

Gonzales is an acclaimed and internationally exhibited artist, whose works have been displayed in numerous galleries and museums worldwide. His exhibitions include showings at Gallery Target in Tokyo, Japan; Chandran Gallery in San Francisco, United States; Janet Borden Gallery in New York City, United States; and the Stadtisches Museum in Abteiberg, Germany. He is currently represented by Parrasch Heijnen Gallery in Los Angeles.

Emma Reeves, a London-based art curator, observed in an introduction she penned for Interview magazine that Gonzales "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." Gonzales himself has expressed a particular fondness for creating zines, describing it as "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."

3.2. Literary Works and Zines

Mark Gonzales has cultivated an extensive body of literary work, primarily through his self-published zines and several published poetry collections. He has created over 145 zines, though the exact number remains unknown. Some of his notable zine titles include Non Stop Poetry: The Zines of Mark Gonzales, Dream Wheels Poems, We Know You Suck (a split zine co-created with Santa West), and Going to Love You (published by Nieves). In 2008, Drag City released The Collected Fanzines, a book consisting of reproductions of his earlier zines that he created in collaboration with director Harmony Korine.

In addition to his zines, Gonzales is a published poet and author. His published works include the books Social Problems, High Tech Poetry, Broken Dreams, and Broken Poems. Gonzales has stated that he is constantly engaged in the process of writing poetry, indicating a continuous flow of creative output in the literary field.

3.3. Collaborations and Design Works

Gonzales is also recognized for his significant collaborations with various brands and his involvement in diverse design projects. A prominent long-term collaborator is Supreme. In 2011, Gonzales designed and painted the London Flagship Supreme Store. His relationship with the brand dates back to its early years when he would send letters to the New York store, humorously addressed as "Supream." This foundational connection led to numerous collaborations between Gonzales and Supreme, with their most recent joint efforts appearing in the Spring/Summer 2021 collection. Gonzales has designed sculptures and paintings for Supreme's retail locations across the globe, including stores in New York City (Manhattan), San Francisco, London, Paris, Tokyo (Shibuya), Nagoya, and Osaka.

Beyond his work with Supreme, Gonzales has also contributed to the music industry through his appearances and creative direction in music videos. He was featured in the music video for the song "West Coast" by Jason Schwartzman's band, Coconut Records. The video incorporated a sequence originally filmed in 1998 at the Stadtisches Museum, which was edited for the music video with Gonzales's permission. Gonzales also directed and appeared in another Coconut Records music video, "Any Fun," alongside actress Chloë Sevigny and skateboarder Alex Olson.

5.1. Film Appearances

Gonzales has appeared in a selection of films, contributing to both narrative and documentary works:

• How They Get There (1992)
• Gummo (1997) - in which he appears in a scene wrestling a chair.
• Southlander (2003) - where he plays Vince, a close friend of the main character.
• Beautiful Losers (2008) - a documentary film exploring contemporary art and street culture, released on August 2, 2008.

5.2. Skateboarding Videography

Mark Gonzales has been featured in a comprehensive list of skateboarding videos throughout his career, highlighting his performances and pivotal role in the sport's visual history:

• 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)
• Thrasher: The Truth Hurts (1993)
• Supreme: A Love Supreme (1995)
• Deluxe: Jim's Ramp Jam (1996)
• Real: Non-Fiction (1997)
• Deluxe: World Wide Distribution (1999)
• Real: Kicked Out of Everywhere (1999)
• Real: Real To Reel (2001)
• 411VM: Vancouver 2002 (2002)
• Streets: San Francisco (2003)
• Closure (2003)
• Thrasher: Rocket Science (2004)
• ON Video: Winter 2004 (2004)
• Fourstar: Super Champion Funzone (2005)
• Fourstar: Catalog Shoot (2005)
• Get Familiar (2006)
• McBeth - Mark Gonzales - The Journal (2006)
• Krooked: Kronichles (2006)
• Krooked: Gnar Gnar (2007) - a production filmed with an old VHS camcorder, with its release limited to 1,000 VHS copies.
• 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)
• Transworld: The Cinematographer Project (2012)
• Supreme (brand): Cherry (2014)
• Adidas : "Away Days" (2016)

Gonzales also featured in the 29th part of the web series 7 Day Weekend, produced by professional skateboarder Dustin Dollin. In this episode, the pair skateboard, drink beer, and converse while in France.