Mark Gonzales

I just came across this new interview Adidas did with the one and only Mark Gonzales, and it has inspired me to put up a sort of tribute to the man. It goes without saying that if you grew up with any sort of exposure to skateboarding you know who this guy is, he contributed more to the art of street skating in his career than virtually anyone else, and in a sport where careers can be short lived, has been doing it consistently longer than virtually anyone else. Simultaneously the man has held down a very successful art career, having reportedly sold works to Donald Trump and Puff Daddy, which is incredibly weird to me but the New York Times says it's true.

What has made his footage over the years great in my mind is the fact that it seems that Mark is above all concerned with having fun, watching the most technical skateboarding in the world may be interesting, but for most of us fun is much easier to relate to.

Last summer I ran into him in New York and had the chance to talk to him for a while, when I asked him what he was up to, he nonchalantly replied "I'm going to skate out to Queens". Well, the conversation took place in Soho, and for those of you who don't happen to be familiar with New York, that is a very, very long skateboard ride. From that point forward every time I've felt too tired to do something I've just imagined the Gonz pushing himself across the Queensboro Bridge. Also, the man is on a mission to kickflip a bicycle, so get ready for that, because if anyone can do it, it's this guy.