Mark Gonzales

Mark Gonzales (born June 1, 1968), also known as "Gonz" and "The Gonz", is an American professional skateboarder and artist. He is known in the skateboarding world as a top pioneer of modern street skateboarding and was named by the Transworld Skateboarding magazine as the "Most Influential Skateboarder of all Time" in December 2011.

Early life

Gonzales was born and raised in South Gate, California, United States and is of Mexican descent.

Professional skateboarding

Gonzales entered the skateboarding scene at the age of thirteen in South Gate, California, U.S. Then, at the age of fifteen, Gonzales adopted a more modern approach to skateboarding in a street context (subsequently dubbed "street skateboarding"). 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".

Vision to ATM Click

Shortly after his Thrasher magazine cover, Gonzales then joined the Vision skateboard team and attained the status of a professional skateboarder. Gonzales won the 1985 Oceanside street contest while sponsored by Vision.