Photo by Jonathan Mehring
You’d think that by targeting someone in a younger demographic for one of these — Sean’s is probably the youngest person to do one — we’d steer selections away from the more recurring choices. Then you realize there’s a reason certain things are classics, yaknow? There’s always gonna be some thirteen-year-old who is just discovering the Rolling Stones, just as Gino’s nollie back heel off the three is never not going to be #relevant to anybody who enjoys the act of skateboarding ;)
Mark Gonzales — Blind: Video Days (1991)
I didn’t catch onto Gonz until I was a bit older. I didn’t watch old videos when I was growing up; I’d just watch whatever videos were coming out. The classic stuff came later. Someone would tell me about the Gonz or other skaters like that and I’d look them up.
The first time I saw this part, I must’ve been confused: “He’s not doing that hard tricks, I don’t really get it.” As you mature as a skater, those older parts resonate with you. You re-watch a lot of that stuff and realize why everyone still talks about it. It looks sicker than what a lot of people are doing now, even though it all happened over twenty years ago. Now, that’s the sort of shit that makes me the most psyched to skate. You have a moment with it, like “that’s why people respect Mark more than anyone.” His style is something people talk about for a reason.
Ethan Fowler — Stereo: A Visual Sound (1994)
He has the sickest style of all time. I was actually flow for Stereo for a bit when I was a little kid. The first time I started going out to New York and meeting a lot of the people I know now was when I was riding for them. One of the dudes at Stereo told me to watch the old videos: “These are history bro.” It’s the same thing with Video Days, where you start to “get it” when you’re a bit older. A Visual Sound is a skate video, but there are a lot of other aspects to it. There’s nothing else that looks or sounds like it.
I also feel like he did the whole cut-off Dickies and white collared shirts look before it became a thing for anyone else to do.
Brian Anderson — Toy Machine: Welcome to Hell (1996)
I couldn’t decide between this and Templeton’s part. They’re both favorites, but something about B.A. is insane to me. He looks so different on a skateboard. He’s literally the nicest human ever, but on a board he looks so giant, crazy and scary. He has like a BIC’d head, charging at everything and popping tricks so high. I also like that he cruises for a lot of the part. He’ll ollie up curbs, cruise down sidewalks, but then in the next clip, he’ll be front blunting down a hubba looking insane.
I never owned a lot of these videos. I had A Visual Sound on the re-released DVD, but I had to watch it on my computer. Actual VHS tapes look so sick. They’d have colored cassettes and cool covers — I wish I had some of them. Watching a DVD on your computer is kinda not the same.
Van Wastell — Krooked: Gnar Gnar (2006)
He skates unlike anybody. He didn’t give a fuck about how he was dressed or doing the right tricks. His natural style is crazy good. He just looks perfect. There’s nothing forced to it; he doesn’t add anything to how he naturally skates. That video is just so raw and I love the New Order song he skates to.
Jason Dill — Alien Workshop: Mind Field (2009)
When I was growing up and starting to phase out of only skating stairs —you know how every kid has that phase where all they want to do is jump down shit — it was around the time Mind Field came out. Dill’s part in that video stuck out to me a lot. It influenced the way I started to skate from there on. He had a different look and style than what was going on at the time. He himself would admit that it’s not a favorite part of his. He told me before that he thinks it’s not long enough, but I think it’s one of his best, and it resonated with me a lot.
Previously: Wade Desarmo, Chris Milic, Chad Muska, Hjalte Halberg, Danny Brady, Bill Strobeck, Aaron Herrington, Jerry Hsu, Brad Cromer, Brandon Westgate, Jim Greco, Jake Johnson, Scott Johnston, Josh Stewart, Eric Koston, Karl Watson, Josh Friedberg, John Cardiel, Pontus Alv, Alex Olson, Jahmal Williams
i’m assuming your around my age (29). we didn’t have youtube as kids so you kind of couldn’t watch classic parts. people thought video days was pretty much lost from when it came out until the early 2000’s.
oh nevermind i thought the writer of qs wrote the intro. neeeevermind.
Psyched to see Van + Stereo Ethan get some love – his taste is chillingly aligned with my own. Then again, I am only shoes.
BA FA
Is the gonz white?
love the kid. weird he’s not bringing any of that pseudo-intellectual ‘flavor’ like he used to on his tumbler. he use to give me mar c suciu dead poets society vibes.
also everyone digs video days
@Amen
I think I read somewhere that the gonz is jewish. Can’t remember where tho.
The Gonz is mexican and jewish.
THE GONZ IS A CERTIFIABLE RABI. THIS IS NOT A JOKE. CERTAINLY NOT A JEWISH JOKE. THAT P.L.O. STEEZ. NAH MEEN???
The Gonz is beyond any race – he’s his own thing.
I endorse this article’s headline photo
Gonz being a mexican jew makes me one proud mexican jew
I still have the blind video on vhs,,I few years back I put it in and airtight glass box to preserve it properly
Gone isn’t Jewish. He’s Mexican, Irish, and German according to his bio in his book Broken Poems.
I don’t know why he wore the Israel flag shirt, or why that shirt is synonymous with him (in Gummo etc.). Video Days mentioned war numerous times, which maybe plays a factor. I would hope that Gonz (as well as Sage Elsesser, Frank Gerwer, and others who’ve worn an Israel flag shirt) is cognizant of and sympathetic toward the ongoing strife that Palestinians suffer every day. If not, then skateboarding is a lot sadder to me.
Name ^^^ don’t get political.
You probably saw the same stuff I saw then you went to Israel – oh wait I guarantee you never have.
Also, Gonz being different nationalities, e.g. Mexican, Irish, German, has 0% relevancy as to what religion he could be.
I hope skateboarding is sadder to you
Rocksteady ^^^^ ,
1. why not get political ? the “ongoing strife that Palestinians suffer every day” that Name mentions is real and something that we should all be conscious of and care about, whether or not we skateboard, but particularly if we are people in the spotlight (e.g. Gonz, Sage, Gerwer, etc) who can exert significant influence and actually maybe change public opinion
2. you’re right, Gonz’s nationalities have nothing to do with his religion, but Name never said they did. he simply stated that he wasn’t jewish, and then went on to list his nationalities without drawing any causal connection between them
3. what stuff did you see when you went to Israel? the illegal settlements in the West Bank? the illegal separation wall? the illegal demolitions of Palestinians’ homes? the continuous siege and sanctions imposed on Gaza? etc? or did you just see the pretty beach, new housing developments, shopping centers, highways, etc in tel aviv on the nice little trip of swirling propaganda that Birthright laid out for you? yes, both sides are guilty of violence, but be careful about what medicine you swallow. Israel and the U.S. are military occupiers and the leading threats to world peace, not Palestine
4. why hope that anything is sadder for anyone, homie?
yo i was just joking lol.
That is actually SP’s dad who gets fake-smart on tumblr. We beefed, it was sick.
Congrats boys, you got a tweet for that one
Gonz is actually half Hasid. His mother’s maiden name is Yael Baumbach.
The maternal side of his family has got deep roots in the LA South Africa diamond game
His brother Mordecai Gonzales lives in a torah squat in Rockland County.
Rumor has it he’s filming a Purim part with Strobek for the next ‘preme vid, דוּבדְבָן
Do what my name says to do.
People can wear a fucking Israel flag shirt without needing to be a spokesperson for any sort of Israel/Palestine political shit. So many butt hurt New Yorkers (Jewish and non) act like they are experts in what’s going on over there. In reality pretty sure not one of us has any fucking clue.
You niggas need to be outside hollering at bitches. It’s damn near 80 degrees on the east coast and y’all arguing on the internet.