Mongo watched Dogtown and Z-Boys the other night for the umpteenth time. It came on Fuel TV, and even though I own it on DVD, I had to watch.
It makes me feel good every time I see it. Memories of my youth are re-awakened, and the pure joy of skateboarding pulses through me. The culture and style of modern skateboarding began with the Zephyr Skate Team...period! Those guys, and girl, are my heroes, but they're not my contemporaries. The skate scene, and the world for that matter, of the 1980's was Mongo's oyster.
Lance Mountain, Steve Caballero, Christian Hosoi, Gator Rogowski...these were the guys my own age out there ripping and inspiring me.
Mongo was attending a snobby New England prep school during this time, and though I was into skateboarding, I was also starting my detachment from reality. Isolated, and separated by several thousand miles from my family, surrounded by wealth and privilege, I created a fantasy world for myself to both survive and thrive. My ego grew and my morals diminished, all in the name of self promotion and self preservation.
You're probably asking yourself, what the f*** does that have to do with anything? Well, bare with me for a minute.
Today, Mongo is older and wiser and a pretty balanced dude. I have been to the top of the mountain and also the bottom of the sea. I have seen and done horrible things that I'll never be allowed to forget, but I've also had the opportunity to redeem myself, which I take advantage of every day...This brings me to my point.
Mark "Gator" Rogowski...He will spend most of his life in jail because he murdered an innocent girl. He can never redeem himself because of this.
There is a dark side to all of us within the human condition, and sometimes we need a little glimpse of it to keep us on the right path. Stoked: The Rise and Fall of Gator is an appropriate lens.
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