I had never knew this film existed. Although I have been such a fan of skateboarding and skateboarders for such a long time - I love to watch any skateboarding event on TV or street skateboarders just skate! I was also amazed at how popular "Gator" was all through the '80s and I had absolutely no clue who he was - that is until I seen this film. This is a brilliant film and it is also brilliantly made. So much to this on DVD - there is an enormous 3 full hours of footage! This is the story of a young professional vertical skateboarder named Mark Rogowski - who went on to earn the nickname "Gator" after inventing a skate-style move all his own - the "Gaite - Aire" And then , later still dropping his last name Rogowski - which he was quoted as saying that the name itself belonged to his father , who was not present in his life. So then he was "Gator" Mark Anthony , which are his birth first and middle names. Gator had become pro at the age of 14, after winning a championship skate in Canada. He was then promoted by many large name skateboard & parts companies. Gator worked his butt off to stay in the lead. He was in the spotlight from 1985 to 1989 - performing in many championships , demonstration videos , music videos and even stunt work on a particular movie.( i wont say which movie - because , for whatever the reason - even IMDb doesn't have him listed as being part of it!) He was also seen in almost every issue of Thrasher magazine either in an ad , doing his skateboarding thing or conducting his own interview. This film shows the big picture of who Gator started out as and what he became - as many began to believe he had forgotten about all he stood for and just commercially sold out. This film also shows people that knew him , people who wanted to be like him and many of the jobs that he did which attributed to the skateboarding profession in the '80s. Before Tony Hawk - There was Gator..... Or should I say , when Tony Hawk was a newbie - Gator was pro. Unfortunately though - not unlike many pros at their profession - being so young , being so popular , feeling so "untouchable" - there is always a downside.... Gator's fame and fortune quickly caught up to him. In the early 90's , vertical skating became yesterdays news - and street skating was now becoming all the rage. ...Which actually left Gator in the dust , based on the fact that try as he did - he just could not get the hang of it. He tried hard to acquire this new skill - but to no avail. This to top off all the other issues that were bringing him down to a very dark place in his life. All these pressures sent him to a place no one would have ever guessed. Gator fell HARD. Such a sad , unfortunate result to such a high-flying persona.... :(
