I said to him, Mark, you dont need a lawyer. How Skateboard King Mark Gator Anthony Was Born Again As a Rapist and Murderer. She was an incredibly intelligent, free-spirited girl, recalls Brandi. She had nothing to worry about. Vision, the company he was with for the majority of his career, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. They appeared together in numerous promotional videos and advertisements for the Vision brand. Her best friend, Jessica Bergsten, was the one murdered. Skateboarding, like other California phenomena such as surfing and savings-and-loan scams, had a tremendous surge in popularity in the 1980s. These are the best Small Pets Supplies deals youll find online. She is alive and well. Gator started calling her mothers house, leaving messages on the answering machine. Rogowski placed his hand over Bergsten's mouth until she stopped breathing, then drove the body to the Shell Canyon desert, then disposed of the corpse in a shallow grave.[3]. Ms. Stickler, 31, has spent the past six years searching for those ''real answers,'' and she delivers her findings in ''Stoked: The Rise and Fall of Gator,'' a gripping documentary that traces the ill-fated career of Mr. Rogowski, known as Gator, one of skateboarding's most mythical and compelling figures. This was an entirely new type of skating. "Not that I need to explain myself, I know me pretty well to know the difference and I can assure you, all of those photos are of me. [10] According to Rogowski, he and Bergsten went back to his condo to watch movies, smoke weed, and drink wine. Publicly discussing the fate of Mark Rogowski, a legendary skateboarder in the 1980's now serving 31 years in prison for murder and rape, was long considered taboo. (Sounds like the name of an '80s song, or album, or band! Everyone is in their own walk,and everyone has their own free will, a choice they will have to live with forever. [3] Rogowski was a gifted athlete, playing little league baseball in his youth. A war story with a heartening conclusion", "This is a remarkable storya story to be remembered, forever. The trial ended with Superior Court Judge Thomas J. Whelan sentencing Rogowski to consecutive six years for forcible rape and 25 years to life for first-degree murder. Great to hear you are a Christian and have a good outlook. Always live life to its fullest potential, believing in miracles. It was a full soul session, everybody was just shralpin it up. ''I know people with Gator tattoos. Mark Rogowski, a.k.a 'Gator' was a skateboarding prodigy from Southern California. An original Boy of Steel gives love to Bill Finger. Nice to see that it brought her great success. She must have suffocated or had a seizure or a stroke or something. These are the best Home Audio deals youll find online. He murdered one of the other girls in the video and is currently in prison for it. Shop the best selection of deals on Food Storage now. Also: Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, "Fast pacedfunimpressive and fascinating. Thanks for this. Bergsten was Brandis best friend.". The California Board of Parole Hearings finalized the decision, and the case went before the California governor's staff for review. He also dragged Brandi to the church several times, but Brandi downright refused and eventually broke up with him. In 1987, the former pro skater was introduced to Brandi McClain and her friend Jessica Bergsten while performing at a skate show in Scottsdale, Arizona. After befriending Augie Constantino, an ex-surfer turned born-again Christian who also became his "spiritual advisor", Rogowski converted to a strict Evangelical form of Christianity influencing Rogowski's attitude and skateboard deck designs. Save up to 50% on Smart Home when you shop now. One night, after a Bible study at Constantinos house, Gator returned to the house with tears streaming down his face. Bergsten asked Rogowski to show her around San Diego. We wouldnt do coke every night, but wed do bong hits, wed go to the Sand Bar at the end of his street, and get fucked up. Brandi later left her home in Tucson and became Marks live-in girlfriend. Rogowski's career ended when he pled guilty for assaulting, raping, and murdering Jessica Bergsten in 1991. He then placed her in a surfboard bag and strangled her, burying the body in a desert outside San Diego. "Horrible. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. It was a terrible event for skateboarding, says Gladstone. Nor does he think it was unethical for him, as a minister, to turn in someone confessing to him. Shop the best selection of deals on Tools & Utensils now. Glad you're well and still as. Mark Anthony Rogowski was born in Brooklyn, NY, but moved to Enconido, California at the young age of 3 years old after the messy divorce of his parents. These are so cool. You dont need innocent until-proven-guilty. Its only taken me this long to type something cause my phones acting up.Anyway I just find it very fascinating how it coincided. I couldnt exist no way, Id kill myself. Another amazing interview! Jessicas remains were buried in a family plot in Georgia. But except for Tony Hawk, none of the old pros could really skate both vert and street, and Gator was stressed out about it. Gator himself once told M.Fo just how stressed out he would get if he had to quit skating. Save up to 50% on Pets when you shop now. Find the best deals on Home Gym from your favorite brands. Anyway, Im not an ordained minister. Shop the best selection of deals on Fitness now. He started covering his boards with religious symbols and preaching to skaters, surfers, and anyone else who would listen about his secret friend, Jesus. Mark 'Gator' Rogowski - THE HOME OF TRUE CRIME But it is clear from the film's opening minutes that Ms. Stickler's effort is not the feel-good retrospective that was Stacy Peralta's documentary hit, ''Dogtown and Z-Boys,'' a chronicle of the 1960's-70's skate scene in Venice and Santa Monica, Calif. A chilling voice states, ''I have a call from an inmate at a California State corrections facility.'' Rogowski did not think he could do well on street skating and saw his lucrative career coming to an end. There, a handful of teenagers skated the ramps, rolling in and out, doing flips, handstands, board slides, ollies and every once in a while, some daring kid would attempt a lean 360. Its a notoriously difficult move, in which the skater tries to get enough momentum and height to fly vertically out of the bowl with his body almost perpendicular to the ground, spin around once completely, and then land where hed taken off, inside the bowl, but this time rolling backward toward the bottom. Although he never denied that Gator had killed Jessica, he suggested that it was her own fault. I was being an example to these impressionable kids. January 16, 2021 Mark Rogowski was better known as "Gator," his skateboarding persona in the late 1900s. He boasted of being a roving ambassador, telling skating magazines how he was going to turn the whole non-skating world on to the sport. Mark Rogowski did NOT murder the other girl in the video. For them to see me with this woman and all that had been going on the wine bottles, the cigarettes upstairs it would have been devastating. Rogowski was charged with "special circumstances", committing a murder during rape. [3], Rogowski received a 31-year to life prison sentence: six years for forcible rape and 25 years to life for the first-degree murder charges to be served consecutively.[3][11]. Topline Hockey hopes to make the glide path to the NHL easier for New York City kids. Hes the one that told me to go out and find one of my surfer friends to party with. He was featured on the covers of both magazines again in July & October 1987 as well. Directors Phoebe Kwong J. Tom Pogue Writer Lisa Andracke Stars Terry Jensen Brandi McClain Gator shook his hand and told him, No, he didnt know where Jessica was. Turn on Notifications - Los Angeles Times He won his first national championship two years later when he was just 18. Mark "Gator" Rogowski - NNDB All at once the plague of vile visions and wicked imaginations and the daily battle to suppress them was overwhelming. We might just have the answers. You can go down the street to Coronet bookstore in Oceanside and buy a vast array of S&M bondage magazines, pictorials, descriptive pictorials, paperbacks that are step by step about how to lynch somebody sexually. Former professional skateboarder denied parole in rape-murder For many in the world of skateboarding, it was a scab better left untouched. In the statement he admitted that although his original confession was directed by the Lord, in the subsequent eight months he had been tempted to dodge responsibility, deceiving myself as well as others. But now, at last, Ive been led to a full, true repentance, having nothing to hide. November 2016 in Powell-Peralta Tom Petty, Free Fallin features Gator, and Brandi. Since California law prohibits video interviews with prison inmates, Rogowski was interviewed over the recorded prison phone for the documentary. The couples happiness was soon affected by an accident, after which Mark seemingly changed his way of life towards a more religious approach. Deals and discounts in Womens Active Shoes & Sneakers you dont want to miss. Behind bars: Rogowski pleaded guilty to raping and murdering 22-year-old Jessica Bergsten in 1991. Thanks-either way. They moved to a condominium in the upscale beachside community of Carlsbad, one block away from the ocean. She drew a parallel between skateboarding and stripping, describing both as alternative communities, industries where ''youth and vitality are sold.'' Dialogue Ahead" article in "Horn Book". mr_scary. Surfboard shops would just give him all the equipment h wanted, skaters would ask for his autograph or Gator stickers t put on their boards. Photo by Doug Pensinger for Getty Images, Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Bergsten was a good friend of his ex Brandi McClain, though the two aren't thought to have been in a relationship, contrary to what Arquette said.
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