collector flashback: the gator collection

Want to stick your fist into a beehive? It's easy. Just head on over to any Interweb-based skate forum and bring up Mark "Gator" Rogowski's name. No surprise, really, what with Gator's story being one of the most sensational, disturbing, shocking, and sad in the history of skateboarding, after he plead guilty to the murder of Jessica Bergsten in 1991 and became a fixture within the U.S. penitentiary system (all the lurid details of which can be found in the documentary Stoked: The Rise and Fall of Gator). Prior to this tragic incident, however, Gator had been one of the most high-profile skateboarders in the '80s with his Vision models selling untold thousands during the peak of the industry boom. I'd even go so far as to say his first pro model on Vision is one of the top ten defining graphics of that decade, making his subsequent downfall all the more awkward for collectors. You know, it's not like John Wayne Gacy was a top-rated clown working in the Ringling Brothers circus circuit before his conviction and incarceration—this being one of the main differences between the morbid fascination exhibited by collectors of Gacy's paintings versus the nostalgia for some over a former Gator pro model.

Nonetheless, for some there is no separation between the model and the man's later transgressions, so when a person showed up on the Interweb around 2002–03 offering a large selection of boards from the personal collection of Gator (each sold with its own signed letter of authenticity from the man himself) it sparked numerous heated debates indeed. All of these eventual sales took place privately, but a few of the boards shown above did later surface in the hands of several prominent collectors, while others I have no idea where they wound up (if in fact they were all sold).

I'm not a Gator man myself, but when amassed together these models do make for one crazy, psychedelic stack of wood and for that reason alone I'll be running a series of posts showcasing a variety of the colorways on his first several models in the coming weeks ... which I'm sure will ultimately be the equivalent to sticking my fist in a beehive. Until then, here's a better look at a few of the low resolution boards above [the first two on the left are production boards, the last two on the right are both team rider prototypes]:

Comments

[Neil McDougall]

there are so many amazing colorways of the spiral deck. I try to feature them in baywatch every month when one goes off. Just when you think you've seen them all a new one pops up.

[darrick fabian]

My first skate -- black and orange stained Gator(first gen), clear grip, black and grey two-tone sims street wheels with blue tracker trucks.

I was somewhat familiar with the bland skateboards of the 70's but when I saw a kid carrying one of these puppies in '84 it changed everything for me. It just *looked* exciting -- so new, so bright and stylish. For me, with a little help from 'Back to the Future' this deck called me to the sport.

I'll stop now before I get too boring;)

P.S. - if anyone has a line on a blk/org stained spiral email me.

[Beau Brennan]

Sean writes: "You know, it's not like John Wayne Gacy was a top-rated clown working in the Ringling Brothers circus circuit before his conviction and incarceration—this being one of the main differences between the morbid fascination exhibited by collectors of Gacy's paintings versus the nostalgia for some over a former Gator pro model."

lol, on the other hand, it's not like Gator is a high profile serial killer burying young men under the crawlspace of his home for 20 + years. The question one has to ask themselves is, "Can Gator paint?"

[jeremym27]

My first deck was a Gator. While I certainly wouldn't do anything to support Gator's actions; I have a nastalgic connection with the board.

Some people on online forums fee obligated to bash anyone with a Gator deck. For me, the graphic symbolizes my early days in skating, not what Gator subsequently did.

[Michael Faulkner]

Think he's eligable for parole this year.......

[Justin]

Im lucky to have 4 of the decks in the first picture, but I wasnt greedy, and got a grigley, the zebra and the blank which is actually a fishlips test shape for the big gulp deck...