Apparently, killers are kosher again for legendary Vision Skateboards. You used to be able to get Mark Rogowski’s shape with the word “Vision” in place of skateboarding’s most famous murderer. Market research must have proven that the public has a short term memory for distasteful acts such as rape and assault, but a long term love for nostalgia. Now you can get the Gator re-issue board as it was in his glory days. No word on where those royalty checks are going. Yes, It’s a proud legacy.
38 comments
angelo
i think you are a bunch of hyprocrits. Your government kills thousands for day and you are here with false moralities. Why don
houseofneil
Angelo, this thread is 4 years old. I don’t think it’s worth getting that worked up about. I’m wondering how you even found it?
JKP
Yeah, pretty much everyone knows that the Gonz has Krooked and still skates, etc… The issue is the Gonz graphic that was re-issued by Vision without his name.
Iron
To you guys asking about the Mark Gonzales re-issue, Mark still has a pro model, in fact he has his own company called “Krooked” which has more boards than I could even count. He still skates and does art and is as funny and creative as ever.
I always looked up to Mark Gonzales, NOT Mark Rogowski, I always thought he was a bit of a douche, right from when I started skating in 1985.
Radio
A shop in Aspen Colorado owned by some snowboard dudes that have no real clue about skateboarding named “Radio Boardshop” have been using the Gator graphic for their shop deck for years. They have a popular skate camp with tons of young “skateboarders”, mostly just fashion seekers really, skating the Gator graphic shop deck. I really don’t think that the owners/managers/employees even have a clue about the fact that the graphic they are pawning off to the glitzy Aspen visitors is that of a murderous rapist. The owners are just after the alweakly American dollar…ahhhh God Bless the USA
JG
LP:The board you bought was not a heat transfer. The decks have never been made with anything but good old screenprinting. No skimping on quality- Enjoy the ride
LP
so i got mine and yes, it didnt have mark rogowski on it. just gator. so its almost a reissue, anyway. its still a good reminder of my youth, regardless of what he became later. and its way better than “original vision”. i was yet more disappointed in the shit heat transfer. guess it doesnt matter since ill never skate it.
conahan
I’m still waiting for the Stoked… movie tie-in board to add to my collection, Oh wait. I don’t have a board collection.
kilwag
I must have missed the Powell and Santa Cruz reissue of their murdering pros… oh right, that’s because they didn’t.
amistakewasmade
The Gator II board is a new release, so it was not film we were already using!I guess Santa Cruz and Powell are opportunistic too! Re-issues are cool and give the new younger generation a glimpse at the past and the true form of skateboarding from the 80’s. I wouldn’t call that opportunistic, I would call it nostalgia- a time to reflect on the good times of the past. Do you really think a ton of $$$ is being made on this? Think again…NO bullshit here!
Industry watcher
amistakewasmade – seriously? that story has no credence. A mistake was made? You mean, he had the 20 year old films laying around, and somehow used them instead of the films he was already using for the re-issues… Seems more like opportunism than a legitimate mistake. I call bullshit.
JPK
You mean sell out brands like Vision Street Wear? I heard Brad doesn’t even own that anymore, he’s just licensing it. If you’re such a good friend of his, ask him who is earning the royalties of the Gator re-issues?
bean
for all you brad haters i have known him for about twenty years and he has done alot for the industry and for many others including myself. he is a good person and a genuine individual. brad helped build what is todays skate industry, and has stayed core not like these big industry sell out skate brands today.
amistakewasmade
okay, so to set the record straight, this whole re-issue of this board was a mistake! Actually, the board was suppose to just say Gator, because gator is a owned trademark, not owned by Mark. The board wasn’t suppose to have his name on it and only a few were made. As soon as we noticed the original film was used with his name, we pulled the production. There were only a few issued. Sorry to all! By the way, Brad Dorfman wasn’t even involved in this one!
houseofneil
Maybe stupid but still one of the most iconic graphics of all time.
bailgun
considering that gonz saw very little cash from his original board on vision, didn’t do the artwork, and has said he felt the graphic was stupid, im guessing NO.
LP
why dont they make a gonz reissue with his name now? is gonz not into it?
LP
i got one, because i had one as akid, i dont ever plan to resell any of my reissues, when my sons move out and i get my office back, ill be using all my decks for decor…i might imagine though that these will eventually be taken off market due to the controversy, so if you are a collector you might get one. i actually looked up to gator as akid, wrote letters to him and he wrote me back. before this murder, he was a nice guy, and i assume OJ was as well. just as long as they dont reissue “the club” in blood red.
JAKEANDANNOY
When did killing your girlfriends’ friends become uncool? Aw crap,just when I start to catch on to whats cool,it always changes.
Next thing ya know some snots’ gunna tell me size 42 waist purple pants are out. Triple varial kickflips and switch nose slides on red curbs are forever though…and fresh jive,and sonic youth, and lollapalooza. be a cold day in hell before that rug gets pulled from under me.
brad
Gator Dater.
bailgun
i saw a shirt a while back with the gator graphic, but with “lady killer” where his name would’ve been.
i shoulda bought one.
houseofneil
RyGar, Gator had nothing to do with that graphic. he didn’t draw it, he had no design input into it at all. I have no problems with somebody else using the design because it’s a rad design. I do have a problem with them putting Gator’s name on it though unless they come out and say that the money is going to the victim’s family or to a woman’s shelter or something.
Are you listening Vision?
RyGar
I was shocked when Jim Greco bit the graphic recently for a Baker model. I though, “Shit. Greco’s got some fucking balls.” It’s like a Charley Manson shirt, or that Eddy Gein board Brand X put out in the eighties. Ironic veneration of sick, perverted, fucktards. Basically, shock value.I hope nobody actually looks up to him, but there are more destructive things than a board graphic. Maybe, instead of “Vision” or “Gator”, the board should say “Victim.”
I wouldn’t mind a pile of those re-issues, though. They look pretty decent.
Jerkins
Definitely
kilwag
Yeah, well, trace the shape, don’t buy the re-issue unless the money goes to the family of the victim. Or buy the one that says “vision”
freakbeatfuzz
In lighter news, a fave of mine, the good ol’ Hippie Stick has been reissued by Vision in 4 different color ways. They’re lagging on the “Street Ghost”, the only one from the Old Ghosts series not to be reissued.
houseofneil
It’s nowhere near the same thing. Wanting to own a skateboard because it reminds you of a deck you had as a kid is cone thing. Profiting off the celebrity of a known killer is quite another.
kilwag
Agreed, and as for the title of the post, I thought they were “dating” or more than acquaintances.
Jerkins
He didn’t kill his girlfriend. It was a friend of
hers I believe. The kooks who buy ’em are just as
bad as the losers making ’em IMO.
brad
the back trucks not wide enough…
kilwag
Brad doesn’t own Vision anymore, he does currently hold the license for all the reissues.
houseofneil
I don’t actually think that Brad owns Vision anymore. I think it was sold to some faceless conglomerate about 6 years ago.
I’d love to know the real story behind this though. Just where is the money going?
mike
a truly sad day for skateboarding. Come on Brad, you can do better than this.
shame on Vision.
heath
One thing that I have to say abut VSW is that the suede high top shoe was great. Beyond that, they suck. By the way, murderers and rapists are not cool either.
Has anyone else seen the VSW razor-style scooters at Fred Meyer? Nothing really has changed, though. Vision was all about the $, and they still are.
sir jorge skate
it’s an alright board, but would anyone really pay? does gator even know? does he care?
bailgun
dear vision,
go fuck yourselves.
love,
skateboarding
LP
saw that board online today. maybe brad dorfman can pay all the other people he owes money to?
freakbeatfuzz
Maybe the $$$ is going to the girl’s family, I highly doubt it though.