Stoked - The Rise And Fall Of Gator Details

A provocative companion piece to Dogtown and Z-Boys (2001), Helen Stickler's study of skateboarding superstar Mark “Gator” Rogowski reveals the depressing extent to which youthful exuberance can be exploited by corporate America. One of the vertical-ramp icons of the 1980s, the talented Californian teenager had an unrivalled marketability that sustained his celebrity lifestyle. But his failure to make the transition to street skating — compounded by the horrific injuries he received when he jumped out of a second-story window in 1989 — saw his fame plummet. Then, in 1991, he confessed to the rape and murder of his former fiancée's best friend and was given a 31-year prison sentence. Stickler never excuses Gator's appalling crimes, but her precise evocation of a once-golden age of innocence at least gives some insight into his actions.