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Mark Gonzalez came to Japan!

What's up GONZ!

Mark Gonzalez came to Japan!

adidas skateboarding's first full-length skate film since 1998, "Away Days," was recently released on iTunes. To celebrate the release of the film, the skate team riders went on a world premiere tour to major cities around the world, including Los Angeles, New York, London, Sao Paulo, and Tokyo. The Tokyo premiere was attended by Mark Gonzalez, Dennis Bussenitz, Silas Baxter-Neal, Tyshawn Jones, Jack Fadell, and other members of the production staff. Dewon Song, a big name who has decided to move to Japan this time, also made an appearance. A premiere screening and autograph session was held with the gorgeous members. We spoke with Mark Gonzalez, an integral part of adidas Skateboarding and one of its signature riders, about everything from skating to being an artist.

  • Photo_Taro Hirano
  • Text_Taku Takemura
  • Edit_Jun Nakada
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I heard that you traveled around the world to shoot "Away Days," but how many cities did you visit?

I don't remember exactly, but I have been to Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, London, Tokyo, Australia... I have been to many places. I don't remember exactly, but Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, London, Tokyo, Australia.... Where else? Oh yes, I went to Russia too.

That's great! You have visited many cities. Which city stands out in your mind as the most memorable? I know Mark has always loved Paris.

My favorite cities are New York and Los Angeles. I'm from Los Angeles and I live in New York now. The city that left the greatest impression on me during this shoot was Madrid.

What did you like about Madrid?

What is it? I don't know myself. But when I think back to Madrid, I have nothing but good memories. I was there with my team rider, Rem Villemin. Who else was there? I was only there for about three days, but it was a memorable city.

I'm glad you liked Madrid so much. I didn't know you liked Madrid so much.

Let's be honest: I'm going to be honest. I liked the museum that was in Madrid (laughs).

What? You're not skating.

I'm going to tell you the truth. I really liked the Reina Sofia Museum, but the streets were wide and skating was easy. But the streets were wide and skating was easy.

I see. What is your favorite part of the film?

I really think it was all good. I think the best part of it was Jack Fardell's part. I was impressed with the way he mixed the streets, transitions, transitions on the streets, bowls, and other spots. Also, I think the editing of the film itself is very good. One scene the skater comes from the right, and the next scene the train crosses from the opposite side. It looks like the skaters and the train are crossing each other, which I thought was a very fresh image. I also thought that the editing was done in such a way that the viewer can feel the speed of the skaters throughout the film. I think the film has many effects to entertain the viewers.

I'm looking forward to seeing the film at the premiere.

: Yes, you haven't seen it yet. Then I better not tell you too much. You'll know what I mean when you see it. You'll understand what I mean when you see it.

What kind of tricks do you like to do these days?

I did a frontside boardslide yesterday at a park in Shibuya, Tokyo. And a backside lip slide. What else? The other night I was trying to do a 360.

Did you get the makeup?

I've been able to do it after a few tries. I am currently practicing a frontside 180, where I kick my front foot out while spinning in the air. It's a trick I tried in New York right before I came to Tokyo.

It's amazing that you still have something to practice even with all the markings.

I've been practicing skating for a long time. I think this is a trick that no one has tried before. I was inspired to try this trick after seeing Natas doing it well at Speed Freaks. In Natas' case, he was sliding and one-footing, not ollieing.

It's really amazing. It's also amazing that I still go back and watch the Speed Freaks videos. How old are you now?

I'll be 48 years old in June. I think I've been skating for a long time. I'm staying at the Cerulean Tower Hotel in Shibuya, and yesterday I was looking out the window of the hotel's restaurant, and I was reminded of the time when they were just starting to build this hotel.

Cerulean Tower opened in 2001, so if it was a few years before that, that's about 20 years ago.

I'm sorry: it's been that long ago. Construction was just about to start and they were in the process of building a fence around the property. I remember it well because I used to go to a store near the hotel to buy bread and pastries. The building got taller and taller every time I visited. Now I stay at the hotel and enjoy the view.

Back to the film, what do you think makes a cool skater?

The cool skaters are the ones who don't get grumpy when they can't do tricks (laughs). Uncool skaters are the ones who get grumpy and throw their skateboards or slam them to the ground. I say that, but I do it too. When you are skateboarding and things don't go your way, you can't help it. I used to skate alone when I was younger near the 710 freeway in Los Angeles. It's the freeway between Long Beach and Pasadena. I fell and slammed my skateboard on the ground. A truck driving by honked its horn, and when I turned around, it gave me the middle finger. I think he was trying to tell me that I was taking it out on the skateboard and that it wasn't cool. I'll never forget that. Not to answer your question, but I've been hearing a lot about how friendly skaters in the city have become lately. When I was skating in the city, the police came up to me and I thought they were going to get mad at me, but they just said, "Have fun skating! and then they left.

Maybe the police officer was also a skateboarder.

I think that's right. That's a possibility. It's kind of weird when you're skateboarding and the police officer who cautions you is younger than you are.

Mark has been skiing for adidas for quite some time now, but what is the best thing about being a member of the team?

What is it? I get asked this question a lot, and I don't always know how to answer it. But when I think of the best athletes, they always wear Adidas. Like Muhammad Ali, the best athletes I've seen since I was a little kid at the Olympics are always wearing Adidas. Maybe that's why I wear Adidas shoes.

That's kind of a nice answer. Do you have a favorite model of Adidas skate shoes? Or if you could make your own skate shoes, what kind of shoes would you make?

: I like worn out shoes more than my favorite model. I think sometimes new skate shoes are not suitable for skating. They're new, so they're still stiff and not used to your feet. That's why I like to skate in worn-out skate shoes. I like to wear one pair of shoes for a long time.

I see. Can you tell us about your art? What influences you to create art these days?

I often paint flames on hot rod cars and the like. I also often make works by applying masking tape, spray painting over it, and then removing the tape to finish it. I use that technique to paint on skateboards.

Last time we talked, you were really into creating artwork on the iPad, weren't you?

I'm actually done with the iPad. One time I was riding my skateboard with my bike in one hand, iPad in my bag, and bottled water in the other.

What? - What? Instead of riding a bike and carrying a skateboard and a bag, you were riding a skateboard and carrying a bike and a bag? That's kind of amazing.

: That's right (laughs). I was slipping and suddenly I stumbled on a rickety road and fell. The plastic bottle and iPad were unharmed, but when I tried to use the iPad, it was broken. I stopped using the iPad after that. I was so busy playing with my iPad that I was late for appointments. I was almost more in love with the iPad than skateboarding. So I'm glad I fell and broke my iPad. It's funny to think that making skateboarding animations was more fun than actually skateboarding. You were making animations like, "I'm going to do this trick, and then I'm going to go into the hand rail, and then I'm going to downsteer," and stuff like that.

So you're skating now. Are there any artists you've been paying attention to lately?

I've been paying attention to my friend Curtis Krigg lately. He is famous for his work "Love me". His work can be seen in many places. Anyone else? Leo Fitzpatrick has a gallery, and one of his recent exhibits at his gallery is David Aaron. I like his work as well. Lance Mountain's son also recently did some artwork for my board as a guest artist at Krukid.

I also liked the video that Matt O'Brien made for Krukid. The dotted deck was cool too.

I like Matt O'Brien, he's a good artist. I like his skating style. I also like gang gang dance artists.

What have you been into lately besides skating and art?

I've been swimming a lot lately. I also spend a lot of time with my family. I spend good time outside of skating and art. I think it's important to appreciate other people, both in art and skating. I go to museums to look at art, and recently I've been watching other skaters on YouTube.

I see. Tell us about your dreams and what you would like to do in the future!

I was just talking about technology when I came here. We were talking about how airplanes fly, trains run, etc. So I thought it would be interesting to make skateboards out of different materials. So I think it would be interesting to make skateboards with different materials. I think it would be interesting to make skateboards with different materials.

What kind of materials do you think we should use?

Ceramics, for example. There are many rockets and spaceships that are made of ceramic. Also, I'm hoping that the board tracks can be easily attached with a simple click. Not just a bolt and nut. It would be nice if rails could be attached with one-touch.

I've seen some people putting rails on their skateboards recently, but rails are quite a classic part (laughs). I look forward to seeing Mark's idea of skateboarding take shape in "Away Days" as well! Thanks for your time today!

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