'80's Skatebording legend-turned-convict Mark "Gaator" Rogowski's transformation from local hero to international superstar. As part of an elite crew of top pros, Gator held rank with skate icons Tony Hawk, Steve Caballero, Jason Jessee and Lance Mountain, who, in the film, recall skating's biggest decade and the culture shock of teens colliding with wealth and stardom.
STOKED: THE RISE AND FALL OF GATOR, is a biographical film about Mark "Gator" Rogowski, a legendary 1980s skateboarder. Beginning with the shocking news of Gator's demise--he brutally raped and murdered a woman, buried her in the San Diego desert, and received a 31-year prison sentence--the film then starts back at Gator's beginnings when he was just an innocent 14-year-old kid. Gator set the stage for many of skateboarding's moves and styles as one of the most impressive "vert" performers of all time. Footage of Gator soaring off the ramp in a dramatic arc demonstrate his clear prowess. A devilish, cocky personality only helped propel Gator into the spotlight as the poster boy for Vision Street Wear--a brand that was once synonymous with the sport's image. As skateboarding became more mainstream and Gator got wealthy and sold out (the film features interviews with former girlfriend Brandi McClain who lived with him in a sprawling California mansion situated on an avocado grove) he soon lost his street cred and was dumped by the industry. Testimonials from Gator's former friends--skating icons like Jason Jessee, Ken Park, and Tony Hawk--shed light on the sport as a counterculture movement while telling funny, sad, insightful, and often scathing stories about Gator. This documentary from director Helen Stickler paints a sometimes inspiring yet increasingly menacing portrait of Gator that illustrates how his crime cast a dark shadow over the otherwise fun and carefree world of professional skateboarding.
Theatrical Release: AUGUST 22, 2003 (NY/LA)
Stoked: The Rise And Fall Of Gator Reviews:
"A dark true-crime story about the underbelly of really shallow fame."
-- Matt Taibbi, Rolling Stone
"[I]t is an entertaining slice of pop cultural history."
-- Dave Calhoun, Uncut
"...It's fascinating to see the process by which skateboarding, in all its concrete grittiness, was transformed into a mainstream activity of consumer cool..."
-- Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
"...The deeper subject of this excellent documentary is the compelling dark side of the American dream..."
-- Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
This is the only Helen Stickler video.
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