Mark Rogowski
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Mark "Gator" Rogowski (b. 1966 in New York City) was a figurehead of professional skateboarding in the late 1980s and early 1990s. His career ended when he was convicted of a young woman's assault, rape and murder. His life was chronicled in a 2002 documentary called Stoked: The Rise and Fall of Gator.
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[edit] Skater becomes a star
Gator was one of a group of proteges of ex-Zephyr team skater and documentarian Stacy Peralta, alongside Tony Hawk and Steve Caballero. Gator was a charismatic, flamboyant personality who received fame and fortune during skateboarding's return to popularity with the advent of vert skating. He had endorsement deals with Gullwing and Vision, and his business card read: "Skate Boarder Extraordinaire".
At a 1987 skate show in Arizona, Gator was introduced to skate betties Jessica Bergsten and her good friend Brandi McClain. Gator soon began a tumultuous long-term relationship with Brandi, and together they shared a freewheeling lifestyle, appearing together in countless skate-gear advertising videos and Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'" music video.
[edit] Downhill slide
Gator's popularity began to wane as the vert skating of the 1980s gave way to street skating in the 1990s. Gator began to struggle with the harsh reality of being a former "icon". He converted to a strict Evangelical form of Christianity and changed his name to "Gator" Mark Anthony, saying Rogowski was the name of his father, whom he never really knew. At the same time, Gator had mounting problems with alcohol.
When his addictions began to take control, his mental issues began to show. When he had began getting into his Christian studies (due partly to an accident in Germany, and mostly to an ex-surfer turned street minister who lived near him in California), as always, he dove in head first, and alienated his girlfriend Brandi (who soon left him, due to his new found beliefs in celibacy before marriage), his fans, and his fellow skaters.
Rogowski said he had considered seeking psychiatric help at the time for his problems, but the born-again Christian sect he was involved with discouraged this, seeing psychiatry as the work of the devil and telling him that Jesus could solve his problems.
[edit] Conviction
After Brandi had left him, Mark became obssessively jealous: breaking into her home to steal the things he had given her, calling her new boyfriend's home with threats, and threatening Brandi directly. Brandi reported his behavior to the police, who produced a report but did little to follow up.
One fateful night Gator got a call from Bergsten (whom he had not spoken to in years) out of the blue, saying she wanted him to show her around San Diego, as she was moving to California. They spent a day together, shortly after which Bergsten was reported missing.
According to Rogowski, as she was putting on her shoes behind a couch and preparing to leave on March 21, 1991, he had come up behind her and hit her in the head with The Club (a metal auto theft device which locks the steering column). After knocking her semi-unconscious by way of multiple strikes to her face and upper skull, he dragged her to his bedroom on the 2nd floor and raped her for hours (it's been speculated to be 2-3 hours). He said he had done the worst things sexually he could think of as he was venting all of his misplaced anger into her. After hours of rape, he placed her in a surfboard bag because she had begun to get louder and he was concerned about the neighbors hearing the noise, placing his hand over her mouth until she stopped breathing. He then drove out to the desert to bury her body in shallow grave.
A few weeks later, her body was found, but because of the state of decomposition, her identity remained unknown. Plagued by guilt, Rogowski confessed what he had done to his 'spiritual advisor,' the aforementioned ex-surfer turned born-again Christian, who encouraged him to confess his crime to the police - which Rogowski did, waiving his legal rights. The police searched his home and found evidence of massive blood loss, soaked through the carpet padding and into the floorboards in two fairly small spots adjacent to where her head had rested. In his confession, Rogwoski conveyed that he hurt Jessica to get a misplaced sense of revenge on Brandi, as Jessica was the "mold Brandi was made out of." Upon entering prison, he was diagnosed as severely manic-depressive.
Rogowksi pled guilty and received a 31-year prison sentence in the state of California penal system for the rape and murder of Jessica Bergsten.
[edit] Contest history
- Placed in top 5 in 1980 Vans/Offshore Amateur State Finals (California) in boys 11-13 division.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- Brooke, Michael (1999). Concrete Wave: The History Of Skateboarding. ISBN 1-894020-54-5.
