Mark Gonzalez’s Factory and the Circle Board

No doubt Mark Gonzalez has changed the game. He along with being a well-esteemed skater, his art career has influenced more than a few young contemporaries. It seems like yesterday, but until I was reminded of the scene in Thomas Campbell’s “A Love Supreme”, I had forgotten about the “circle board.” A contraption made by Gonz, ridden here by Anthony Pappalardo, the circle board is of legend and seems to have even been up for art auction at one point. Don’t know if ever sold. Now, ESPN bloggers are calling him and his crew (Pappalardo and William Strobeck) the new Factory, or at least giving Gonz props for his influence on both skating — he doth invented the Ollie — as well as art (he collaborated early on with Spike Jonze and Harmony Korine). He also appears in Gummo, where he wrestles a chair. His influence is actually all around you, but good luck finding a VHS of his skate video Gnar Gnar. Still the circle board delights. Bravo.