Mark Gonzales (born June 1, 1969), also known as "Gonz" a professional skateboarder and artist. He is known in the skateboarding world as the pioneer of modern street skateboarding, currently skateboarding's most popular form. Gonz came on the skateboarding scene at age 15 with a more modern approach to street skating and made the cover of Thrasher Magazine's November 1984 issue, riding a board from Alva, with which he was sponsored at the time. He was soon to be picked up for sponsorship by a new company with big ideas, called Vision Skateboards.