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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Manbearcat" data-source="post: 7941172" data-attributes="member: 6696971">I have no idea how many people will get this reference (I grew up in my early years, 9-13, as a skater).  I wonder if there is an aspect of Rodney Mullen vs Mark Gonzales in Street Skating pioneering.  During my youth, Rodney Mullen (an absolute freak of a talent...really without comparison) was roundly decried as "not a Street Skater" while Mark Gonzales was the "god of Street Skating".  This was because of a few things:1)  Rodney was an incredibly technical skater who didn't embrace the overarching counter-culture zeitgeist of skating (not because he was antagonistic to it, but because he was an introverted loner because of several reasons related to his early years).  He also used a smaller board which was associated with "Freestyle" skating (later he used a normal sized board and easily pulled off the savant level innovation he did on the Freestyle board...and actually revolutionized the actual skateboard itself).  Because of these things, the Street Skating community not only didn't accept him, they roundly rejected him (and tried to diminish his skill).  I was right in the middle of this.  I remember it vividly.Thankfully, this is no longer the case, as Rodney Mullen is right where he should be now; the Mount Rushmore of Skating.2)  Mark Gonazles was a pioneer of Street Skating in all of the classical ways.  He was a entrenched in the counterculture and his skating was pretty much "all art" and freakishly creative and skillful.  He also used the standard sized board in his Street Skating.  Because of these three things; culture, style, mechanics, he was roundly loved and praised as the God of Street Skating for that period (while Rodney was roundly decried).  He's still on the Mount Rushmore of Skating (where he belongs).Seems like an interesting analogue with a fair amount of overlap.</blockquote>

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