‘Gonz’ is seen as the pioneer of modern street skateboarding. He was the first to skate handrails, one of the first to skate switch, and the first man to ollie a major gap — at the Embarcadero in San Francisco — forever known as the Gonz Gap (which in 1993 he also became the first to kickflip).
His incredible style, his innovation, his artistic temperament and his all-round act mean that the Gonz has perhaps influenced more famous skateboarders than any other. Without the Gonz, there is just no way of knowing where skateboarding would be. We just know it wouldn’t be as good.