Krooked
Krooked Skateboards was introduced to the skateboarding community back in 2002, thanks to its legendary founder Mark ‘Gonz’ Gonzales. Gonz started skateboarding at the age of thirteen in South Gate, California. Along with skateboarders such as Natas Kaupas and Tommy Guerrero, Gonz dove deep into street skateboarding, coming up with his own innovative and creative touch that only the Gonz could create. Many of us know the Gonz as the creator of what today’s modern street skateboarding has become, being one of the first known skateboarders to skate handrails and many other street obstacles, it’s safe to say the Gonz heavily influenced street skateboarding. The well known skateboard mag, Thrasher, even featured Mark Gonzales performing a “beanplant” on the cover of its November 1984 issue. Vision skateboards soon thereafter put him on the team, however this fit would not be the last for Gonzalez. Unfortunate disagreements and conflict would then push Gonzalez to move on from Vision and start Blind Skateboards, a name that served as a direct insult to his previous sponsor Vision, in 1989 through Steve Rocco’s World Industries distribution. Blind Skateboards continued to grow and accumulate new pros in addition to the Gonz himself, even producing full length video parts such as Video Days featuring Mark Gonzales and other pros. Similar to the implications faced at Vision, Mark Gonzales grew apart from Blind team and left to later skate for Real Skateboards under Deluxe Distribution. Eventually as Mark Gonzales continued to develop his skateboarding abilities, he also began to gain traction as an artist. Gonzalez utilized his artist capabilities with companies under Deluxe Distro and even others down the road, such as developing a strong relationship with Supreme streetwear. Then in 2002, Gonzales decided to not only skate for, but to partner with Deluxe and create Krooked Skateboards. A company which Gonzales has essentially used as a canvas to express his unusual and avant garde board graphics, and soft goods such as tshirts, sweatshirts, hats, beanies, and socks. Krooked has now developed into a personal favorite for many skateboarders and has produced four full-length video parts.
The Krooked team features rippers such as Sebo Walker, Bobby Worrest, Dan Drehbol, Ronnie Sandoval, Mike Anderson, Brad Comer, and of course the Gonz. This California based company comes out of Deluxe Distribution alongside five other top tier skateboarding brands (Anti Hero, Real, Thunder, Venture, and Spitfire) and comes highly recommended out of our shop and no doubt is seen as a local favorite around our scene. If you haven’t yet set foot on one of these decks, don’t hesitate to try it out, you will not be disappointed. Roll through our shop Board Paradise in Greensboro, NC or scroll through our site and cop a new Krooked ASAP!
Author: Javier Wilfong