Mark Rogowski

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Mark Rogowski
Born

August 10, 1966 (age 49)

Brooklyn, New York

Other names

Gator

Occupation

Convict

Criminal

Assault, Rape and Murder of Jessica Bergsten on

charge

March 6, 1992

Criminal

31-year prison sentence 6 years for forcible rape and

penalty

twenty-five years to life for the first-degree murder

charges to be served consecutively.[1]

Criminal

Denied parole in 2011, incarcerated at Soledad State

status

Prison, California Dept. of Corrections number

H27508

Mark Anthony "Gator" Rogowski (born August 10, 1966)[2] was a prominent
professional skateboarder in the 1980s and very early 1990s. His career ended when he was
convicted of assaulting, raping and murdering Jessica Bergsten on March 6, 1992. His life was
chronicled in a critically acclaimed 2003 documentary titled Stoked: The Rise and Fall of
Gator by American filmmaker Helen Stickler.
Contents
[hide]

1Early years

2Rise to prominence

3Downhill slide

4Murder of Jessica Bergsten

5Hearing, prison, and parole

6In media

7Contest history

8References

9External links

Early years[edit]
Rogowski was born in Brooklyn, New York, but he moved to Escondido, California at the age of
three after his parents divorced.[1] Rogowski was a gifted athlete, playing little league baseball
in his youth. Rogowski started to skateboard at age seven and, while most of his friends were
into surfing, he eventually started to hang out at skate parks several years later. After two years
of skating local parks, Rogowski was picked up at 12 years of age by a local skate team in
1978.[1]

Rise to prominence[edit]

This section of a biography of a living person needs

additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentiou
material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed
immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (July 2014)
Rogowski started his professional skateboarding career in 1980 at age 14. In 1982, he won his
first major contest, the Canadian Amateur Skateboarding Championships in Vancouver, British
Columbia, Canada. In 1984, he won a national championship. [3] Rogowski received
endorsement deals from Gullwing Trucks a Early in his career, Rogowski was being paid
"between $4,000 and $8,000 a month" for clothing and skateboarding equipment
endorsements.[3] By 1987, Rogowski was earning two dollars per skate deck from Vision, which
was selling 7000 decks on a monthly basis, resulting in royalties totaling US$14,000 for
Rogowski (US$ 30,000 in 2016). Additionally, Vision was also selling T-shirts, berets, hip
packs, and stickers using the "Gator" name.[1]
Rogowski was one of a group of elite skaters who enjoyed significant fame in the 1980s,
alongside Christian Hosoi, Tony Hawk, Lance Mountain and Steve Caballero. He was a
charismatic, flamboyant personality who received fame and fortune during skateboarding's
return to popularity following the success of "vert" ramp skating.[citation needed]
At a 1987 skate show in Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S., Rogowski was introduced to Brandi McClain
and her good friend Jessica Bergsten, an aspiring model. Soon afterward, he began a
tumultuous long-term relationship with McClainthey appeared together in numerous
advertisements and promotional videos for Vision, which had become one of the top-selling
skateboarding brands of the 1980s.[citation needed]