Gonz 50th Birthday Blog
On Friday June 1st, 2018, Mark Gonzales turned 50, so his wife, Tia, put together a surprise party at Hugo’s restaurant in West Hollywood. Legends from all eras of skateboarding, including half a dozen SOTYs, were in attendance to wish him a smooth ride onto the fifth floor of life. Skateboading keeps us young and while the rest of the world considers 40 "over the hill" I’d say 50 might be our "on top of the hill." Now it's time to bomb that baby and enjoy the ride. —Joe Hammeke
Hugo’s in West Hollywood
Manderson, Bram, Daisy and Gerwer rollin’ up
Mark Oblow, Natas Kaupas, Ronnie Sandoval and John Cardiel-generations of innovation, on and off the board
Neckface made a custom card for Mark
The cake was shaped like one of Mark’s boards
Hosoi telling Jason Jessee about the day he met Gonz: "He broke his board jumping down this gap, so I let him borrow my board and he broke it, too! That was when I knew we had to put him on Alva."
Mike Anderson and Eric Dressen reminiscing about Skate Street in Ventura
Then Gonz arrived
A cake?
Splat! 
“Well?”
Always leave your mark…
Hosoi coming in with a hug while Mark cleans the frosting from his hand
Natas and Tia presenting Mark with some birthday cards
More cards coming in
Eddie Elguera with a board signed by members of the crew they used to skate with
Hosoi with gifts from him and Pops
Jascha Muller and adidas presented Mark with a pair of the shoes he skated in when he first got on the three-stripe program
When it was time to sing Happy Birthday, the phones came out. Cardiel kept it OG and raised a beer instead. How many SOTYs can you count in this photo?
Dill with the smoke screen
Cardiel gets the souvenir candles
Mark and Lance Mountain, ready for dinner to be served
GT and MG
Fire Puncher! Happy 50th, Mark. Here’s to 50 more!
-
10/16/2013
Frame of Mind: Motivational Skate Posters
Unplug your brain and allow an alluring image and a semi-profound quote to guide your day. -
10/07/2013
NHS Museum Opening Photos
NHS opened their museum to a select group of family, friends, and rippers. From Steve Olson to Eric Koston, we all gathered to revisit history and share skateboarding stories in all its glory. Great job Novak and congrats on 40 plus years! -
8/19/2013
Girl, Girl, Girl!
Not a lot of skate companies last 20 years, much less keep it consistently awesome. The stars came out to celebrate two decades of the best skaters, graphics and videos in the biz. -
7/10/2013
5&5 with Lance Mountain
Lance Mountain answers five questions while ripping a bowl in this clip from Independent trucks. -
6/18/2013
Classics: Lance Mountain "Future Primitive"
Backyard ramp sessions are often epic but this is one for the ages. Here's Lance, Hawk, Cab, McGill, Grosso, Blender, and others. Josh Borden introduces a classic from the 1985 Powell-Peralta video.