Guy Mariano

Guy Mariano (born March 31, 1976^[1][2]) is a professional skateboarder who gained widespread recognition at the age of fourteen for his video part in the Blind Skateboards video, Video Days (1991).^[3]

Early life

Mariano attended John Burroughs High School in Burbank, California, United States (US).

Professional skateboarding

Val Surf, a Californian retail outlet for the skateboard, snow, and surf cultures that was established in 1962, was Mariano's first ever sponsor.^[4]

Mariano's first skateboard deck sponsor was Powell Peralta and he appeared in the company's video, Ban This, alongside Paulo Diaz, Rudy Johnson, and Gabriel Rodriguez.^[5]

In a 2011 interview, Mariano stated that both he and Johnson were satisfied with their Powell sponsorship but were inspired by Mark Gonzales and wished to be involved with a venture that was led by him. Mariano further explained that after he met Gonzales at Venice Beach in California, he and Johnson moved into Gonzales' house and, after a year of skateboarding with Gonzales, readily agreed to join the Blind team roster when the opportunity arose.^[3]

Together with Gonzales, Jason Lee, Jordan Richter, and Rudy Johnson, Mariano appeared in the Blind video, Video Days, considered a classic achievement in skateboarding history. Skateboarder magazine brought together all of the video's members for a reunion article that celebrated twenty years since the video's release,^[3] while Gonzales has since been named the most influential skateboarder of all time by the Transworld Skateboarding magazine.^[6] Professional skateboarder, Paul Rodriguez explained in 2003 that he first saw Video Days in 1999 to better understand why his generation skated the way it did and also because the video inspired him to skateboard.^[7]

Mariano joined professional skateboarders Rodney Mullen, Jeron Wilson, Andrew Reynolds, Gershon Mosley, Ryan Wilburn, Heath Kirchart, and Mike York on a trip to Australia for the filming of a documentary entitled Canvas. The film was co-directed by Mike Hill, part owner of Globe.^{[8][9][10][11]}

Following Blind, Mariano joined the Girl Skateboards team and is recognized for a seminal part in the video, Mouse (1996).^[12] Since joining the Girl team, Mariano has appeared in every major Girl video production since the company's inception.^[13]

Mariano's video part in the Girl video, Mouse, in which Mariano skates to Herbie Hancock's Watermelon Man, has received widespread acclaim for its contribution to skateboarding. An example of the recognition that Mariano has received can be seen in professional skateboarder Kenny Anderson's recognition of a simple movement of the board that occurs in the part—Anderson explains: "Guy Mariano's line—the most infamous line here [Los Angeles High School]. Right here he does a switch back tail, but my favorite part of the line is where he turns around on flatground. That's my favorite part of the whole line."^[14]

Following a hiatus related to illicit drug use, Mariano returned to professional skateboarding in 2005. Mariano contributed a part in Lakai Limited Footwear's skateboarding video Fully Flared and won the "Best Street", "Best Video Part", and "Readers Choice" awards at the 2008 awards event that is presented annually by the Transworld Skateboarding magazine—the video itself won the "Best Video"award. Mariano did not present a pre-written speech after receiving any of the awards and was quoted as stating, "I’m older than most of you so I’m going to cry." after his "Best Street" accolade and "I love everybody! I love skateboarding" following the announcement of the "Best Video Part" decision.^[15]

In 2012, Mariano appeared in Pretty Sweet, a collaborative video between the Girl and Chocolate brands, and received the closing video part, a symbol of a video part's excellence (often referred to as the video's "ender"). Initially, Mariano was merely going to be featured in a montage section, but after he was encouraged by the video's filmer, Ty Evans, to "focus more" on his "stuff", Mariano eventually assembled enough footage for a full video part that features a number of tricks that were filmed in China. Mariano revealed in a 2012 interview that the filming process for the video was very physically internsive and "ice baths, massage therapy and chiropractic adjustments" were factors in the completion of the part.^[16] Following his Pretty Sweet video part, a level of anticipation developed in regard to the awarding of the Skater of the Year (SOTY) trophy to Mariano by Thrasher magazine and Gary Rogers, from the Internet show, Skateline, was a significant contributor to this momentum—the award was eventually given to David González.^[17]

Company owner

Mariano co-founded the Royal Trucks skateboard truck company with Rudy Johnson in 1999,^[18] and is also a part owner in the Fourstar clothing brand with Eric Koston.^[19]

Awards and accolades

Following his return from an extended period of leave from professional skateboarding, Mariano received the awards for "Best Street Skater"^[20] and "Best Video Part" (for Fully Flared) at the 10th Annual Transworld SKATEboarding Awards.^[21]

Mariano received the Best Video Part award again at the 15th Transworld award event for his closing part in the Girl/Chocolate co-production Pretty Sweet.^[22]

Professional skateboarder Paul Rodriguez identified Mariano in his "top ten" list of favorite professional skateboarders in July 2013. Rodriguez stated: "He’s just one of those guys that did legendary things that people who were there witnessed and you would just hear about. Then taking such a long hiatus and coming back from that better then [sic] ever."^[23]

Personal life

Mariano is an Italian-American and has revealed that, at the age of thirty-seven, professional skateboarding has led to significant difficulties in his personal life:

I made a lot of sacrifices—I missed my mom’s birthdays, my girlfriend’s birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, because I was on skate trips. I have to put a lot of my life on hold to be a skateboarder at this age. A lot of people are moving on in life and having babies and families, but I’m still not around every weekend. It can get a little old for the people around you in your life, you know?^[16]

An in-depth perspective on Mariano's personal history is covered in the "Epicly Later'd" segment that he filmed with Patrick O'Dell for the Vice web-based video channel.^[24]

Videography

• Powell Peralta: Ban This (1989)^[5]
• Blind: Video Days (1991)^[25]
• Blind: Tim & Henry's Pack of Lies (1992)^[26]
• Girl: Goldfish (1993)^[27]
• Girl: Mouse (1996)^[28]
• Globe: Canvas (1998)^[8]
• ON Video: Summer 2003 (2003)^[7]
• Fourstar: Super Champion Funzone (2005)^[29]
• Fourstar: Catalog Shoot (2005)^[30]
• The Berrics: Battle Commander (2007)^[31][32]
• Lakai: Fully Flared (2007)^[33]
• Streets: LA (2007)^[34]
• Fourstar: A Tribe Called Mapquest (2008)^[35]
• Lakai: The Final Flare! (2008)^[36]
• Fourstar: Gang of Fourstar (2009)^[37]
• Lakai: 2010 Video Collection (2010)
• Lakai: Voltage (2010)^[38]
• Girl: Outbackwards (2010)^[39]
• Thrasher: King Of The Road 2011 (2011)^[40]
• Girl/Chocolate: Pretty Sweet (2012)^[13]

References

• Thrasher Magazine, 14 page article with Guy Mariano, November 2005 issue
• Telephone interview Transworld SKATEboarding, February 2007

External links

• Crailtap
• Royal Trucks
• Fourstar