The Wake

The life of skateboarding legend Mark “Gator” Anthony reads like more of a made-for-television movie than a documentary. A young kid from a broken home decides to take part in a counter culture and ends up bringing that culture into the public arena only to forget where he came from. The difference from a television movie and the real life of Anthony is a far more tragic ending than could not have come from the minds of most Hollywood writers.

Stoked: The Rise and Fall of Gator is the real story of Mark “Gator,” as told by documentary filmmaker Helen Stickler. Stickler uses extensive on-camera interviews with several people who were close to Gator to recount his rise to fame and eventual incarceration for rape and murder. Also, phone interviews with Gator himself are used throughout the film, which was six years in the making.

Mark Anthony started skating in the empty swimming pools of Southern California with his friends. He used skateboarding as a way to rebel against the society in which he grew up in. With practice, he grew into one of the first professional skaters while still a teenager. Gator was not able to handle his success, however. It was too much, too fast.

As he made his way to becoming a superstar, the people that supported him on his way up began to resent what he had become. Gator went into seclusion and developed a drinking problem before finally finding Christianity

The interviews in Stoked outline the arch of his life. Many of his peers, who appeared in the film, showed vast amounts of animosity for Anthony and the path he took in the shadow of his virtuoso talent.

The most powerful voice in the film, however, comes from his ex-fiance Brandi. She emotionally recounts her relationship with Anthony from puppy love to the deadly end. Finally, she is brought to tears as she remembers her good friend, Jessica, whose life was cut short by Anthony in a gruesome fashion.

All of the interviews are supplemented by footage of Anthony skating at competitions and home videos of him at his most candid. These home videos tell more about Gator at times than his friends and even his own voice can ever hope to communicate.

Stoked is not only a film about one particular person, but also about the whole culture of skating. Stickler cleverly uses popular skaters such as Tony Hawk to convey the problems that the culture has faced as well as what it has overcome to reach its current status. This tactic ensures that viewers who are not well-versed in skating are not alienated from the message.

Anthony’s life is an allegory of sorts for the entire culture. It started out as rebellious pastime and then transformed into a semi-lucrative hobby for many. From there, it reached an even higher plateau where the icons that become millionaires would begin to hear the echos of “sell out” rumbling from the underground. Once the figureheads for a culture of misfits, they became the posterboys for everything corporate and, in the minds of many, “evil.”

In many ways, it was Gator that brought skating to suburbanites, but he will forever be remembered by the people who were closest to him as a corporate shill and to the people who did not know him as a murderer. Stickler makes a statement beyond an autobiography with Stoked. This film raises interesting questions as to the legacy of Gator while providing much fodder for judgment about an entire culture of people. Stoked is not just for skaters, it proves to be an educational tool for anyone who has an interest in countercultures.