words // Brandon Richard
For the last 15 years, Mark Gonzales has been a member of the adidas Skateboarding family. During this time, he's inspired, developed and nurtured the program. To honor Mark's 15th Anniversary with adi, the brand is releasing a special collection of footwear and apparel inspired and created by Gonz's illustrations and creative mojo.
"This collection was a true collaboration with Mark," said adidas Action Sports Design Director Katie Becker. "Not only did we get his graphic input, but he actually worked directly with us on all cut and sew pieces. It's definitely inspired by his wardrobe or things he wanted to add. While shopping with us in Paris, he fixated on patches and decided to create his own patch that you see on most of his collection."
Becker continued, "The overall inspiration for both shoes was the adidas Azteca track spike for the Mexico City Olympics. Also, Mark doesn't like to lace up his shoes, so both were made with that in mind (even the Pro model has gussets for easy slip on / slip off). His other request was for a super low profile outsole for better board feel. The graphics were all drawn by Gonz and we literally took his shoe sketches and applied it as a graphic element."
This special collection is part of The Gonz 15 Years of adidas celebration that started in LA, is followed with the official global exhibition and film premiere in Berlin on the 3rd of July and continues to tour the globe throughout the rest of July.
Shop the 15th Anniversary Gonz Collection now at adidas Skateboarding retail partners.
