Danny Gonzalez
‘Thrasher Cover. First photo printed in a mag. 1997. Photo by Gabe Morford.‘
April 2026
You started off as a freestyler because the size of the board was more in line with your height as a 9-year-old. Do you think that was the reason for you to push the boundaries on what can be done on a skateboard?
My creative side came from wanting to be my own individual in skateboarding. Freestyling really didn’t have anything to do with it.
Back then they called those tricks ‘circus’ tricks. Do you think that today people are more open minded about these things, where ‘circus’ now becomes ‘innovative’?
Freestyle was always innovative regardless of being labelled circus, but people today respect hard difficult tricks no matter what, as long as they’re done well.
‘San Diego. Random info. Went back twice to get it. Landed first one I tried pulling in on. First photographer said no, he didn’t believe it could be done. Willie Santos was there. 25 Anniversary Transworld Magazine issue apologized for not running it as a cover. Trick was done after taking 5 years off of skateboarding.’
You were scouted by (Deluxe) when they showed up for a demo in San Antonio, which they eventually turned you pro for Stereo while living in SF California. Ever thought what would have happened if you were not at that demo?
I suppose if I wasn’t at that demo, I would’ve tried to skate at a future demo with a different team. When I was 12 & 14, I did make a couple sponsor me videos, but I always planned on moving to California when I turned 18.
Do you think nowadays a pro can make a career staying in Texas or do they still move closer to where the main industry is?
Whether you’re Instagram or YouTube famous, I still think it’s always better to be in California. Once you make it though, I think you can move away as long as you keep up with your social media and you still go on trips.
There was some noise when you quit Stereo and later sued Thrasher for using your likeness in their Skate and Destroy video game. Would you do it all over again?
I quit stereo in 1998 because Deluxe was underpaying their pros on Stereo, and I felt like I couldn’t change the machine. As for the Thrasher Skate and Destroy Video game released in 1999. I settled out of court with PlayStation and Rockstar, which is public record. This means I never sued or took Thrasher directly to court. Their name just happened to be on the game. You have to ask yourself, what if PlayStation put out a skateboarding game and used your likeness on the cover of the game, plus a globe Ad sequence in the load up section of the game, and also ran the image on all of its promotional items without your permission; do you think that’s fair or shall royalties be paid out? After having that experience, I can tell you Thrasher never used anyone’s image for 3rd Party profit again without their permission.
‘‘But yes, I would do a board if they asked.’
Which photographer took the picture of you that was later used as a silhouette shot for the game? Do you know if the photographer got paid for his photo in the video game?
The photographer’s name is Luke Ogden, and the image was taken from single frame of a sequence in a 1998 Thrasher interview. I do not know if he got paid, but I doubt it.
If Stereo approached you to do a re-issue, would you do it?
Stereo split from Deluxe some years later and had their boards made through Giant Distribution. These days they’re done independently with Chris Pastras and Jason Lee. But yes, I would do a board if they asked.
‘San Francisco. Random Info. I was a cold day, I had a floating bone chip in my ankle, which meant I couldn’t bail. Pete Thompson got a front angle, thinking I would do it more times, so he could get the side angle, but after making it first try. He never got his side angle shot. I smoked a celebratory joint with Gershon Mosely after I landed it.’
Any local Texas heroes you looked up to when you started?
Sure, there was a guy named Eddie who did hand plants as well as Mike Vallely. A skater named Ezra, was unbelievably talented, and of course Forrest Kirby.
You left Texas when you were 18 years old for California to become a pro skateboarder. In 2021, 24 years later you moved back to Texas. Why?
I’m married now with two children, and I thought it’d be nice to live near my parents and my brother and sisters.
What are you up to now?
For a living I’m an Amazon Account Manager, which means I help brands sell their products on Amazon. On the side I run a golf site, selling a product I created. butteflydivottool.com.
‘Sacto Triple Set. 2000 – At the time no one flipped over the handrail. I Thunder hanger split down the middle trying it, so we found found a local skate shop and I replaced the hanger with different on my brand. After going back, I landed the sequence a few tries later.’
I noticed some of your digital art. What is the difference between Ethereum, Polygon and Solana? They all look the same to me.
(Laughing) The true answer would bore the readers, but the skinny of it is. In the NFT world people are clicky to which Block Chain they support. Knowing this meant, I wanted to set up my art, so no matter what they’re preference is, there’d be art for everyone.
Is there anything left on your wish list?
I will always have a burning desire to be successful.
Last question. If you could interview a person, who would it be?
Tom Penny. You know why.
‘I don’t remember who shot the other picture. But at the time I used to call kids out from the audience. It was a way involving the audience. Everyone seemed amused by it.’