e sentence after being convicted of the rape and murder of 22 year-old Jessica Bergsten. Convicted in 1992 after pleading guilty, Rogowski was eligible for his first parole hearing which was denied, he will be eligible for another hearing in 7 years.
The details of the murder of his ex girlfriends best friend are horrific and well documented in a very public case of a well known popular skater of the 80's. Gator was as popular as any skater during that era, including Christian Hosoi, Tony Hawk, Lance Mountain, and Steve Caballero. In 2003 the critically acclaimed documentary Stoked:The Rise and Fall of Gator chronicled the whole story behind his life.
He had it all in the way of lucrative endorsement deals, extreme popularity, and even rock star status as Skateboarding was becoming as popular than ever.
He was a major contributor to the movement that we all know and love today, it's hard not to think he could have been seen in the same light we see several Skateboarding legends from the 80's. We might have even seen him competing in the recent Quiksilver throw back to the 80's contests.
Most of the new skate generation has not heard this story before but for those who lived the movement the recent news of his denied parole sparks up the memories of a horrible story of a life of a young girl tragically cut short and the frustrating waste of a promising skateboarder.
If you get the opportunity, check out the 9 part series of Stoked: The Rise and Fall of Gator from youtube.
Source: http://www.grindtv.com/skate/blog/24653/ex-skateboard+star+denied+parole+rehashes+painful+memories/
andy macdonald kelly slater jake brown rob machado tony hawk
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