When you think of skateboarding in the late 1980s and early 1990s, names like Jason Jesse immediately come to mind.
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Jesse grew up right in the middle of the skate scene, riding every chance he got and leaving school in the dust most days.
He was just a kid, twelve years old, when Mark "Gator" Rogowski rolled up on him and first took notice, a dude who would later be known for things way darker than skating.
At the time, it was all boards, streets, and the dream of making it into the crew.
Jesse took to social media and shared with skaters his encounter with Gator.
He said that Gator picked him up at his house to be part of the first Vision skate video. At the time, it felt like a dream come true. Jesse even asked Gator to sign a photo he had on his wall, completely covered with images of Gator and other skating icons like Chris Miller, Jeff Phillips, and Neil Blender.
Gator’s reaction stuck with him. He asked if Jesse really had dedicated a whole wall to him, and he says he did. That early connection pulled him deeper into skate culture, and soon he was skating Del Mar more than attending school.
It wasn’t long before Jesse got officially involved with Vision, and his parents were there through it all. His mom mentioned that Brad Dorfman, who owned Vision, had actually lived on their couch for a while, showing just how close-knit the skating world could be.
The early 1990s were full of long days surfing and skating with friends like Dan Sturt, who lived in Solana Beach. During that time, the small town was shaken by the disappearance of a girl whose photo was posted everywhere. Dan would often comment on it while they surfed, unaware of the tragedy that was unfolding.
Then in 1991, the community was rocked by the murder of Jessica Bergsten. She was later found in a surfboard bag buried in a shallow grave.
Everything changed when Gator admitted to the crime, a truth that hit the skate community hard. Nobody could have imagined it back when he was just a kid pulling Jesse into the Vision crew and skating the streets together.
Jesse Posted:
"Gator picked me up at my house when i was 12 to be in the first vision video and i asked him to sign this photo on my wall of his face, he looked at me and said "you dedicated a whole wall to me "?yeah chris miller , jeff phillips , neil blender , and mark gator rogowski, i would skate del mar alot , way more than i went to school ,then gator got me on vision and i told my mom n dad and my mom said brad dorfman owned vision he lived on our couch ,fast forward to 1990 /91 me and dan sturt surfed alot and dan lived in Solana beach where missing girl xeroxed and stapled to every pole in Solano beach and dan would comment on it .then 1991 rape and murder of Jessica Bergsten. Who was found in a surfboard bag in a shallow grave because Gator confessed to it ..if you havent seen , Stoked the rise n fall of gator by Helen stickler it covers it . Also gator never surfed"