Augie Costantino spiritual advisor, mentor to skateboarder Mark "Gator" Rogowski

Augie Constatino - Gator Rogowski.
June 9

From the archives Augie Constatino joins Ed Opperman to talk about Gator Rogowski.

Mark Anthony "Gator" Rogowski is an American former professional skateboarder who was convicted of murder. He was mainly prominent in the 1980s and early 1990s. Rogowski's career ended when he pled guilty for assaulting, raping, and murdering Jessica Bergsten in 1991. His life was chronicled in a critically acclaimed 2003 documentary titled Stoked: The Rise and Fall of Gator by American filmmaker Helen Stickler

Augie Costantino was the
spiritual advisor and mentor to professional skateboarder Mark "Gator" Rogowski during Rogowski's transition into born-again Christianity in the late 1980s. 

• Spiritual Guidance: Costantino, an ex-surfer turned "skateboard minister," befriended Rogowski after the skater suffered a severe injury in Germany. He influenced Rogowski to adopt a strict form of Evangelical Christianity, which led the skater to preach to peers and use religious imagery on his skateboards.
• The Murder Confession: Following the 1991 rape and murder of Jessica Bergsten, Rogowski eventually confessed the crime to Costantino.
• Surrender: It was Costantino who ultimately convinced Rogowski to turn himself in to the police to face the consequences of his actions. 

Rogowski is currently serving a sentence of 31 years to life; while he has been granted parole by the board multiple times (most recently in 2022), California Governors have consistently overturned the decision, maintaining that he remains a danger to society


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