His talent was evident at a young age. As the youngest member on the Powell team which included Gabriel Rodriguez, Paulo Diaz, and Rudy Johnson, he not only held his own but motivated others by his novel tricks and signature style. Watch the video, "Ban This," and you will get a glimpse of his talent.
After skating for Powell, Guy skated for Blind Skateboards, which was the best team of street skaters ever assembled. His epic part in the Blind Video, "Video Days," is considered by many skaters to be the best video part ever. Mariano showed us what was possible on a board; ollie impossible to rail, nose blunt slide, and late big spin over a trash can are just a small part of his ridiculous arsenal of tricks. He was also the first one to do a switch three sixty flip on camera as can be seen in the Blind Promo featuring Tim Gavin and Henry Sanchez.
I met Guy through my friends Jeron Wilson, Weston Correa, and Lance Mountain. Jeron was the last member to be sponsored by the original Blind team and I will discuss his contribution to skateboarding in another post. After the Blind team left World Industries to create Girl Skateboards, I had many chances to see Guy skate in person. One of the sickest tricks I seen him do was a monster frontside flip over the pyramid at the old Powell skate park. I can go on and on and attempt to describe how good of a skater he is but I will leave it for the reader to go on youtube and watch all of his footage.
Everyone has their trials and tribulations in life and Guy Mariano is no exception. He has been through some tough times in his life and it has made him a stronger and better person. I heard that his next video part is really sick and am looking forward to seeing him shred it up!
