Marko Kosta, born 1975, raised in New York City, street skating in Queens and Manhattan from age 14. He attended college at Pace University, the downtown NYC campus which was situated just down the street from the Brooklyn Banks, at the time, “The Banks” was one of the most famous street skate spots in the Country. He recalls how difficult it was to focus in class when all his skate buddies were skating in the vicinity and, on the other hand, how nice it was to walk out of class and almost instantly be reconnected with friends skating some of the best street spots in the City. No need for phones or social media.
Marko spent 20 years living in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he raised his kids, worked professionally in advertising and kept skating. It was skating that originally caught his eye for the Bay Area and a career job in SF solidified his relocation from NY. He blends his Bachelor’s in Business Administration with over ten years of co-leading non-profit youth development organizations, volunteering in several capacities including Skateboard Coach. This, combined with over thirty years of actual skateboarding experience and some encouragement from fellow volunteers, in 2018, Marko launched a skate school named SK8 GYM in San Francisco, California. SK8 GYM is at the intersection of Marko’s three biggest passion points: teaching/ coaching, skateboarding and business administration. He has held over 10,000 hours of skate lessons/ classes, has taught over 2,500 students, with more than two-hundred of them being first-time adult skaters, aka L8R SK8RS.
SK8 GYM keeps expanding every year and throughout all this expansion, Marko’s work continues to focus on skateboarding curriculum and specifically working with adults who are trying it for the very first time. If you want to see what people are saying about Marko’s lessons, check out his online reviews on the SK8 GYM website. Marko travels all across the country to teach adults who are ready to take the leap.