It's beyond strange when someone you know so well through only their skating passes away. I know nothing about the dude, apart from that he always put out great footage, always seemed to be having a good time, and always got me stoked to shred with a smile on my face.
Oh and that he had the sickest collection of tattoos! I always remember that when AVE was asked for his favourite tattoo's in a Crailtap Top 5's he nominated "The Van Wastell Collection". The first time I saw a photo of the random shit that dude had inked on his body, I knew why. Beyond Epic. It looked like some kid had scrawled random shit and monsters everywhere.
It's odd to be so depressed when a skateboarder you have never met passes on.
This weekend sucked, but I put on Naughty, went over to KCDC and picked up his pro board (the tragedy seems so much worse, knowing he had just been given the green light for the pro ranks so recently, and having paid his dudes for so long), and skated for a while with a good buddy on Sunday. Stupid tricks and Digi Cams.
The board is going on the wall, but I'll double up if I can, the next time I need a stick to stunt on.
Thanks Van.
RIP.