I don't know where to put this. Maybe I should start a new thread. Maybe in Things you are not stoked on. Maybe it doesn't even need to be written. I don't have a Facebook or IG (I might be the only one); so I can't post it there. Here goes.
The past 4 days have been filled with tears. My friend died. My good friend Marc "Shockus" Delellis died skateboarding. Sunday morning he slammed, hit his head, skating his favorite place on earth, the OB skatepark. Monday night he passed away. It still doesn't seem real to me. I've known him about 15 years. One of the nicest people I ever met. He always had a smile on his face. You could not be bummed in his presence. Thrasher and Transworld had some nice things to say on their websites this week.
Below is a video me and a friend made back in 2011. Washed Up Warriors 2, The Second Bumming. Marc has a little line at 15:50 at his beloved OB park, in one of the friend montages. When this video premiered at one of the local bars; and Marc's part came on the screen, it received the loudest cheers of the night. Everyone loved him.
Just getting that clip of him was a struggle. He loved to skate. But was more comfortable behind the camera than in front of it. I was filming one of Marc's best friends, McKinney, doing that judo. He has the clips after Marc in that video. I kept bugging Marc "let me film a trick of you for the video". He wasn't having it. So I just started filming him not skating and getting all these face shots. I told him "you're going to be in our video regardless. Even if it's just face shots. So you might as well get a skate clip" So finally he gave in and let me film that line of him. If I remember right, he did it first try.
I'm going to miss him so much. This whole nightmare has made me question a lot of things. Do I even want to skate anymore? Should I wear a helmet? I've hit my head probably 10 times over the years. Had to get stitches twice. It's scary to think that one slam and you could die. The area of the park where he fell is like 3 or 4 feet tall. Goes to show it could happen anywhere.
I know Marc led a full life in his 39 years here. He travelled the world over, multiple times. Listening to his stories was the best. Like his first time in China; a little Chinese man started petting his arm. I guess he had never seen something so big and hairy. If you've watched a skate video in the last 15 years; you probably saw his filming work. Maybe his mission was complete, so God called him home. That doesn't make it any easier for those of us left behind, though.
I love you Marc. I miss you. And hope to see you again some day.