Page 76 - THE ENDLESS WAVE | Skateboarding, Death & Spirituality

THE ENDLESS WAVE | PART ONE
him in London. He greeted me with a big smile, a beverage in hand while wea- ring a bathrobe. My first thought was that he was definitely channeling his inner Lebowski.
Willi had some amazing stories about his time working in the skate industry and it was especially fascinating to hear about his business relationship with Tom Sims. I invited Willi to my book launch back in 1999 and it felt like I was back in London all those years ago. We held the launch at a skatepark and I think Willi enjoyed doing the skate demo as much as I loved being a first- time author.
Over the next two decades or so, Willi and I remained in contact. A few times a year he’d call me with an idea he had for skateboarding or he’d ask a question about the industry. I tried my best to help out. I got the sense he was THIS close to launching something truly wonderful, but nothing seemed to really gel.
At the beginning of 2014, I received a call from Willi. His voice wasn’t the same and I had a feeling something was up. It turned out he had cancer. He was anx- ious to get some of his stories recorded and he wondered if I would come up to Collingwood and interview him. I quickly arranged for a team to join me. We met Willi in a retirement home where he was trying to recover from the treatment. It was here that I got to know Willi’s wife, Judy. She was devastated by what Willi was experiencing. They had been together since they were in their teens and Judy knew that losing Willi was going to be extremely painful.
I spent a few hours interviewing Willi and hoped that he would recover. But he looked very frail and I sensed that he didn’t have much time. By the time March rolled around, Willi had died at the age of 58.
My attention turned to Judy and I tried to support her as best as I could. She was overwhelmed by grief. She hadn’t only lost her husband, she had lost her best friend. Over the next few months, we started to think about a tribute party for Willi. As we began planning the event, I could tell that it was a therapeutic experience for Judy. I was also grateful that I was able to celebrate the life of someone who had contributed to the sport I love so much.
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