A tribute to Andy Kessler
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One of New York City’s original skateboarders died this past Monday following an allergic reaction to a wasp sting.
Andy began skateboarding in New York before skateboarding on the East Coast even existed. Alongside a tight group of friends, he pioneered the streets of every borough in search of terrain that had literally never been ridden upon.
But what is perhaps more impressive then Andy’s deep-seated roots is the fact that he continued on as a skateboarder long after his contemporaries drifted away, keeping the same passion and excitement as when he first pushed down the uncharted Upper West Side streets.
Through the years Andy became more than just a skater and legendary figure, he became an advocate for skateboarding. He fought hard to have the very first skatepark built in NYC and continued on to successfully get other parks designed, funded and built around the city - a feat that was once deemed impossible.
In addition to Andy’s influence and accomplishments, he was a genuinely great guy. He was welcoming, sincere and kind. Andy was a lover of life and it showed in his face and his actions daily.
Though Andy is gone, his spirit will fully live on in the hearts of skateboarders in New York and around the world.
Andy Kessler R.I.P. June 11, 1961 – August 10, 2009
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A tribute to Andy Kessler (text) by Jay Riggio is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
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