RIP Scott Reeder
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This post is hard to write.
I woke this morning to an email from Scott Reeder's wife, Pam, saying that Scott has passed away. For those who were unaware, Scott had been living with a rare form of cancer since 2012. He never let that get in the way of living his life though, carrying on mat and stand-up surfing, snowboarding and spreading his infectious joy for life to everyone he touched.
I first got to know Scott when I worked with him and Ken McKnight on his HERE & NOW INTERVIEW for UK Mat Surfers. Anyone who has read that has been blown away by it, and anyone who hasn't read it should. We obviously spent a lot of time talking about mats and I was honoured to build Scott a Ute named "Wiggleworm" last year. We spent well over an hour talking on the phone about all sorts and I was struck then by Scott's energy and joy. He regularly gave me feedback and clips via email, in amongst just talking shit. Scott's sense of humour was a good match for mine, and I enjoyed many long email conversations with Scott putting the world to rights (and wrongs). People who have been following the Phileas Project will remember how much work Scott and Pam put in to Phileas' stay in San Diego and the comedy of it all. You can see all that HERE.
Recently, Scott was readmitted to hospital to undergo surgery and unfortunately passed away after a period in ITU. Scott sent me an email just before going into hospital with a couple of clips entitled "Small Wave Hellman". He said:
“ I surfed Wiggleworm a bunch during the leadup to surgery. The last day, Sunday, was sublime. Probably snagged 40 glassy little racers. These clips are not from that day. I’ve been having a blast lately trying to build speed through the cutbacks. Surf mats are the best. Goodwill to all matkind! OK, gotta rest for the big day tomorrow. Cheers. ”
And that sums Scott up for me. He never stopped living and he never stopped loving. My thoughts and heart-felt wishes go out to to Pam, Maz and all of Scott's family and friends.
I will say Rest in Peace but I seriously doubt that Scott will rest at all in whichever form of heaven he finds himself. He'll be dragging everyone down to ride the next cosmic swell with a smile on his face and I'm sure he will check in on the rest of us from time to time just to make sure that we're not taking ourselves too seriously.
3 cheers to you Festus Porkmeyer, and thanks for the inspiration.
G