Robert Brink - Writer

Dear Eric Stricker...

September 24, 2009 | Skip To The Comments (2)

Blair and Eric. December 2004. Analog best trick contest at etnies Skatepark.

...Way back in 2002, I begged my friend Tim O'Connor for your email address at Strength magazine. He kindly hooked me up with it, and after pitching myself to you, you were not only kind enough to write back, but cool enough to give a completely inexperienced and aspiring writer his first break and first interview assignment at a real skateboarding magazine. For that, I will be eternally grateful. And I never hesitate to tell people, even to this day, that you were that guy for me.

Tonight, many years later, I'm writing you for a very different reason...

It's really fucking weird that less than 24 hours after we were late-night emailing back and forth about how to push for a digital archive all of TransWorld's back issues so that our closets wouldn't be so full of magazines for the rest of our lives, I found out you passed away. Really weird. We weren't as close as we could've been in the last few years, but then again... such is often the case in life.... and for that, I'm a bit sad.

I'll miss finding rare and old shoes around the Sole Tech offices to send you for your insane collection... it was always nice to stoke you out with that. I'll miss the red curb sessions in Carlsbad that we had when I lived down in Vista. I'll miss hashing out article ideas and working on them together and making them a reality even though the last time we did that was a few years back. And I'll miss the way your teeth kinda showed through your smile when you were happy.

Thanks Eric, for being a friend when I left home in NJ and came out to California all alone. And for opening the door for me and giving me me a chance so that I could write for two amazing skate mags and have the wonderful career and life in skateboarding I have today. I owe you one in the next life...

Your friend,

Brink

My sincerest condolences to Arnette, Skin, Blair, Cullen, Carleton, Ben, Clyde, Jason, Fitz, Stoddard, Haydee, Gretchen, Jamey, Ken, O'Meally, Oliver, Seu and all of the TransWorld people Eric worked with, as well as all the friends and family of Eric in this tough time.