R.I.P. MAMAFAKA

I had the honor and opportunity to meet Pharuephon Mukdasanit aka MAMAFAKA back in 2010, when I was in Thailand for CLEA, but had barely been able to chat with him at all (besides that one-time online interview), as the hustle and bustle of the event caught both him and his team-mate Kenji Chai busy with their design submissions, which saw them take the championship title that year too.

Forward to 2012, when I survived Stroke and ventured forth to Thailand again, I had narrowly missed meeting him / seeking him out that one day I was able to, but could not (thinking to score Chucks from him too…)


(Click on image above to view his works on Facebook / portrait via)
Then today I saw my Facebook-stream with condolences of his passing, which boggled my mind, as I dashed off to the hospital, for the start of my dad's treatment. Now back home, the story begins to unfold, with the mention that he had passed (after a few days in ICU) due to a surfing mishap.

"Mortality" is a concept that transcends age, and embraces anyone at anytime regardless of race and religion, and one is left to grasp at his/her legacy left behind, in their passing. He was gone far too young, and the world looses yet another vibrant and inspirational artist, IMHO. Shown directly below is an image of turnarounds for his collectible to be made with Mighty Jaxx;


And while his work is what we see and blog about, it does not necessarily define who he is, to his family and friends. And for that, my heart goes out to them.