Legendary shoe designer and Australian vertical pioneer Sinisa Egelja has tragically passed away this week. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Sin: he was the creative genius behind Airwalk Shoes, which emerged in the late 80s and looked like they had been dropped off by the Delorean. Lance Dawes and Grant Brittain (below) had some lovely things to say about this bloke who not only induced waves wherever he went, but really was one of the first to put Australia on the map of international skateboarding. Hats off tiger.
Grant Brittain's words + photo (below, pic above is by Sturt.)

“Sin was one of the most unique people I have ever known. I met him in the early 80s when he first came over with Brad Shaw from Australia and I was just starting to work for TW. I already knew all about him through his friend, David Mock, another visiting Australian I befriended earlier. David lived in his Plymouth Duster in the Del Mar Skate Ranch parking lot while I slept on the pool table in the skate shop. David would show me photos of his friend, Sin and tell me funny stories about him. When Sin came over to DMSR, I felt like I already knew him and he fit right into the local skate crowd and became a fixture. He stayed for the next 20 something years. After a couple of years, I was living in my friend, Cynthia’s house and she rented Sin a room. He put in metal industrial shelving, but made it like a maze so you had to crawl in and over to enter the room. Sin was unpredictable and a barrel of laughs, never a dull moment with him. He had a huge heart and was always ready to entertain his friends. In 1985, he took me to the airport, I was going on my first trip to Europe and I left him at the gate crying. Now he has me crying, I will miss you my friend.”

The full Airwalk story can be read here, at this PDF from a recent issue Sneaker Freaker.