Just found out that NYC skating legend Andy Kessler passed away from complications relating to a wasp sting. Hats off to one of the skateboarding world’s greats, one of the true battling soldiers who not only survived his own tough times, but made a real difference to the NYC scene.

This from skate daily:
The passing of Andy Kessler is tough to handle, if you didn’t know Andy, you wanted to. I knew the stories, I saw the pictures and that’s why I was a skateboarder. I was not as close to Andy as a lot of my friends were, but that doesn’t take away from the impact of this moment. Andy may have been from New York and known as an East Coast skater but his impact was felt coast to coast and through generations of skateboarders.
I always thought it was rad that Andy seemed to be at every big skate event. He was iconic, but held a low profile. He was in the middle of some of the heaviest sessions and no matter what pros, bros, ams, boys or girls that were skating, when Andy dropped in there was a fluid calm… a respect.
People like Andy Kessler don’t come around too often, but when they do, they usually are skateboarders. There’s something about the mark people make on you and others that leaves a lasting impression. Maybe it was the fact that he always seemed to be laughing, always seemed to be skating, or always seemed to be enjoying the company of others as much as they enjoyed his. Sometimes it’s the little things that stand out the most. Those are the things I’ll never forget and I’ll never forget Andy Kessler.

If you would like to learn more about the early NYC / Zoo crew and the gifts that Andy gave his scene peep this article and this video.

The photo appearing here is by Chris Shonting, the story that accompanies it can be read by clicking on this.

RIP Andy Kessler