Happy 33rd birthday to my close friend, Oliver Tree.
We were supposed to be in Spain celebrating your birthday today. You were so excited for the trip, and I was looking forward to joining you for part of your 80+ city world tour. I had been listening to your new album and couldn’t wait to sing along to it live.
Thank you for always being the friend I could count on. You constantly believed in me and encouraged me to keep going, no matter what other people thought or said. You reminded me that people will always criticise, judge or doubt you, but that shouldn’t stop you from building what you believe in.
You often told people I was one of the most positive friends you had. I loved how excited you were about our shared mission to change the way people experience money through Unit, helping build a more abundant and free society. I’ll do my best to make you proud.
Thank you for all of your wild marketing ideas and crazy plans. You inspired me to post more, share more, and not be afraid to put myself out there. I still haven’t made the viral TikToks you always wanted me to, but I’ll get there.
We first met in Antarctica, the seventh continent, and instantly clicked. We were both born in 1993, loved creating things, travelling and exploring new cultures.
When we met, I hadn’t heard your music before, but I quickly became a fan. I came to appreciate not only the catchy songs and incredible performances, but also the creativity and authenticity behind everything you made.
Together we explored the world, from Barbados to Seoul, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to Montenegro, Estonia and many more places.
I couldn’t join you on your planned trips to visit the Maasai in Kenya and Tanzania, or through Kazakhstan and the rest of Central Asia, because of a back injury from marathon and Ironman training. I wish I had.
Some of my favourite memories are simply walking, cycling and sharing great meals together in New York, London and Los Angeles.
We spoke or messaged almost every week about everything, life, relationships, business, dreams and what the future could hold. During one of our long conversations over New Year, we talked about how excited we were for everything 2026 would bring.
You spoke about wanting to start a family, choosing one or two cities to call home, how deeply in love you were with your girlfriend, and how grateful you were for your managers and close friends, Dan and Paul, and everyone who had supported you along the way.
I’m so proud to see the creation of “Dr. Oliver Tree’s Extremely Epic Art Grant for Baby Geniuses,” helping emerging artists pursue their creativity. We even spoke about it in your hot tub in Los Angeles last month, talking about the legacy you wanted to leave. I told you I’d love to help support it because I have so much respect for artists and what they bring to the world.
I still can’t believe you’re gone.
The past two weeks have been incredibly difficult since a random fan messaged me to tell me the news. That evening, for the first time in years, I drank far too much wine with a friend, even though I’ve never liked alcohol, because I simply didn’t know how else to process it.
It’s surreal to think that I could have been with you in Rio. Maybe I would have been on that helicopter too. Maybe things would have been different. I’ll never know. I’m simply grateful to still be here.
Thank you for your friendship, your loyalty, your encouragement, your laughter and your belief in me.
Rest in peace, my friend.
Happy birthday, Oli. You’ll never be forgotten.
- Michael Healy