As I write this, the reality still hasn’t fully set in. It was less than a month ago that Marc came to San Jose to hang out. He was sober, healthy, and full of life. We had a blast reminiscing about the old days. He seemed genuinely excited about the future. He even extended his ticket by a couple of days so he could explore some of the old haunts around San Jose.
When it came time to drop him off at the airport, he handed me an envelope. I waited until I got home to open it. Inside was a three-page list of his hopes and dreams for the future. Never in a million years did I imagine that less than a month later, he would be gone.
I met Marc when he was 17. I watched him achieve all his skateboard dreams, and I sat next to him at the Away Days premiere—only to later watch his career fall apart. I still don’t understand why my friend is gone at 49 years old. I don’t know why he chose to come visit me. Was there some bigger purpose to it, or was he looking for closure?
Marc was a genius and a tortured soul. He told me he wanted to be remembered for his skateboarding, not for his failures or shortcomings. He was just a poor kid from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, who grew up in a trailer at the end of a dirt road. Yet he made it out, traveled the world, and touched so many lives. He will live on through the video parts that nobody can recreate. He gave opportunities to people who might never have had a chance otherwise.
Without a shadow of a doubt, Marc Johnson was the single most influential person in my life. Everything he did was art. He was endlessly creative and always tried to elevate his friends and everyone around him. He opened doors for guys like me and Jerry, and single-handedly put San Jose back on the map. Marc had the golden touch—whether it was on a skateboard, creating brands, or developing ad campaigns.
Marc Johnson passed away today. He was one of the most talented and creative people to ever step on or off a skateboard.
- Louie Barletta
flying back from japan today! been a great 2 weeks! much love to the jp and aus umvc3 community for treating me with such kindness and always good to see old and new friends.
For the Cloud UMVC3 community — I created a channel to launch cloud UMVC3 stations directly from Twitch chat. It's much simpler than navigating the years-old guides for setting up AWS. It is even a bit cheaper to boot.
Thank you again @abegen21@inutiyo_dam and everyone involved with Evo Japan and the after party!!! Some of the most fun I've had playing marvel again in a while!!
We're lucky to be able to meet people from around the world through fighting games and make friendships/memories that will last a lifetime. The FGC is so dope in that sense. Sucks I had to get sick on part of the trip, but that's life. Until next time! Now off to Seoul, ggs!
I had a blast during my time in Tokyo! I was glad to see many familiar faces again from both the Japanese scene and foreigners like me visiting for Evo Japan. Also to all the new friends I got to meet and play against from Japan and across the globe! Thanks for the good times 👊🏼
Out at 9th at evo JP. Wasn't feeling the greatest heading into the tournament so I didn't expect much, but due to how sloppy I played, I can't help but feel a bit disappointed with how it played out. Ggs to all I played. When will my 9th place curse end..... 😭