I met Jamie at Coban’s Muay Thai Camp somewhere around 2011. He was so cool and beautiful that I was intimidated, but he let me hold pads for him during training, and he kicked me as if I were just one of the guys, and that made me love him. He encouraged my training, and when I inevitably put myself down, he refused to hear it. The more I talked to Jamie, the more his intelligence and curiosity showed themselves. Yes, he was a vagabond, and a charmer, but behind the killer blue eyes and the curls on his forehead, there was bottomless soul. Bottomless. About a year and a half before Jamie began to get sick, I had cancer. During those months, he wasn’t scared of me. He continued to let me help with his training, he kicked as hard as ever, and he was always there with a genuine bear hug when I needed it. I find it hard to believe that he is not out there somewhere, vagabonding around the world, spreading joy and light and love in that excruciatingly present way of being that was uniquely Jamie. It’s not fair. As far as I know, Jamie never expressed that — he was too busy living — and we are all blessed that he passed through our lives. But who wouldn’t want more of a guy like that?

Posted by Leslie Nipkow