Nick Coombes, friend, rider, sage, and influence, departed this mortal plane on 4-20-24. He would’ve made some bad 420 jokes about the day and had a laugh to himself. But the truth is, the laughter just isn’t there for us. In fact, finding the appropriate words to describe the loss of Nick just isn’t there yet either. Nick was so many things to so many people, a true renaissance man in every sense of the word. An artist, an athlete, a writer, a thinker, and maybe most importantly, someone that really seemed to enjoy the many absurdities that come with life.

Part of the DIG BMX family since day one, Nick’s words and photos graced random pages of those early issues with his regular “Talkin’ Shop with Coxie” column. And even when he didn’t contribute, Nick’s influence on DIG was ever-present. One phone call to him was sometimes all it took to help shape and inspire the direction of an upcoming issue. Sometimes, it was less about what he said, and more about what he didn’t say, in between the many lighthearted and jovial moments that animated his persona. And sometimes, when logic got in the way, Nick was quick to cut it down. (I remember flying to Liverpool to meet Nick for the first time. He didn’t know what I looked like, so he drew a picture of me in a notebook for reference, and somehow, we found each other in a crowded airport.)

Though the loss of Nick is still fresh, there is some solace in knowing that he’s always been a part of all of us, reflected on the pages of the magazine, and in the many people that were lucky enough to partake in the absurdity of life alongside Nick.

The past few weeks, knowing Nick wasn’t in great shape, I started spending spare moments in the day looking at the many photos of him living his life in the past decade. And one gigantic detail of Nick emerged again and again no matter where he was or what he was doing: Nick always smiled.

May we never forget that trademark Coxie grin. - BT