Karsten,
In the early morning I sit and quietly play with words to keep you in my life. The life of our family. I use word carvings to think deeply about you. I cannot begin the day without you by my side. Before your death, your presence was assumed. My bad. Death has a way of changing that. No more assumptions. No more givens. Learn to be with others in the moment and love them unconditionally. Listen.
The words I received from your classmates in the middle of August were stunning. Each day, I received messages from them through text and emails. One by one, they came in with words of respect and gratitude for having you by their side. How you included them. Helped them move forward in small ways and large. Mostly large and quietly powerful.
So it’s important to use their words in keeping you in our memory. I’ve included a message from a 5Fore teammate. I will be adding others as we move through time. Through our own lives as we reconcile your presence and now your absence.
I am one of Karsten's classmates in the SPM program as well as one of his four teammates in 5FORE. We were an absolute powerhouse and ready to take the world by storm, and there was no one to credit more than Karsten. His personality and attitude toward each day was remarkable. Karsten and I connected on a number of levels, whether it was our passion for sports, our love for craft beer, getting jazzed up over creating some great content for the brand. In the one year that I was fortunate enough to build a relationship with him, it instantly became a brotherhood. I felt like he was a long lost blood brother of mine, it was unbelievable how well we connected and I'm sure anyone that has ever had the chance to interact with Karsten has felt the same way. My brother taught me so much in so little time; the importance of smiling everyday no matter the conditions, the relax we'll be good don't stress attitude, and to not care about what others thought that I have to keep creating because it was "siiiick". Karsten had more confidence in me than I did and I am forever grateful for his "let's stop b****ing and get this s*** done" approach to work. At 5FORE, Karsten was the heart and soul of our team. Nobody was more calm but at the same time driven than that man, and that was contagious to the whole team. Karsten never wanted the spotlight, much like myself. Must be the fullback/offensive lineman mindset that we were raised off of. 5FORE Performance Headwear was our pride and joy. We had been in talks all summer long about our long term plans for the brand and the business, we were going to take over the entire hat industry. I love that man, and know that he's in a better place having gone out chasing his passion and dreams and leaving the world with his glowing personality and drive. I love that man like a brother and know he'll forever be watching over us with a smile on his face and his feet kicked back drinking a cold one with the ducks playing in the background. Michael, Sports Product Management Class of 2019.
So there you have it KT. One of your classmate’s words not my words but with the same meaning of you. Who you were. Your character and value.
We love you so much and know you’re in our life.
Dad