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It’s been just over a month since Chris Long passed away. The sudden loss of my dear friend totally broke me which is why you may have noticed a drop in my interactions on social media and a complete lack of new content here on the site. This was also due in part to the fact that I wanted the next post to be this one – sharing the footage from the memorial event we hosted inside Engage for Chris on May 11th. The problem was, watching the footage back was incredibly difficult for me so I kept putting it off. I am glad to say that I have finally found the courage and the time to pull it together and you can find an edited recording from the event down below.
It was a beautiful thing to be part of and I couldn’t have done it without my other two VR brothers-in-arms Chris Madsen and Mike Armstrong. I also want to thank everyone who volunteered to speak at the event as well as everyone who attended. I want to thank the super talented Kirsa Moonlight for agreeing to come back and sing Hallelujah as a part of the event. Finally a huge thank you to Jay Younes at Immersive Computing Labs for providing the hardware and support that allowed Chris’ wife Elaina and members of his family to be part of the event.
Please note that some of the speaker audio drops out at times and as a result I have had to edit pieces out. Also note that Chris’ family were watching the event streamed to a TV but took turns stepping into an avatar named CHRIS FAMILY. As such, you may notice this avatar move around somewhat during the memorial as people switch the headset.
Here is the recording of the event:
There are two excellent write-ups of the event that you can also read. The first comes from Nina Salomons who worked with Chris extensively in the UK. Nina’s article can be found here. Secondly the always wonderful Bobby Carlton produced this piece for VR Scout reflecting on the event.
The Fund that I set up for Chris' wife and children is still open and anything that you can do to help them would be greatly appreciated. You can find it here.
I will finish by simply saying this. Chris was my friend and I loved him dearly. I miss him every day and I still can’t quite believe that he’s gone.
Make the most of your lives my friends because none of us know what tomorrow will bring.
Rest in Peace my brother.
Steve