The flame of Andre Paskowski will always burn, along with his outstanding contributions to the world of windsurfing. The German rider from Hamburg has entered the gallery of water sports legends.
The world is mourning the loss of the blond boy.
The PWA World Tour held a tribute to Andre as the Tenerife World Cup kicked off. A touching two-minute silence was kept in his memory.
"I couldn’t eat my food. I just came to my room and could only cry, and still can't believe it! You are an example of life", expressed Ricardo Campello.
"I am going to take all your advice, put it together, and will windsurf like you always wanted me to."
Victor Fernandez was one of the pro windsurfers that kept close to Andre Paskowski. The Spanish sailor left a few words in his honor.
"I lived great moments with him and big projects such as 'Four Dimensions,' 'Minds Wide Open,' and now 'Below The Surface.'", says Fernandez.
"This one will be dedicated to him, and all the team will do their best to make the best movie ever, as Andre always wanted. We love you, Andre, and you will be always with us."
Fanatic, one of his main sponsors, left emotional words for his rider. Andre was an example to everyone of what hard work, dedication, commitment, and a fighting spirit really mean.
"He never gave up on his principles or his competitive spirit to be the best, no matter whether on the water or behind the lens, or even in his fight with cancer," Fanatic underlines.
North Sails worked with Andre and says that "Andre has touched the whole windsurf community with his professional attitude yet warm character."
"He will continue to live on through the ground-breaking movies he created."
Carolina Butrich Schwartzmann, Paskowski's girlfriend, has unveiled a letter in which she reveals how they got together and loved forever.
"We had everything to be happy together: love, trust, fun, common interests, respect, admiration, everything... except time", explains Schwartzmann.
"And we decide to live each second as if it was the last, each day as if there was no tomorrow, each kiss as if nothing else matters, not one single fight or even discussion, only love and happiness."
"In this year, I've learned from him, he has learned from me, but the most important thing is that we've learned to build something together: to trust, to grow, to treat us with respect, to support each other, to love."
"Because from the day we met, I stopped being me, he stopped being him, and we turned into something more beautiful: us."
"I miss him already, and I will miss him all my life. But I know this is the reflection of all the happiness he brought into my life... and I am happy that all this happened... because one year with him has been better than a lifetime with anyone else".
Andre Paskowski is a windsurfing legend. His legacy will remain untouched and will inspire the next generations of windsurfers.
The farewell to Andre will be held on August 23, 2013, at 10 am, in the Fritz Schumacher Hall of the Ohlsdorf Cemetery, in Hamburg, Germany.