Red on Marketing Blog

Rick Maltin, Rest in Peace (I Miss You)

Rick Maltin

You know those “boy racers” blasting along on exotic Italian motorbikes, leaning so far into the curves on twisty roads that their knees are skimming just inches above the asphalt?

That’s my client Rick Maltin, out for his Sunday drive through the Sierra foothills... except that Rick is not 19 like his riding pals, he’s a handsome, tanned, vibrant 61.

Was 61. A verb tense that has no damn business applying to Rick.

Rick died of a heart attack on January 7, 2011. He was never sick or dragging a single day that I knew him. Rather, he was the kind of guy who started every phone call with something like,

“GOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING RED!!!”

It may seem wierd to blog here about a lost client. But it's fitting because Rick may have been the most active reader and participant in this blog. I think he commented on nearly every blog post here in 2010! All while getting a thousand other things done.

Rick was in a Ph.D. program in Astrophysics in the early ‘70s, then transitioned into a long career guiding Silicon Valley technology start-ups. In 2009 he co-founded Youthing Essentials with business and health guru Harriet Diamond, and built a new multi-channel retail operation from scratch.

Rick is someone whose word everyone trusted. Always cheerful and funny. Always honest and humble. And now always deeply missed.

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