…should be shipping in either the third or fourth week of January.

If you own or run a skateshop, make sure to ask about it whenever you place your next order to Deluxe. Again, proceeds will be going directly to Mike’s family, and you’ll have something in your hands that commemorates a guy that we all miss. Much love, much respect.

As you know, we’re trying to raise money for the family of Michael “Big Mike” Jeansonne out of love and respect for a dude that showed a love for skateboarding, and a guy that became a central core in the skate community.

By the tail end of January, there will be another way you can contribute, thanks to Jim Thiebaud and the rest of the crew at Deluxe Distribution, home of Real, Anti Hero, Krooked, and numerous other brands of skateboarding goodness. Thanks to Deluxe, we’re stoked to honor our friend in the form of a skateboard under the Actions: Realized line of boards. This is a preview of the board’s top and bottom graphic:

The text that’s too small to read right there says this:

About Mike:
Michael “Big Mike” Jeansonne was the type of skater I hope to become. At 44 years of age, Big Mike was an icon of the southeast Louisiana skate community, a friend to all skaters, and especially prized by his friends from Baton Rouge, Denham Springs, Hammond, New Orleans, and all places around and in between. Every Sunday morning, Mike would pull up to our local Dreamland park at the crack of dawn with a truckload of family, friends, meat to put on the grill, and enough gear to set up a shaded campsite for the day, conveniently located yards from the bowl, so no action was missed when it was time to take a break. Everyone that crossed Mike’s path became an addition to his family… people of all ages gravitated to him, from little groms to fellow skate veterans, respect was handily given to him because respect and a love for skateboarding is what Mike radiated. Mike served in the US Navy, was a husband, a brother, a father, a friend, and 100% skateboarder. When Mike passed away, he was doing what he loved …skateboarding. As tragic as that is, and it is, there is some comfort in knowing that he left the Earth while happy. It really hits us now as we realize that Sundays aren’t the same, but we were all lucky to have him, and all of us that knew him will keep his memory alive. Roll forever, Mike.

About the Graphic:
There’s a lot of symbolism in this graphic, both literally and in the design approach.
Mike was a great fan of the art of Wes Humpston, as am I. I attempted to create something that gave a nod to Mike’s appreciation of Wes, as well as a nod to Wes himself. I’ve always thought that Wes drew the greatest wings in the world, so the top of the graphic features two stretched wings, as if ready to take flight. “Big Mike” is written in the shape of a cross because of the skate community he impacted… soon after learning that Big Mike had passed away, nearly every skater that knew (or heard of) Mike had stenciled a tribute to him on their griptape, in a fashion similar to the one in the design. I affixed a Fleur de lis to the top of the cross to represent his connection to the Louisiana skate community. Mike honorably served in the US Navy and still had a love for the water, thus the red white and blue background, with an anchor posed towards the bottom. Inside the base of the cross is a nautical star representing Mike’s wife Darlene, and on either side are two more nautical stars representing Mike’s sons Kyle and Erik.

Underneath that text, you’ll see this image:

This image is based on this photo by our friend Zack:

Finally, here’ s a much larger version of the board:

Once we find out a shipping date, I’ll make sure the world knows about it… just as the world is about to know who Mike was and what he meant to all of us.

Please come to Seale Funeral Home in Denham Springs, LA tomorrow (Saturday, Nov. 24th), from 10am until noon to pay tribute to a friend of skaters everywhere.

From Phantom Dave:
1720 S Range Ave, Denham Springs, LA

From JoshEwwUh:
(From Hammond)
Get off the interstate at the Denham Springs and take a right.
Seale Funeral home is on the right side exactly 1.2 miles.
Its next to Enterprise Rent-a-car and Firestone.

Thanks to Florida Parishes Bank, we will have a charity fund account that everyone will easily be able to contribute to. Once we get all the details straight, we should have a PayPal link, as well as other ways for folks to donate.

Thanks to everyone that has offered to contribute… it’s amazing to see the community work together on behalf of someone who meant so much to us.

Big Mike’s family is backing the idea of the shop collecting funds for the behalf of the family… we’re working in the background right now trying to come up with several ways in which the community can donate to the cause… by today, we should have a PayPal account, as well as a way for people to donate through other means. We’ll post a public tally of how much has been received, for one, so you’ll know how the campaign is doing, and two, to entice others to contribute to the memory of a fallen brother.

Special thanks to Deluxe Distribution (Anti Hero, Krooked, Real, etc) for an offering of help in which we still have to hammer out details, and more special thanks to my good friend Clarkie for adding our friend Mike to Team Valhalla, where Mike joins the ranks of other legends of the world of skateboarding that have taken the voyage on to eternity.

There’s been a lot of love shared by the skate community because of the events that we’re all reeling from, and we’re grateful for all of the brother and sister hood that truly is the core of the skate community. Much love, everybody. More details on how you can contribute later on!

First this photo of Big Mike:

Mike’s brother Tony clued us in on a little something… the reason Big Mike is barefoot in this pic isn’t entirely so much because he was “soul skating” (as a few of us around here are likely to do)… he’s barefoot because the minute he’d get out of the truck and arrive at the park, he immediately wanted to skate, which meant he’d roll for a bit before getting his gear on. See, the need to skate (if you’re one of those afflicted with the addiction) is something that transcends age, time, ability, or any other noun you care to replace that with. Some people just need to skate. Considering that Mike skated for longer than a lot of us have been alive, I’d say that Mike was well versed in the addiction of rolling. He was us later on throughout the passage of time… or rather, he’s someone that I hope everyone would try to be like, both as a skater and as a person, later on down their own travels.

Now, the main purpose for this post is to share with you something that Mike’s brother Tony brought over to the shop today. It’s our honor to share these words from the brother of the man himself, and at least for me, the words speak truth:

We know a skateboarder.
Skateboarders are a different kind of people. They experience a feeling of expression that only skateboarders understand.
The need to show their ability is driven by the respect and praise of those who ride, and have ridden with them. They’re all alike in a special way, and it shows in the way they live their lives. The skateboarder we know has an ability to show this… how to love one another, and that is the finest ride ever expressed by a true skateboarder. We all look forward to the day we get to ride with one of the best skaters; to bless us with his ability.

We love you Big Mikey, we’re coming to skate with you again!

-Tony

I can’t stress enough how much love we have for Big Mike, or the family he left here. We love all of you, and we want everyone to know what an incredibly kick-ass person Mike was.

…as we receive any information that may be of benefit (money donations for the family, funerary arrangements, etc) I’ll try to relay that as quickly as possible. If you or anyone you know has information to contribute, please give us a shout so that we can share that info with the rest of the community.

Also: you no longer have to register to comment on the blog, although it’s recommended.

Edited to Add: I wanted to point out to some other sites that are giving Big Mike’s memory some love, as well as condolences to the rest of his family:
Bulldog Skates (via our brother Scuba)
Old Man Army (via myself)
Skate TN (via the Tennessee locals)
Here at Small Times

Update: Thanks to Skate Daily for relaying our emotions over the skate community’s loss of a great man.

If you’ve ever skated Dreamland early in the morning on the weekend, you were have bound to have met Big Mike… a big guy that you’d immediately befriend once you started talking to him.

All of us were friends of Mike’s, and it saddens us to share that we recently lost him. We sincerely send out all of our love to not only Big Mike’s family, but the rest of his friends as well… to whom Mike always treated like family.

To Mike: It was our pleasure to know you. You were good people.

(Click the pic for a larger version)

Note: The flyer should say that registration starts at 11 am, not 1pm.