Henry Treadway a.k.a. sfkicks Gone far too soon. Rest in Peace.

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It is with a heavy heart that we found out earlier this week that Henry Treadway, known on our forums as sfkicks, passed away Tuesday May 8th in the evening in what is being investigated as a suicide. A report by the local UC-Berkeley paper provides more details here.

Although many had varying opinions on sfkicks, as a member on the forums, and for his posts on N-SB, one thing is certain: he had a tremendous passion and would not be discouraged to let us know about it.  Our members have already received the sad news and started a remembrance thread.

However, sfkicks was more than just a member, he was Henry Treadway, a son, a sneaker fanatic, and a sophomore at the University of California—Berkeley.  His friends there started a Facebook memorial page and organized a Candlelight Vigil, which several of our N-SB members are attending tonight.  Before enrolling as a freshman he was in the Summer Bridge program.  “The Summer Bridge Program at UC-Berkeley is a six-week rigorous academic residential program that facilitates the transition of students from high school to the University.  For over 35 years, students have found the Summer Bridge Program essential to their successful transition to Cal.  Summer Bridge cultivates a diverse community of scholars and prepares them to engage actively with and meet the challenges of a large public research University.”  Although words and actions now cannot possibly fill the void left as a result of his passing, we are working with Henry’s favorite shop in Berkeley, 510 Skateboarding and the Treadway family to create a fundraiser in his honor.  More information will be available later on.

Henry’s passing is tragic and suicide is a very serious and traumatic event for all those lives touched.  Please if you need help or know someone who needs help, reach out to them or seek professional help to prevent future tragedies like this. 

However we want to end on a note of remembrance of Henry/sfkicks’ impact on our community, several members have stepped forward that wanted to provide some brief sentiments about Henry and his love for sneakers.  Below are some words from Greg_Skates, CEO, and chip_SB, all of whom knew Henry personally and virtually through N-SB.

 

I met Henry through my music production class three years ago, he was one of my students. Automatically he felt a connection with me, sneakers, skateboarding and music. As a senior at El Cerrito High he would get a pass to get out of class to come to the office I worked at to talk about sneakers. Constantly wanting to get my opinion on orange, silver and pink box sb's.  Passionate, that's a good word to describe how Henry was.  

-Greg_Skates

It is sad to see any young man commit suicide when they have so much more life to see. Henry was always upbeat when I was around him, which made me smile to see someone so genuinely passionate about the sneaker world that we have all grown to love. He was just at the Mac Lyfe Clothing table for the past DXC and I helped him sell some kicks. This really sucks because, I actually liked the kid. This is something that should never happen but, this is the world we live in. I wish I could have helped Henry out because I would have as much as I could, being that I was one of the 10 names he tagged beforehand. He looked up to me and I am truly hurt for his family and friends. RIP bruh. 

-CEO


I first met Henry a few years ago on the internet. I’m part of a team that runs the website N-SB.ORG. If you knew Henry in the world of sneakers and streetwear, then you would really know he had a passion for it; a passion that sometimes was misinterpreted and a passion that was very much respected.  At the drop of a hat, Henry could post 300 words on a shoe lace. At the drop of a hat, he could post 3,000 words on a sneaker, and if it was a quick strike release; Henry could post multiple 10,000 word essay’s about that particular sneaker. Henry had a passion that was unrivaled.

Henry and I became friends through this shared passion and I was fortunate enough to meet Henry through local meet-ups and sneaker releases. We would often talk sneakers and our talks would go long but I would always be sure to try and direct his focus on his studies and the other necessities in his life that he was pursuing. But if you really knew Henry, his energy and passion toward sneakers really consumed his thoughts and focus, he was hard to persuade. I will miss our talks.  

Tonight at the vigil for Henry, we are here for many different reasons, but all of these reasons revolve around Henry. They revolve around the passion and drive that we saw in Henry, the innocence we saw in Henry. He was pleasant, he had a huge smile, and he was willing to share. He would share with anyone, if you would give him the chance. I am thankful that I did know Henry, but I am regretful that I wasn’t there to help him when he needed me.  Was there a barrier that I created, was it ever something that I said? I don’t know.

On May 8, at 3:36pm Henry sent me this message under a new username on the website and it read: “hey chip, I’m back, please keep it on the down low.” I did not see this message until 11:20pm that evening…I was too late and I’m sorry Henry.

Henry’s life should not end here. It does not deserve to end here. This is not the final Chapter, please support one another, please show respect and love to the Treadway family. Please let Henry live on in our thoughts and prayers.  Please keep everyone impacted by this tragedy in our thoughts and prayers.

PSALMS 18:3 reads “I shall call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised thou shall he save me from my enemies.“

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth him should not perish but have everlasting life.

-Chip_SB

 

Rest In Peace 05 QUALITY, ITS MORE THAN JUST A SNEAKER.

 

In Memory of Henry Treadway aka SFKICKS.