| For Kristian We didn't think it was appropriate to send out our normal weekly newsletter today and instead, we wanted to pay tribute to Kristian Digby who tragically passed away yesterday. We're still shocked from the news, which seems all the more tragic when you consider he was in his prime at just 32 years old. We first met Kristian nearly ten years ago when we photographed him and his co presenter Tom Ashton for his early TV show That Gay Show. It was pretty clear that Kristian was a very talented, sweet natured and ambitious guy who would go a long way. Exceptionally charming, he insisted on taking the Attitude team out for drinks after the shoot and we became good friends with him. Since then Kristian had been a good friend to Attitude, posing for a pleasingly saucy picture in one of our early Naked issues and frequently writing for us, most recently when he wrote about his experience on safari in Africa in February's Gareth Thomas issue. Lovely inside and out, Kristian was someone who really cared about the fact that he presented a positive image to young gay people growing up. In fact, it seemed to mean more to him than mostly everything else. We last saw him at a fundraising dinner for the Albert Kennedy Trust a few weeks ago, which says it all. The reason he wanted to write about his trip to Africa was because he wanted to show our younger readers that you could be a gay man and not just go to the usual gay holiday destinations and do something other than boozing and chasing guys. Some of today's news reports suggest he was incredibly popular in the local area where he lived because he helped out, clearing rubbish and planting trees. "Everybody wanted to be his friend" one neighbor is quoted as saying. That sounds like Kristian to us. A few years ago, he said in a TV documentary The Trouble With Gay Men that he was sad about the lack of role models for young gay people. It's been incredibly moving to see all the comments on facebook and on the web, showing that that's what he became for many, many young people. We are profoundly saddened at his passing and send our deepest condolences, love and thoughts to his friends, family and loved ones. We lost a good guy yesterday. We're going to miss you very much Mr Kristian. The Attitude Editorial Team. |
1 comment:
Superb tribute, thanks for publicisng it!
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