For those of you who dont know, Mark Merlino is one of the original people who came together and essentially created the furry fandom. If it werent for his efforts alongside many others, we wouldnt be here in this fandom, at least not in the way we know it now. I wish for him, his family, and those that got to know him the best, and my condolenses goes out to anyone affected by this tragedy
Mark was a wonderful friend and he will be missed. I was lucky enough to visit him a week ago before he passed. I have been trying to mentally prepare myself for this moment, but there really is no way to do so. I'm absolutely devastated he's gone.
Hey. Let yourself mourn. It's OK. I'd be more worried if you didn't feel pain at the loss. I won't tell you it'll stop hurting, as there will always be some pain. But I can tell you that given time the hurting will lessen. There will be a time when it's not as horrible as it is right now. Promise. In the meantime, if you need anything this graymuzzle will listen.
Def hits me a little bit too . since i am a older fur. at 48 and will be 49 in a week. But i will not stop being a fur . i love this fandom , and i would not trade it for any other thing in life.
Same here. The furry fandom is my home and community. I'm 33 years old and have my whole life ahead of me. Even when I enter the elderly part of my life, I'm going to fursuit until my last breath on this planet. ❤❤❤❤
Only been a furry for 5 years I’m 20. but this fandom I love so much it means a lot to me I’ll never stop loving this fandom or stop enjoying looking at amazing fursuits,watching furry cons get bigger by the thousands or in general get to act like a kid again and have more fun than ever before in my life I’m sticking to this fandom/community like super glue until they throw dirt on top of me.
Fly high, Mark/Sy sable. As a member of the furry fandom myself, I am deeply saddened to hear such heartbreaking news. He fought until the very end, but unfortunately cancer is a difficult battle to beat (I’ve lost three close loved ones to cancer). We’ll make sure to carry on what he started, to make sure the fandom, his fandom, never dies. I never knew him, nor did I get the chance to meet him, but he has my deepest respects. My condolences to his family, friends, and loved ones. ❤ He’ll forever be a part of this fandom’s history, his memory kept alive for years to come.
Mark and I became friends in 1970 at age 18. We were good friends for a long time, drifted apart, but kept in touch. I feel like I lost a younger (by 2 weeks) brother. I've been trying to find people who knew Mark back in high school or earlier. If you know of someone ask them to post any stories they have about Mark. I saw him develop his character Sy Sable but I didn't get into the Furry movement but I know you all meant a lot to Mark. You're love for Mark is obvious when nearly 1,000 of you donated almost $58,000 in just 10 days to help pay medical bills. Mark was truly rich because of all of you. Scar the Fur, your last comments brought me to tears. Thanks for posting this video.
@@ScarTheFur Are you a historian for real? If so maybe you'd talk with Rodney and volunteer to gather up a bunch of the recent responses to Mark's illness and then passing and collect them into a PDF as a memorial of sorts. Friends and fans could download it then. (Here I am pushing other people to take on a lot of work but I'm the same age as Mark, two weeks older actually, and in poor health myself or I'd take it on. )
i never personally knew him, but he definitely impacted my life in ways he could never know. as oppressive as this community has become recently in the wake of drama and general cruelty, it has also brought me a lot of joy, artistic inspiration, spiritual awakening, and freedom unlike anything i knew possible.
Sad news to hear :( I still remember that 3 years ago i was doing an research on this "Furry" stuff, came across their story & history of furry community. RIP :(
RIP Mr Merlino. I still remember when Doug Winger died. He was one of the giants as well, on the art side. I'm an artist and, of all things, he was kinda my introduction to furry, so that one hit pretty hard. Jim Hardiman, too, although I wasn't as familiar with his stuff. I wonder what it's gonna be like when Ken Cougr passes on, or someone like that. I hate to think of it. Someday we'll all pass onto Whatever Lies Beyond, each in our own way, on our own. I have my issues with Ash and her documentary, but this is not the place. She means well, I think, and that's what's important... suffice to say, a lot of stuff that should be at the start of that documentary, isn't there. Thank you, Scar, for a heartfelt and nicely done tribute video.
I’ve seen and met folks who passed far sooner than Mark. It’s always sad when you have to say goodbye to a person who you’ve just gotten to know 😢. And it’s even harder, when you known them for a longer time.
The people that we all love, will always watch over us and all they would want us to do, is keep on going and never give up. As you said, we learn history and know not to repeat certain things, but to make the future better and brighter. We will one day, get to reunite with our loved ones on the other side. They will be waiting for us. The best thing we all can do now, is enjoy life while it lasts. Don't fear, or worry about what happens ahead. Good will come out of it, if say to yourself, that it's okay. But yeah, I know Mark and Rod are really big to the furry fandom and it is very sad to know, that Mark is passing on. The PS was my first furmeet, back in December 2012. I've attended that meetup, from that day forward, up until 2016. It was very fun back then, I will truly miss it. May god bless Mark/SY and his loved ones. Thank you for everything Mark/SY. You will truly be missed and never forgotten. Thank you Scar, for sharing this video. *hugs*
I wanted to meet him at least once, but now I will never have that chance. I wanted to thank him for all he's done, including bringing this awesome Fandom to life. 😔 Without the Fandom, I'd be living in bitterness, solitude, and despair. May the legend rest in peace for Mark Merino will be remembered. God rest his soul... 😥
May you rest in peace Sy. I didn't know too much about Mark, but enough to know how much of a difference he made in the Fandom and the world as a whole. I'm so happy to see how supportive everyone was during these last tough couple of weeks. I'm glad he was surrounded by all the love and care of the huge community that he helped create. And I know he rests in a better place now and I'm happy he won't have to suffer anymore.
When I was coming to terms with being gay, learning about gay love really helped me come to terms with what I am. Finding out about Mark and Rod was just... It was so important, knowing that they exist. I only just found out that we shared a discord server, I could have met Mark and I missed my chance. We won't let this fandom die, it's built from too much strong love to die.
yknow when I first started in this fandom I saw it as just some silly thing but things like this really make it more and more real to me that this fandom is more then some silly thing this fandom over the past few years has become a beacon of hope, light, and it has become my home and im tearing up watching this because this fandom has brought me so much joy and its all thanks to people like him when I first entered this fandom I was just coming out of one of the hardest spots in my life and honestly if I didnt join this fandom im not sure where i'd be..
Thank u Mark for paving the way in creating the furry fandom. Don't know where or what i,d had of been without the furry fandom. But I can't imagine life without the fandom
Sy is one of the longest standing members of the furry fandom, getting into it when he was 19 years old, and from what I understand, helped fur cons become a thing.
I just learned who he was from the comments here and I had no idea he'd had such a profound impact on my life. Rest in peace, and thank you for everything.
If it was tau. i just met him for the first time in vrchat . ive been on vrchat now for a month , since i was new coming from 17 years plus on second life . And i met him for the first time over the fur hub, my main hang out in vr chat. pretty cool guy , but i mite be wrong on the one passing , but if im rite may he RIP! And if i stay on vr chat , i hope my time on there will be nice and being around all the friends i have made so far , i love you all . even if we varly know one another .
It was liver cancer and it was the source of the blood clots that caused the stroke. I was lesser known member of his family. I was the one that built the archive. I was there when he died and still processing it all. Thanks for this video. I'm stunned he trended on Twitter all day around the world.
I feel bad for whatever this situation is or whatever is going on, but putting on a VR headset, staring into a false camera, and talking with a furry avatar takes away the gravity of the situation and makes me laugh. I hope he spends his last days pain-free, but goodness dude, could you be serious?
VRo is just an avenue some furries socialize in. Our fursonas to many of us are just a reflection of ourselves. Even if you think it's weird, understand it's not to the community we're apart of.
@@ScarTheFur Regardless, you couldn't put the facade down for one video to respect your dead friend? How messed up is that, be fr with me right now. "I'm gonna pretend to dress like an anthropomorphic animal while I talk about the very real death of someone I supposedly care about." Dude, idk how I'm the one being disrespectful here.
R.I.P Mark Merlino (1952 - 2024)
& robin windsor (1979 - 2024)
RIP Sy you will be missed by all furries
And now by me rip sy/mark this crushes me
For those of you who dont know, Mark Merlino is one of the original people who came together and essentially created the furry fandom. If it werent for his efforts alongside many others, we wouldnt be here in this fandom, at least not in the way we know it now. I wish for him, his family, and those that got to know him the best, and my condolenses goes out to anyone affected by this tragedy
Mark was a wonderful friend and he will be missed. I was lucky enough to visit him a week ago before he passed. I have been trying to mentally prepare myself for this moment, but there really is no way to do so. I'm absolutely devastated he's gone.
Hey. Let yourself mourn. It's OK. I'd be more worried if you didn't feel pain at the loss.
I won't tell you it'll stop hurting, as there will always be some pain. But I can tell you that given time the hurting will lessen. There will be a time when it's not as horrible as it is right now.
Promise.
In the meantime, if you need anything this graymuzzle will listen.
Def hits me a little bit too . since i am a older fur. at 48 and will be 49 in a week. But i will not stop being a fur . i love this fandom , and i would not trade it for any other thing in life.
Same here. The furry fandom is my home and community. I'm 33 years old and have my whole life ahead of me. Even when I enter the elderly part of my life, I'm going to fursuit until my last breath on this planet. ❤❤❤❤
Only been a furry for 5 years I’m 20. but this fandom I love so much it means a lot to me I’ll never stop loving this fandom or stop enjoying looking at amazing fursuits,watching furry cons get bigger by the thousands or in general get to act like a kid again and have more fun than ever before in my life I’m sticking to this fandom/community like super glue until they throw dirt on top of me.
Your all amazing
Fly high, Mark/Sy sable. As a member of the furry fandom myself, I am deeply saddened to hear such heartbreaking news. He fought until the very end, but unfortunately cancer is a difficult battle to beat (I’ve lost three close loved ones to cancer). We’ll make sure to carry on what he started, to make sure the fandom, his fandom, never dies. I never knew him, nor did I get the chance to meet him, but he has my deepest respects. My condolences to his family, friends, and loved ones. ❤ He’ll forever be a part of this fandom’s history, his memory kept alive for years to come.
R.I.P. Sy. :( I've known him in Second Life and I liked chatting and hanging with him in SL. Lion Hugs & Positive Energies. :) =^.^=
I recently decided to check Bluesky and I found the news that he's sadly no longer with us, rest in peace Mark/Sy, you will be missed :(
Mark and I became friends in 1970 at age 18. We were good friends for a long time, drifted apart, but kept in touch. I feel like I lost a younger (by 2 weeks) brother.
I've been trying to find people who knew Mark back in high school or earlier. If you know of someone ask them to post any stories they have about Mark.
I saw him develop his character Sy Sable but I didn't get into the Furry movement but I know you all meant a lot to Mark. You're love for Mark is obvious when nearly 1,000 of you donated almost $58,000 in just 10 days to help pay medical bills. Mark was truly rich because of all of you.
Scar the Fur, your last comments brought me to tears. Thanks for posting this video.
Thank you. He's been a big influence on my life here in the community.
@@ScarTheFur You're welcome.
@@ScarTheFur Are you a historian for real? If so maybe you'd talk with Rodney and volunteer to gather up a bunch of the recent responses to Mark's illness and then passing and collect them into a PDF as a memorial of sorts. Friends and fans could download it then. (Here I am pushing other people to take on a lot of work but I'm the same age as Mark, two weeks older actually, and in poor health myself or I'd take it on. )
i never personally knew him, but he definitely impacted my life in ways he could never know. as oppressive as this community has become recently in the wake of drama and general cruelty, it has also brought me a lot of joy, artistic inspiration, spiritual awakening, and freedom unlike anything i knew possible.
RIP Sy. What you helped create save my life long ago.
Sad news to hear :( I still remember that 3 years ago i was doing an research on this "Furry" stuff, came across their story & history of furry community.
RIP :(
RIP Mr Merlino. I still remember when Doug Winger died. He was one of the giants as well, on the art side. I'm an artist and, of all things, he was kinda my introduction to furry, so that one hit pretty hard. Jim Hardiman, too, although I wasn't as familiar with his stuff. I wonder what it's gonna be like when Ken Cougr passes on, or someone like that. I hate to think of it. Someday we'll all pass onto Whatever Lies Beyond, each in our own way, on our own.
I have my issues with Ash and her documentary, but this is not the place. She means well, I think, and that's what's important... suffice to say, a lot of stuff that should be at the start of that documentary, isn't there.
Thank you, Scar, for a heartfelt and nicely done tribute video.
May they both rest well in paradise.
Rest In Peace 🙏🏻
As a graymuzzle this hits hard
RIP Max Merlino... And thank you for this fandom that keeps me alive and happy...
I’ve seen and met folks who passed far sooner than Mark. It’s always sad when you have to say goodbye to a person who you’ve just gotten to know 😢.
And it’s even harder, when you known them for a longer time.
I saw the post on twitter about it and I kinda feel a little bit sad. I hope he rest in peace
The people that we all love, will always watch over us and all they would want us to do, is keep on going
and never give up. As you said, we learn history and know not to repeat certain things, but to make the future
better and brighter. We will one day, get to reunite with our loved ones on the other side. They will be waiting for us.
The best thing we all can do now, is enjoy life while it lasts. Don't fear, or worry about what happens ahead. Good will
come out of it, if say to yourself, that it's okay.
But yeah, I know Mark and Rod are really big to the furry fandom and it is very sad to know, that
Mark is passing on. The PS was my first furmeet, back in December 2012. I've attended that meetup,
from that day forward, up until 2016. It was very fun back then, I will truly miss it.
May god bless Mark/SY and his loved ones.
Thank you for everything Mark/SY. You will truly be missed and never forgotten.
Thank you Scar, for sharing this video. *hugs*
Thanks for everything Mark. I will miss you. The PS parties, LosCon, ConFurence and CaliFur were a big part of my life.
And In My Life Too, Robert Hill Had A Big Participation In The Fandom.
I wanted to meet him at least once, but now I will never have that chance. I wanted to thank him for all he's done, including bringing this awesome Fandom to life. 😔 Without the Fandom, I'd be living in bitterness, solitude, and despair. May the legend rest in peace for Mark Merino will be remembered. God rest his soul... 😥
May you rest in peace Sy. I didn't know too much about Mark, but enough to know how much of a difference he made in the Fandom and the world as a whole. I'm so happy to see how supportive everyone was during these last tough couple of weeks. I'm glad he was surrounded by all the love and care of the huge community that he helped create. And I know he rests in a better place now and I'm happy he won't have to suffer anymore.
When I was coming to terms with being gay, learning about gay love really helped me come to terms with what I am. Finding out about Mark and Rod was just... It was so important, knowing that they exist. I only just found out that we shared a discord server, I could have met Mark and I missed my chance. We won't let this fandom die, it's built from too much strong love to die.
yknow when I first started in this fandom I saw it as just some silly thing but things like this really make it more and more real to me that this fandom is more then some silly thing this fandom over the past few years has become a beacon of hope, light, and it has become my home and im tearing up watching this because this fandom has brought me so much joy and its all thanks to people like him when I first entered this fandom I was just coming out of one of the hardest spots in my life and honestly if I didnt join this fandom im not sure where i'd be..
What a generation this fandom has been. Things really kicked off in 1989 with Confurence. Rip To The Man Who Started It All.❤❤❤😢😢😢
Excellent video, as someone who has been with the fandom for almost 30 years now, this was a beautiful tribute to Sy.
Rest in peace sy. May you cross the rainbow bridge. We will miss you
R.I.P. you will be missed mark
Thank u Mark for paving the way in creating the furry fandom. Don't know where or what i,d had of been without the furry fandom. But I can't imagine life without the fandom
Honestly I feel the same way
I'm speechless... My heart goes out to rod and all their friends
R.I.P Mark
i don't know who that is, or why i'm being recommended this, but rest in piece regardless ❤
Sy is one of the longest standing members of the furry fandom, getting into it when he was 19 years old, and from what I understand, helped fur cons become a thing.
RIP SY... Us furries will miss a ledgend.
I just learned who he was from the comments here and I had no idea he'd had such a profound impact on my life. Rest in peace, and thank you for everything.
Rest in Power, Sy. Without you, we wouldn't have the Fandom as we know it, today.
What a legacy to leave... Hail, the Traveler.
RIP Sy
Damn.. this video is how I find out. Rest in peace, Sy.
I had friends keeping me in the loop as his health began declining. He passed away peacefully surrounded by those who loved him though.
I don’t know the person but I can say Rest in Peace and fly high you are missed by the fandom and I hope he is in an better place now 🕊️💫
Rest in Peace SySable aka Mark Merlino 🌹
Thanks For Everything Guy, You'll Be Missed in the Furry Community! 😿🥺
R.I.P 🙏🕊🕊
Rest in power sir.
rip
2024 is already crazy
If it was tau. i just met him for the first time in vrchat . ive been on vrchat now for a month , since i was new coming from 17 years plus on second life . And i met him for the first time over the fur hub, my main hang out in vr chat. pretty cool guy , but i mite be wrong on the one passing , but if im rite may he RIP! And if i stay on vr chat , i hope my time on there will be nice and being around all the friends i have made so far , i love you all . even if we varly know one another .
❤
It was liver cancer and it was the source of the blood clots that caused the stroke. I was lesser known member of his family. I was the one that built the archive. I was there when he died and still processing it all. Thanks for this video. I'm stunned he trended on Twitter all day around the world.
I had heard, I didn't wanna fully share though since it was told to me privately
R.I.P
soon scar you belong to the grey beards and be the old generation of historians
I'm turning 24 on Sunday, hopefully not too soon >.>
Something is wrong here. No video posted in 6 months. They must have quit.
Wait wait I’m confused what’s happening!?
One of the OG furry fandom founding members passed away.
I feel bad for whatever this situation is or whatever is going on, but putting on a VR headset, staring into a false camera, and talking with a furry avatar takes away the gravity of the situation and makes me laugh. I hope he spends his last days pain-free, but goodness dude, could you be serious?
Have some fucking respect dude
VRo is just an avenue some furries socialize in. Our fursonas to many of us are just a reflection of ourselves. Even if you think it's weird, understand it's not to the community we're apart of.
@@ScarTheFur Regardless, you couldn't put the facade down for one video to respect your dead friend? How messed up is that, be fr with me right now.
"I'm gonna pretend to dress like an anthropomorphic animal while I talk about the very real death of someone I supposedly care about."
Dude, idk how I'm the one being disrespectful here.