Coaster/YK

[GG.]

Truly shocking and upsetting.

Very sad I never got to meet him but sounds like you guys have a lot of great memories to treasure.

Life really is very unfair sometimes - I’m just glad he managed to indulge his passion so well and clearly didn’t let a moment go to waste.

[duncs500]

It's been really hard to comprehend, I think he was diagnosed less than 4 weeks ago, and to go from messaging about car stuff to being gone a few weeks later has really knocked me for six. With the way it has happened it has made me feel rather more aware of my own mortality as well to be honest, which has its pros and cons I suppose but isn't a good feeling.

Must have first met him more than 10 years ago with others on a meet when he had his Corrado (I probably had my R26 at the time), and really we've been in touch since and it felt like we've been on this car-nerd journey together the whole way. Oldest photo I can find he already had his 'teg:



And a couple more of various trips:







He was such a genuine, open, sharing person. Whenever I was with him he'd go out of his way to chat to other enthusiasts, and as others have said, so keen for others to experience his cars. I'm so happy he got to own and enjoy his "forever car" even if forever was shorter than it ought to have been. I'm sure he did more with it than many owners would do in a lifetime though.

As for the man away from cars, I often reflect on one conversation we had about climbing the ladder at work and he explained how he was happy to have a job with no stress rather than the pressure to always go for promotions. It's something I come back to when I'm trying to untangle my brain as to what I want and what's important. He had a great clarity on a lot of things and was great company.

I'll miss him a lot, he would have been part of many of my car plans be it trackdays or road trips in the coming years so there's a big hole there. Rest in peace old friend.

[Swervin_Mervin]

It's been really hard to comprehend, I think he was diagnosed less than 4 weeks ago, and to go from messaging about car stuff to being gone a few weeks later has really knocked me for six. With the way it has happened it has made me feel rather more aware of my own mortality as well to be honest, which has its pros and cons I suppose but isn't a good feeling.

I've been exactly the same Duncs. It was only a matter of days between us messaging about going to Bicester later this year before I saw the news on FB about his diagnosis.

I'm sure many of us have known people who've lost their battle with the Big C, but those I've known before have had their chance to fight it. Hence this has stopped me in my tracks a bit this last few days.

I neglected to thank you @Barry for letting us know the news - I missed it on FB, so thanks for taking the time to post.

[mikeyb]

Awful news. Really rather cut up about that.

YK loved a good run up in the Highlands and was always keen to meet up. Thoroughly nice bloke and an absolute CG - it was a stretch to buy his GT3, and he then used it as it was designed to be used. No investment pampering for YK.

I have more than one memory of him holding / poring over a large map instead of a phone screen - searching for local knowledge to finalise his route. I did well to hide the fact that I was rather chuffed when he insisted on a quick p-ride in the VXR8 at Glenshee - giggling at the awesome noise it made the first time I pulled from single-digit mph to the redline in 2nd - and expressing surprise at how much grip/traction it found.

My fave kinetic memory was chasing him along the best section of The Secret Road - first time I had seen his GT3 - me in the Evora. He was a handy wheelman, and it was great to watch the arse of the GT3 squatting into compressions, and generally moving in a way that only 911’s do. I had the undoubted benefit of following, but we were glued together by a long invisible bungie-rope for several twisty & undulating miles. When we got out at the next stop, we grinned at each other, and then burst into a fit of the giggles like naughty schoolboys.

These were (very hastily) taken elsewhere on that day. As usual - any time that could have been spent setting up the cars for a decent shot were instead spent gabbing or driving.

RIP friend.

That was indeed a great day. Flip side of that photo. Think we are all in this one.

This meet was the one of the only times I met coaster. A true CG whose passion for cars was truly infectious. A P-ride in his 911 carerra was a highlight on another trip. An absolutely endearing bloke.

RIP

[Alex88]

How unbelievably sad. Life has an incredible ability to be so insanely cruel sometimes.

I spoke with him on the phone a couple of times in a work capacity, and I recall him congratulating me on a work promotion - I'd mentioned it on here in one of the end of year threads. I remember thinking he was a properly decent bloke.

I think a lot of us could learn a lot about life from how YK used his GT3. Live your life, enjoy it all you can. Drive your nice cars, see your friends and family. Do what makes you happy, today.

RIP.

[mik]

I’ve been re-visiting is thread all day, and looking back at WhatsApp group messages. Comments from both Marv and Duncs put a bit of grit in my eyes - I didn’t know YK anything like Barry or these gents, and it’s that real dichotomy of pain and happiness to read their words.

A couple of images from his last Highlands trip (afaik - was late 2020) - that I thought worth sharing - typically I couldn’t meet up for this one.

[Delphi]

Well fuck. Never had the pleasure of meeting him but he came across well on here and he sounded like a lovely bloke. RIP.

[IanF]

Jesus! So young, although it seemed he lived his life as well as anyone could wish. My condolences to his family and friends.

[KiwiDave]

Sad news. Thoughts are with everyone that knew him, especially you Barry.

It'll be 16yrs this year since I emigrated, but the road trips with Barry especially, but many of the gang here still form many of my happiest memories of time in the UK. As I've been mulling over the next trip back and trying to work it such that I get to do some driving, I genuinely expected to get to meet YK along with Baz and some others...

Time is short. Especially to good people it seems... :'(

[duncs500]

I neglected to thank you @Barry for letting us know the news - I missed it on FB, so thanks for taking the time to post.

On top of that, YK mentioned that @Barry was a great help in the aftermath the diagnosis. I know he's also been a great friend before that (not least in welcoming YK to the north!). So all round thanks to you Barry, it must have been incredibly tough so don't forget to take care of yourself after having gone through that sort of ordeal.

[JonMad]

I'll second that. I hope you'll share this thread with YK's family, Barry.

[Barry]

Thanks folks, YK lived just across town from me, after moving up from Southampton. We were our own little support group in many ways, so it fell to me to care for him these past few months, watching his decline has been hard for sure. He offered me generous mates rates on the GT3 of course but I just can't justify the expenses that car deserved.

As others rightly identified, YK was a true CG and always plotting adventures and pushing us to do things, so take his life as a warning and inspiration - if you've stuff you want to do, get busy doing it. At 44 he'd barely started..

[Gavster]

take his life as a warning and inspiration - if you've stuff you want to do, get busy doing it.

That really hits hard.

At 44 years old, most people probably expect to have another 30 years to "do that thing", rather than... a month.

[John]

take his life as a warning and inspiration - if you've stuff you want to do, get busy doing it.

That really hits hard.

At 44 years old, most people probably expect to have another 30 years to "do that thing", rather than... a month.

It certainly hits home. We lost a colleague last year, also to cancer and around the same age as YK and although we weren't drinking buddies or anything it affected me more than I expected.

[Broccers]

Oh wow that's shocking news. So sad.

[ZedLeg]

take his life as a warning and inspiration - if you've stuff you want to do, get busy doing it.

That really hits hard.

At 44 years old, most people probably expect to have another 30 years to "do that thing", rather than... a month.

It certainly hits home. We lost a colleague last year, also to cancer and around the same age as YK and although we weren't drinking buddies or anything it affected me more than I expected.

Yeah I’m not normally the kind of person to put much thought into my own mortality but it’s been on my mind the last couple of days.

[adamzxr93]

I’ve just been reading back through this thread, it’s lovely to see just how many people he knew and friends he’d made through his passion for cars. So I felt it appropriate to make myself a user account.

I first met YK back in 2014 when we both started our training together in ipswich. It was of course cars that got us talking, as I’d spotted his DC2 in the car park! And sure enough it wasn’t long before he let me loose behind the wheel of it! So I have him to thank for my love of old school Hondas.
After training in ipswich had finished, we were both based at other ends of the country, but we still kept in touch. YK introduced me to Barry, Duncan and Marv. He invited me as passenger to several of his track days, in his DC2, 996 C2 and finally of course his 996.2 GT3. And with the help of Barry persuaded me into my first car track day in my S2000 at Anglesey.
In 2019 he organised a 4-5 day road trip around the Scottish Highlands, some of my favourite memories were made on that trip.
He moved up north about 18 months ago to join me at my work depot, and live close to Barry.
I’m sure we’d have had loads more adventures with our cars, and actually also with bikes, as he’d purchased a couple of motorbikes with the intention of getting his bike licence, and joining myself and Barry out on them. It’s so sad that life had other tragic plans for him. He truly was a gent, and will be missed by a lot of people.

[tim]

Can we sticky this post? It feels like it needs to hang around a while.

[Nic]

Incredibly sad news, RIP.

[Jobbo]

I’ve found a couple of photos of YK’s Corrado - taken 2 April 2011 on the Ridgeway above Avebury: