This is something I've been thinking about saying with increasing frequency since the diagnosis and I suppose now is the time.
2007 was a dark time for me. I don't remember much of the time, as is one of the symptoms, other than it eventually lead to me failing 2nd year of English uni twice and having to move back in with my family. Without any purpose or direction, one of the things I did to just while the time away was watch this new motoring TV show that made me laugh, think and sparked an increased interest in cars. While scouring the internet I found a site that offered downloads and discussions on the episodes. It was exactly what I had hoped to find.
What I was not expecting to also find along-side it was a budding community of likeminded people, a group of folk that for the first time in what seemed like ages, I could find some way to connect with and over the years bond on a closer level than I had ever managed before.
When creating Final Gear, Alex gave the people a platform to become so much more than just another media download site, but I doubt it would have turned into what it is today had it not been for his personal approach. I hesitate to say under him, as he considered himself much more an equal with the rest of the members, rather than a leader or just someone who ran the website. Even during the peak of the show's and website's popularity, he remained humble, friendly and just... Alex.
I don't know where I'd be today had it not been for him and all he had done, even indirectly. But I can say for certain that on this sad day, I would not be surrounded by people I have the privilige of calling friends or even family. Finding Final Gear on its own probably did not cure me of my depression 12 years ago, but it was a big step on that path and I can only thank him and the rest of you for it.