08/19/2025
š In Loving Memory of My Friend, Robb š
This last Friday, the world lost an incredible human being. My dear friend, Robb Icely, passed away, and my heart is heavy with grief.
For the last 3.5 years, Robb has been by my side through everythingāthrough the anger, the sadness, the hard days, and the long nights of trying to find my way forward after losing Marcus. Robb never left. He showed up in ways that few people ever do. We studied A Course in Miracles together, spent countless hours on the phone, and carried each other through pain toward peace.
Robb believed in me when I struggled to believe in myself. He stood beside me when I dreamed of creating a psilocybin school to help others heal from PTSD, and he became my very first licensed instructor at AAA Learning Institute. He encouraged me, supported me, and reminded me that healing was possibleānot just for me, but for so many others.
But the most important work of Robbās life was with his children. They were his world. His greatest devotion was to become closer with them and to live as an example of what it means to cultivate an internally peaceful and content life. Everything he didāhis healing, his learning, his efforts to serveāwas rooted in his love for them.
Robb had his own battles, and too often, not enough people showed up for him. I carry anger that something as simple as a wheelchair ramp took too long to be built, and that he wasnāt given the care he deserved. Yet through it all, his heart remained full of love. His passion was starting a nonprofit to train service animals, because serving others was at the core of who he was.
I hate death. I hate the way it robs us of one more hug, one more laugh, one more chance to say I love you. I intended to hug Robb in real life, and I will forever regret not getting that moment. Now, Iām left with tears and the reminder that we do not know how much time we have with the people we love.
Robb was one of my dearest friends. He was real, raw, supportive, and relentlessly human in the best way. This songāāBrotherā by Greyson Juneāwas one he sent me, and it feels so fitting now.
His life and his loss remind me to give love freely, to never hold back, and to show up fully for the people who matter. Because in the end, we never know when it will be the last day.
Rest easy, Robb. Thank you for believing in me, for standing by me, and for being the kind of friend and father this world desperately needs more of. You will always be in my heart. šļøā¤ļø