Remembering Tom Torero Four Years On

I was recently thinking about how we were coming up to the five year anniversary of Tom’s tragic passing. Then Barry Burgle linked to a compilation of his Black Sheep Bandit YouTube series on X and I thought I had to bring it forward. 

Tom was a fascinating character. A man who seemed to have tremendous ability as much as he had his deep flaws. As I rewatched the videos I was continually thinking about how much he was drawn to the wild as was running away from something else into it.

I recommend you go ahead and rewatch the entire compilation. After his passing, there is a whole new level to watching them and doing so back-to-back lets you sink into the vibe. Not only am I admiring his editing and full commitment to living life free from any commitments but also feeling sadness at what was lost. It feels like listening to The Show Must Go On knowing that Mercury would die soon after. 

The compilation spans the years 2018 all the way up to his death and so there’s an added element of looking back in time to before COVID and what felt like a different world. Tom’s existence in that world adds to the sense that you’re viewing something which will never be accessed again, carried off into the past. 

One thing that stayed with me long after finishing the compilation was when Tom was talking about climbing the Matterhorn in Switzerland. He had tried all the way back in 2002 but was determined to crack it next time. “I made a promise to climb the final 1000m by next summer,” he wrote, in simple white text on a black background. 

Yours unfaithfully,

Thomas Crown