RIP Joe Salas 4TheRiders

[budman]

When I needed crazy onboard riding footage to complete a presentation to the Office of Traffic Safety in '08 I went to Joe and he provided crazy!!

Sure grabbed the attention of the people in the auditorium and landed me a long term appointment to the CA Moto Safety Committee and CMSP Advisory Committee.

Thanks Joe... a lot of good came of that crazy.

 

[Kestrel]

Oh man... This is devastating to hear. I knew about the leg injury (and re-injury) and hadn't seen anything from Joe in a while... but I was hoping things were going well for him in NC. When I was first getting into riding some 20 years ago, Joe was posting his first videos to BARF. (I'm pretty sure it was his videos that got me hooked on NIN and a bunch of other great music.) That sort of video was pretty novel at that time and *really* got me excited about riding. Saved up money, bought gear, read/watched more on BARF, and eventually bought a Ninja 250. Been riding ever since and it has been a life changing sort of thing. Riding is my passion and a big part of how I define myself and want to experience the world. I've had so many great memories (just rode the Alpine Loop last weekend) and guys like Joe, Gary J, etc. were a big influence - literally changed my life.

 

[foot]

Just now heard. Joe was a fixture in the little world I inhabited for so long, the brightest of lights. I’m so saddened for his family and for all whose lives he touched.
I vividly remember him having a laugh as he introduced me to Toe (so sorry brother)
-

 

[PorradaVFR]

(I'm pretty sure it was his videos that got me hooked on NIN and a bunch of other great music.)

Oh man, you just reminded me that I first heard OhGr’s solo stuff (former Skinny Puppy) on one of Joe’s videos!

 

[i_am_the_koi]

I'm absolutely devastated.

Joe was responsible in so many ways for where I am today.

A hundred years ago budman invited me to the AFM banquet. I was a noob on Barf but was doing ride reports and taking photos with a cheap ass Nikon I bought from a barfer.

Met Joe that night and hung out with him for a good while.

He told me I should talk to Oxymoron about shooting AFM with him at Sonoma.

He gave me my first track access to Laguna.

He got me to quit smoking.

He approved of my wife the first day he met her when she gave him shit all day.

He was the only phone call I answered on my wedding.

He checked on me when I had my twinz.

I literally can't trace my last 15+ years without it going back to him someway.

This one fucking hurts.



I will be doing 4theCocktail at AFM this weekend Saturday night and taking donations for his family.

 

[HadesOmega]

I heard of his passing through Supermoto USA instagram. I met him at my first VCGP race the 50th Anniversary race the most miserable one. I bought some pictures from him of me riding in the mud. RIP Joe.

He was behind the lens of this shot. In the trees and mud.

 

[ian408]

I met him IRL at Sonoma. Stayed in touch over the years, especially after his accident. Never realized how much that affected him until we chatted one day. Especially when he needed to get something done that he would normally have done himself, like climb on the roof to fix the chimney.

He'd been over the house a couple of times, the last was to bum a charger for camera batteries.

I was always disappointed that he disappeared after his accident but I understood why. I'd reach out now and then just to see how he was doing.

Always admired his work. Especially all the crashes he ever managed to capture. It was like "hold on" and he was swinging over to the impending crash. In sports photography, they say you have to know your sport and he certainly did.

Godspeed Joe. Condolences to your family.

 

[gixxerjeff]

I'm absolutely devastated.

Joe was responsible in so many ways for where I am today.

A hundred years ago budman invited me to the AFM banquet. I was a noob on Barf but was doing ride reports and taking photos with a cheap ass Nikon I bought from a barfer.

Met Joe that night and hung out with him for a good while.

He told me I should talk to Oxymoron about shooting AFM with him at Sonoma.

He gave me my first track access to Laguna.

He got me to quit smoking.

He approved of my wife the first day he met her when she gave him shit all day.

He was the only phone call I answered on my wedding.

He checked on me when I had my twinz.

I literally can't trace my last 15+ years without it going back to him someway.

This one fucking hurts.



I will be doing 4theCocktail at AFM this weekend Saturday night and taking donations for his family.

I miss you around here.
I also thought of you immediately when I saw this thread.
You're in my thoughts, dude.

 

[i_am_the_koi]

Thanks bruv

Life's been crazy but I'm doing the best I can to get through it.

Stay at home Dad life was not what I expected to be doing but I'm not complaining. Struggling but not complaining.

This one hurts. The random people reaching out to check if it's true has been hard. I can only imagine what Bri is going through. I know it's really hard for a couple people that knew him well and even better than I did.

This one hurts.

 

[Butch]

Ouch. I rode with him a couple times back in the day…