Bad News. Mike B. Passed Today

R.I.P. Mike B.

It was always nice to have a talk and drink with him.
Another one that will be missed at the shows.

TES 2025, 2 months ago.

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R.I.P. Mike B.

Sad

Yeah I saw him there and we spent some time together. Mike and his lovely fiancé. I feel bad for her. Sad stuff.

I can’t fucking believe it. What trrrible news. MikeB was one of the nicest, coolest guys in the industry. He was always ready to help anyone who asked too.

RIP Mr. MikeB. You will be missed.

Yeah Mark I know. It was a shock when I found out this morning. Brad from Mojo posted on FB. He heard from Mike's brother.

When I was brand new to the industry and wandering around like a lost puppy at my first trade show, MikeB, like Julius JFK, was one of the first people to introduce me around as he was so well known, loved, and appreciated.

Dammit …

sad news RIP

we're all just dust in the wind. waiting for my turn bros....





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Very very sad! Mike B was always the nicest dude, always willing to talk and share his immense knowledge. He will be greatly missed.

R.I.P.

Most people here only knew him as an adult event photographer… But there is a massive community from his bar in Flipland who knew him.

I would think more people knew him there than what is left from the adult webmaster community that will be missing him.

I posted on our Flipland group, and the replies are many, giving their condolences.

He was one of the best.

The last day in TES Prague 2025 we were suppose to meet up for dinner… so Mike, Lightspeed and Mike’s Filipina wife Maida found a restaurant but it was over booked and changed restaurants… so when I finally arrived at the original restaurant,, they had already left and found a new restaurant… I texted where they are… and when I got there... it was packed, so Buster and I could not be immediately seated... I kinda thought this will be the last time I see Mike…… the waitress was able to finally seat us across from them… when Steve and Mike left… Steve paid for our bill… when I went to leave… the waitress lied and said he didn’t pay… so we had to pay again.

RIP Mike B

Don't know him, but I've seen that name post here before. That's all I got.

R.I.P to bro.

Safe travels, Mike B . . .

I didn't know him well but every time I spoke to him he was very nice. RIP.

Everyone in our industry is getting older and this is going to happen more often.

So awful. RIP

RIP to MikeB

Most people from our "industry" are already gone.

Such a nice guy. Sorry to hear the sad news.

Rest in Peace Mike

y'alls memories of him are beautiful, sounds like he was a really special person

condolences and RIP

This is so sad, he was such a sweet person and it was nice to talk with him in Romania a few months ago. Sending love to everyone who cared for him!

R.I.P. Mike B.

Rip
.
.

I came back to.express my condolences on his passing, RIP MikeB

My sincere condolences.
RIP Mike B.

Weird that this thread was never sticky'ed . . .

His spirit will live on!

Rip mike

Had a great time with him in Prague. We sat next to each other for a dinner and it was good times.

R.I.P Mike

Met him in Costa Rica

R.i.p. mikeB

Rest In Peace, friend! You will be missed!

We've all been in the industry so long, that people are leaving us.

Of the photographers, the only one that I ever had a meaningful conversation with was Buster. It had nothing to do with the TES Trade show that we were at. He overheard me at lunch tell one of the servers that I was gluten intolerant, and he struck up a conversation that his little boy was as well. So I shared some food experiences with him.

I do say hi to Mari at each event, even though I haven't been to an event for two years. As an American. Schengen keeps growing, which makes it more difficult to get to a show in Prague, to a show in Spain, to a show in Bucharest, to a show in Portugal, now that they're all in Schengen, and we Americans can only be there 90 days every 180 days.

I am trying hard to get to the next TES in Marbella. Like with the Cascais show there isn't an airport there. So there's going to be additional logistics. But there will be a shuttle bus from Malaga, which is a wonderful airport, so the cost won't be as burdensome.

When we took the Mojohost bus between Xbiz Berlin and TES Prague back around 2017, he did ride the bus with us to take Photos. We stopped for lunch along the way, and I did show him an interesting multilevel platform in the middle of a plaza, which would be great to take a group photo. But by then he wasn't interested.

The last time I saw him was at AWSummit in Bucharest a couple of years before. I ordered an Uber to get to another part of the show. When it arrived, he got in with me. I looked at him with a double take, but he acted like he was entitled to ride in the taxi with me for free.

That I have never understood.

To this day, I really don't understand the need for the photographers to be parading in and out of the seminars, opening and closing the doors, disrupting the speakers and the attention of the audience while walking down the aisle to get close enough to take a couple of pictures, that never get properly credited to anyone other than big names eventually, anywhere, anyway.

Two years ago at TES Prague, which is the last show I've been able to attend because of the new Schengen countries, and increased costs due to the decline and devaluation of the USD compared to the EURO, I did give a presentation which to this day is a high point of my attending Trade shows going back to 2011. Thanks to Walter and Andreas.

Mari came in to snap a couple of photos. She recognized me from shows going back to the fall Bucharest show in 2018, but was nice enough to stick around for a couple of minutes and to smile and take in some of my presentation. Afterwards, later that day or the next day, Mari stopped me in the lobby to tell me that she enjoyed it, but more importantly to tell me that she had never heard me speak in public other than to say hi to her, and that she had no idea that I was a public speaker with background in radio and television!

I really do want to make it to Marbella in March it is three months away so I have three months to try to find an additional €1500.