I woke up to very sad news this morning.
One of my idols passed away.
The great Jimmy Buffett.
Now people who know me know Im not the most emotional human of all time.
Animals get to me, but thats pretty much it.
Well here I was at 6:30am this morning literally bawling my eyes out when I heard the news.
Its kind of crazy that a guy I barely knew could mean that much to me but he did.
It honestly feels like a member of my family died or even a part of me.
Ive been a Jimmy Buffett fan for going on 30 years now.
I consumed everything Jimmy.
I read all his books.
I went to his broadway play.
I went to Key West to see the bars and places he sang about.
All us Parrotheads were slowly growing old together.
And I think thats the thing that makes his passing so emotional for me.
Jimmy and his music started marking the passing of time for me.
Certain milestones in my life reminded me of certain songs.
And as Jimmy got older he started singing about getting older.
It all resonated with me.
But it wasnt just the music.
Like at what point is it time to slow down and just enjoy life.
Whenever I thought about these questions Id turn on Jimmys music to zone out and think about it.
I had Incommunicado on repeat.
But in the end I decided I wasn’t ready to put the book on the shelf.
His music just resonated with me and always has.
Well despite his laid back persona hes also one of the best businessmen of our generation.
In fact when I first sold Barstool to Chernin Group they asked me who my business inspiration was.
I had never been asked that question before but I answered without hesitation that it was Jimmy Buffett.
Books, bars, casinos, restaurants, alcohol, merch etc.
You name it he did.
He built a fanbase and a culture and stayed true to it and monetized it.
Exactly what we did with Barstool Sports and I always saw the parallels.
There is none higher on my list than getting to meet Jimmy.
He was supposed to play a charity concert during Covid that I was going to host.
The concert never happened but I did a zoom call with him for an hour before it was cancelled.
Delaney Talks to Statues is one of my underrated favorite songs.
I couldnt believe I was there.
Jimmy spent 2 hours telling stories that felt like he was writing songs as he went along.
There was no real reason for the lunch.
We werent planning anything.
Nothing came from it.
I didnt ask for a photo because I didnt want to seem like a fanboy.
I regret that now, but it is what it is.
I did get the chance to meet him a few more times between then and now.
They say never meet your idols but that didnt apply to Jimmy.
He was exactly how I pictured him.
Lost in songs and beaches and stories while also zoning in on potential business opportunities.
I definitely feel a bit older and sadder today than I did yesterday.
