in memory of Adé Hogue - we love you brother
RIP Adé. We will miss you for eternity.
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The Creative Community Has Been Robbed
32 is too young…
My brother, Broderick Adé Hogue, sadly passed away this Halloween weekend.
(There is a GoFundMe to help his family here.)
The creative community has been robbed from witnessing an up-and-coming juggernaut that was making a powerful dent in this world…
We’ve not only been robbed by his one-of-a-kind, industry-leading talent…
But by his presence and kind-hearted spirit.
Adé was in a horrible cycling accident Wednesday, October. 27th at a crazy busy Chicago-based intersection.
He was in critical condition with a significant brain injury landing him in a coma fighting for his life.
Much of me and the creative community caught wind of it on Friday afternoon.
I was blindsided by the news hearing it directly from my dear friend, Maggie Enterrios of LittlePatterns, while I was in physical therapy.
She kept a pulse on everything for me while I was consumed, yet insanely distracted, with a product launch that was happening later that Friday evening. (Thank you Maggie for all of this. 🙏🏻)
I was an hour into the launch and was in the process of putting my son down to sleep when Maggie broke the news that Adé has passed away...
I broke down in front of both my kids clearly terrifying them—they had never seen Da-Da in this type of state before.
I held onto a slim glimmer of hope of some type of miracle but officially saw the news break across social media Saturday evening.
This isn’t fair…
We needed Adé in our community.
He inspired the masses within his short span of life before his time here expired.
My goal with this is to:
Pay tribute to Ade’s life.
Timestamp some of my favorite experiences with him.
Share some important takeaways he taught me.
Never a Dull moment With Adé
He and I go back to Creative South Conference 2017.
I started seeing his incredible lettering work earlier in the year on Instagram and knew I wanted to connect with him.
During the first or second night, we hit the after-party with a large group of rambunctious creatives acting a fool till late in the evening.
I was an idiot and bought us shots at like 2 am at some hole-in-the-wall bar…
Totally belligerent that he was one of the opening talks the next morning.
But in true Adé fashion, the dude rose to the occasion and delivered.
We kept in touch and he become podcast family when we dropped Episode 112 on January 23, 2019.
He vulnerably shared his inspiring backstory of the insane adversity he overcame as he transitioned to become a full-time freelance artist and designer.
He also spoke on his powerful mission of highlighting fellow black lettering artists in the industry who deserved the spotlight.
His guest episode artwork he created is still some of my most favorite submissions to date—despite his crazy schedule, he pulled through and knocked out a beauty.
The dude was a master at script lettering
Fast forward to October 2019 that same year, and we got a chance to kick it at Creative Works Conference.
I was pumped to finally witness him in action during his Script Lettering Workshop.
It was incredible to see him blowing everyone’s mind while simultaneously working his magic directly with each student providing expert critique and feedback.
The dude exceeded everyone’s expectations with ease—he was born to educate.
On the final night, we connected post-dinner and chatted everyone’s ear’s off connecting with old friends and new.
We then went to the infamous Paula & Raiford’s Disco with a large group of us looking to get rowdy with After Hours.
We were double fisting 40oz. and shredding the dance floor to all the classics late into the night.
A sweaty night of shredding the dance floor at Raifords.
Acting a fool with you that night was easily one of the best times I’ve EVER had at a conference.
What crushes me the most is knowing how Covid robbed me of getting to connect with you multiple times in person.
It saddens me even more that you were on my list to circle back around for Round 2 of the podcast in early 2022 as it had been too long since we had a long, meaningful conversation.
The Impact You Made…
You taught me so much without me realizing it until I’ve had a chance to reflect over the weekend and spill this all onto the screen.
You were fearless, man. You worked hard but played harder.
Yet life was more than work to you.
You were focused on relationships, self-care, and wellness.
You showed me the power of pouring yourself, interests, passions, beliefs, and value into your work.
The way you brought in your love for flowers, cycling, running, tattoos, hip-hop, equality, justice, teaching, and more into your craft spoke volumes.
You allowed even the furthest strangers on opposing pockets of this planet to feel like they knew you.
You showed me it’s OK to play as well at times, step away.
You embodied how important it is to nurture relationships, empathize with others, speak your truths, and put self-care as a top priority.
I can’t tell you how much time I spent bawling scrolling through everyone’s comments on your Instagram.
Reading everyone’s “Adé Experience” rocked me, crushed me, and inspired me.
It got me thinking:
“What do I want to be written on my tombstone?”
“What type of memories do I want to leave people with?”
“What type of impact do I want to leave behind far after my time expires?”
Make Your Time Count Now
Life is extremely short—and criminally shorter toward those who deserve more sand in their hourglass.
It’s a fucking gift to be able to breathe and experience the 24 hours between sunrise and sunset each day.
How do we make the most of our experience here?
In reflecting on what Adé meant to myself and others, my perspective is the following:
Do shit that matters that pushes yourself and others into evolving into their best selves.
Focus on making a rippling impact on those you care about during your finite existence on this floating, spinning rock in outer space.
YOU matter and the world needs what you have to offer.
Everything can be taken away from you in an instance so make it count NOW.
32 is too young Adé…
You were just scratching the tip of the iceberg of the significant impact you’d be creating with your talents, voice, and message.
You truly meant a lot to this community and you will be severely missed.
Thanks for making time for me and being a good friend.
Rest easy my dude—keep inspiring the masses in your next life.
Love ya brother. 😭
Support Adé’s Family
If you want to help Ade’s family cover the outrageous medical expenses and funeral costs, there is a GoFundMe page here.