- Tributes pour in for Andrew "Sketchy Andy" Lewis after fatal BASE jump.
- Lewis, co-founder of Moab Swingers, was a renowned slackliner and stunt performer.
- Influencers and fans remember Lewis for his passion and impact on outdoor sports.
MOAB — Tributes to Andrew "Sketchy Andy" Lewis have poured in from the global extreme sports and outdoors communities after the iconic slackliner and stunt performer died in a BASE jumping incident in Utah over the weekend.
Lewis, 39, one of two killed in the jump in the Mineral Bottom, a popular recreation area between Canyonlands National Park and Labyrinth Canyon, on Sunday, according to the Grand County Sheriff's Office. Danny Kregle, 68, of Arizona, was also killed in the incident, according to Kregle's family.
Known as "Sketchy Andy," Lewis was a prominent figure in the outdoors community as the co-founder of Moab Swingers, a rope swinging company based in Moab. He also amassed more than 400,000 followers on Instagram, while also having a cameo in Madonna's 2012 Super Bowl halftime performance, slacklining on stage with the legendary singer.
"RIP (Lewis). Quite the wave of love/art/connection to a landscape and community that you will continue to have on this universe forever! Huge hugs near and far for this heavy loss," wrote Renan Ozturk, a famed climber and artist, in a social media post on Monday.
Breannah Yeh, a popular slacklining influencer under the handle "yehslacks," posted a video of her BASE jumping with Lewis, writing that she had been inspired by him since she was 13. He helped her learn how to "live for passion and explore the world."
"I will continue looking up to you. ... Thank you for strapping me to your chest and jumping us off a cliff. I will continue to share life through adventure," she wrote.
Outdoor photographer Chris Burkard, who had photographed some of Lewis's iconic moments in Utah's red rocks, wrote that he was grateful for the memories he was able to share with him.
"(I) never took our time together for granted and (I'm) forever grateful to our chats about life," he wrote.
Many others responded to Lewis's final Instagram video, which was posted over the weekend. In it, he takes a flipping dive into a red rock canyon as tests out a rope swing. He wrote that he was "stoked for the rest of the season."
Lewis was "one of one" wrote fitness influencer Eric Hinman. "Thank you for so many moving moments," added Haruki Kinoshita, a Japanese slacklining champion.
Some told KSL that Lewis's videos influenced their decision to visit Utah for BASE jumping and rope swinging. Ruth Bryson of Asheville, North Carolina, told KSL that Lewis was calm, compassionate and kind, when she came to Moab to jump after her mother died earlier this year.
"He helped heal my heart, and I was hurting," she said.
A spokesperson for Kregle's family said Kregle was a "devoted" father to two daughters and a proud grandparent, who was an "active member" of the Paradise Valley and Mesa communities in Arizona. He was also passionate about travel.
Contributing: Shelby Lofton
