“$%&#,” I growled not quietly enough for my kids not to hear. Skip passed.
The news of Andrew “Skip” Donovan‘s passing came through my feed via fellow Australian photographer Jeff Lakeford. A couple of weeks earlier, IFWA and IJSBA World Champion, and friend to me since he was just out of high school, Mark Gomez had posted the prognosis: Skip was in palliative care with not much time left.
I came to know Skip through his “Photo By Skip” photography business. The Watercraft Journal was murdering the competition on its international freeride coverage, and Skip saw an opportunity to offer his services – to which, I was more than eager to accept. Skip loved freeride, and it was evident in his coverage.
Over 3-plus-years, Skip provided WCJ coverage of the Australian freeride scene; particularly, the Rip N’ Ride; as well as QPWC races, AJSBA Nationals and even the King’s Cup in Thailand. Admittedly, Skip’s spelling was reliably atrocious – enough to make Australia’s public schools a running joke between us – but his photos were always primo.
It only made sense that this level of exposure would draw in headhunters and Skip was whisked away by Michael Ratti at Pro Rider seeing that Mike lived in Australia and could keep him busier than WCJ. Skip tried to walk the tightrope between the two magazines, but PR made it clear it was either one or the other. He chose the other.
After news of Skip’s passing hit, I sought answers. I reached out to a few contacts and gratefully, Craig Milne called and filled in some gaps. Being a Gold Coast native and an active outdoorsman, Skip developed a melanoma in 2019. VHA addressed the skin cancer and Skip was cleared after a year of treatment.
By 2023, Skip was feeling ill and went in to be tested. The results were catastrophic: Stage IV cancer and it was everywhere. Australian TGA laws (Therapeutic Goods Act 1989) permit patients whom doctors deem “terminal” to attempt “unconventional” treatment. He did so for over a year but it wasn’t successful.
Skip entered end-of-life care, which did its best to keep him as pain-free as possible. It was shortly after his 52nd birthday (December 8th, 1973) that he passed on Sunday, December 14th. Skip is survived by his mother, Elizabeth; father, Michael; brother, Nathan; and his sister, Rebecca and her son, Flynn.
Skip was exactly what the sport of freeride needed. He loved it all: the aerials, the athletes, the sounds, the shoreline, everything. His stoke was infectious. Losing Skip to PR took a big chunk of our freeride coverage, and that hurt, as I’ve always supported it (ask Gomez, Ross Champion, Taylor Curtis and the Bright brothers).
…but losing Skip to cancer hurts worse. The world just feels a little dimmer.
God’s speed, Skip. You were a good one, mate.
