Who is kaine?
Kaine Marcel Carlson Kirke
The brightest light, although I know he'd roll his eyes at me for me saying so.
Kaine had a humour like no other, a stye unmatched, the most creative mind... He had it all.
Social and emotional intelligence, grace and humility, equally paired with the most ridiculous and vulgar hilarity. He was gentle where tenderness was needed, and silly where laughter was needed.
We don't have words to begin to describe how impactful Kaine was to us all, but to the best of our ability, we would like to share a bit about who our boy was and shed light on how Kaine it Forward was born from this nightmare we now find ourselves living in his absence.
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Kaine found community and comfort at a very young age in his chosen sport of skateboarding. He spent countless hours on his board, filming his friends, compiling footage into incredible full-length movies and researching new spots. He skated most of his life, and it became a failsafe whenever he needed a time and a place to persevere through his frustrations and challenges. Anyone who knew Kaine knew how special skateboarding and the associated culture was to him. His network of friends within the sport was so vast and so connected, it was like a second family. Kaine took diligent care of the younger group members and sought their well-being, while those senior to Kaine looked out for him in the same light. He was always down to skate, no matter one's skill level or friend group.
In addition to skateboarding, Kaine was also an artist, designer and creator. Clothing brands he created include Slayyworld and Jimsoja. These brands were successfully marketed along with music beats and music videos he produced for rappers in Canada and the US. Kaine was always doodling, drawing, tagging, repurposing and researching new ways to spread his messages and ideas.
Kaine had purpose, motive and drive. He built his creative empire from the ground up and continues to be an influence to so many. His legacy will live on through all of us who love him, and we will do everything in our power to transform our grief into fuel for a brighter future.
Stories of kaine
J.W.
G.D.
G.D.
One of my fondest memories with Kaine goes back to our grad kidnapping.
The boys were starting to get a little out of hand as the evening progressed. Rightfully so when we were taking tampon shots and shotgunning black labels all night.
The collective rowdiness was too much to contain within the household, so we resorted to Caro Park to continue the festivities.
Eventually an ambulance was called for a young lad who had consumed to excess and needed a stomach pump before bed.
Thankfully my situation wasn't that severe; but I managed to find myself in quite the predicament none the less...
Through all the commotion, I figured a comfortable way to spend the night would be to slump myself against a very welcoming tree trunk nearby.
Let's not forget, I was also dressed in sexy Santa garments and pink body paint courtesy of the ladies...
As the park cleared out, Kaine spotted my lost and forgotten soul and came to the rescue.
At first I was neglecting aid and refused to stray from my dirt nap. Not taking no for an answer, Kaine propped my arm up around his shoulders and helped sexy Santa hobble all the way back to his house.
Quite the visual!
We had school in the morning so I was very thankful to have slept indoors.
A little embarrassing, but just one of many beautiful examples of helping out a brother and being stand up dude.
I'll never forget that one.
Love you bro, cheers!
G.D.
G.D.
G.D.
I remember one time where Kaine called me at like 3pm a few years ago and it was probably a few months since we’d talked.
He asks me to get together and just smoke some lovely herb and I quit smoking way before that but we still kicked it and we ended up tattooing ourselves at the house.
We then took the side by side down the trail to enjoy the scenery.
We got back up and ended up buying Astro world hoodies the second it dropped on Travis Scott's site, clicking refresh every second to make sure we got it. That sh*t wasn't cheap and I still have it hanging in my closet.
Love you my boy.
T.S.
G.D.
T.S.
Kaine was my high school sweetheart.
We were each other’s first loves. From ages 16 to 23 we remained a healthy combination of partners, best friends and sometimes enemies... For the 7 years (give or take) that I spent with Kaine... through each season, lesson of life, experience of growth, period of sorrow, break up and make up... Kaine was my family. He knew it and I knew it, no matter what.
We looked out for each other, even when we didn't want to, even when we wished we hated each others guts. We always had to know the other was okay.
So, I want to share a bit about my Kaine. The Kaine who took turns reading books with me, page by page on the steps of the old Caramillo garage. The Kaine who gave me hand-made Christmas and Birthday cards, one in particular where he drew me as a power puff girl and wrote "3 things I love about you". The Kaine who left little pink sticky notes with different variations of "I love you" written on them in every jean pocket, every hoodie, every pair of shoes I owned before I left for college...
I want to tell you about the Kaine who, on nights when his anxiety was high, asked me to sing him to sleep. The same songs his mom sang him as a child... The Kaine who kept every letter I ever wrote him, neatly tucked away in his room, even now, after all of these years...
Kaine's laugh was my favourite sound for 7 years. His blue/grey eyes were my favourite sight. His character was the most unique. His style was the most forward. His influence was the most admired... Kaine is truly one in 7 billion.
A place in my heart he will always have, our youth together preserved for eternity.
Thank you for being my light for so many years.
With love, your Slayygirl
H.V.
H.V.
T.S.
Kaine was always so welcoming to me, and truly most people.
Kaine influenced a good amount of my teen years, with him and Taija being like older siblings, always so cool to us and always had our backs.
I remember I smoked my first Backwood with Kaine (lol). Bella and I were bored one night and Kaine invited us to come hangout, we went over to his place and got suuuuuper high in his room, all laughing and roasting each other. He showed us the song ‘Lemonade’ by Tay-K and some designs he had been working on for Slayyworld and we all just talked n chilled. It was such a random night, probably one most people wouldn’t remember, but it was honestly really important and I think I could speak for the both of us. We really admired Kaine as of course lot of people did, he was so creative & the way he talked about his ideas & passions was so magnetic. He also just made us feel cool, not only because he liked us (which it felt good to be liked by Kaine, he just had that effect and I think a lot of people can relate), but because he listened and wanted to hear our ideas and opinions too. It was a really wholesome bonding experience, and I think it’s always those random little moments that are the most impactful.
Another memory I have was when we all went to hangout at Kaine’s, I think it was one of the first weekends when his cousin Nathan moved in, we instantly connected with Nathan too and all became pretty close that year.
I remember Kaine telling us to make sure we took care of each other at school, and it always makes me laugh when I think back and remember a lot of the funny and stupid shit we ended up doing. It was just so cool to be the younger kids that got to be included and welcomed into their group. I’ll never forget those years cause they really transformed me into the person I am now and introduced me to a lot of the interests/music/style that I still carry with me. I’m so grateful and forever have so much love for that.
Sending so much love to you guys. Thank you for everything xx.
C.K.
H.V.
C.K.
I met Kaine in grade 8 but our relationship as good friends didn’t truly start until high school.
Through those years we hung out very frequently one on one and I truly got to know him on a personal level.
Through that I always called him “sting boy” because every time I saw him he had the energy of a bee and made me feel like part of his hive, left me with the sting of great love and friend ship every time and always had my back.
As the years went on I only saw you once in a while Kaine but I always cared and loved you and it was always a treat to see you.
Thank you sting boy.
P.A.
H.V.
C.K.
One of my favourite memories...
I will never forget when I had the chance to share the experience of going to see Lucki live in Vancouver with Kaine. He was one of mine and Kaine's favourite rappers & we were lucky enough to go down to for the weekend, go shopping & see our favourite rapper.
After the concert we even got invited to do a meet & greet for free. Kaine & Lucki hit it off immediately, talking for 15 minutes & Lucki even offered to buy Kaines original print Glory Boys hoodie, but it was too sentimental to him, he didn’t want to get rid of it.
Kaine and Lucki were just talking shop and we were asked to move on & we were all like wait we haven't even gotten a photo yet!
So many good times, its hard to pick one.
Miss my guy.
BLXRRY
BLXRRY
BLXRRY
My condolences to Kaines family.
I’ve known Kaine since around 2016 due to a mutual friend doing music.
I was introduced to Kaine via FaceTime and instantly respected his ambition and creativity as a visionary.
I was one of the early producers in Slayyworld and loved to be a part of something so innovative and inspiring.
I understand that a part of the underground hip hop/entertainment culture drugs are heavily glorified, and I was no exception to experimenting myself. It’s really unfortunate and tragic what happened to Kaine and I’m truly sorry.
I hope to do my part in raising awareness for the youth. We all will remember him in positive spirits and for all the good times while he was here.
E.H.
BLXRRY
BLXRRY
Hello.
I would just like to share how I felt about Kaine & I know a lot of people would say the exact same.
I only became close with him in the last 3 years but during that time he opened my eyes in lots of ways.
Whenever we were hanging out it was something simple like doing art, running errands or listening to music, but Kaine effortlessly brought out a happy, youthful, & carefree energy out of me.
He was just a lot of fun to be around. He always encouraged his friends so much to be creative and try new ideas in the creative world. He had such an eye for things like music & fashion that really stood out. He was very much ahead of the game a lot of the time in that way.
I miss him & his laugh a lot & I hope this brought a smile to your family.
Kaine was seriously cool and I feel very lucky we got to cross paths.
S.H.
BLXRRY
S.H.
It's taken me forever to find the right words to write here.
I'd known Kaine since middle school but hadn't really known or connected with him until around 11th or 12th grade, though I always remember admiring his skate videos for as long as I can remember. The film, the style, the skating, the music, everything clicked with me, and that's why I feel that we got along so well when we finally connected in high school.
Over time we began to show interest in each other's creatives sides more, he would encourage me to truly commit to producing and writing music, and I can say with complete confidence he instrumental in where I am creatively today. We would spend late nights in his room screwing around with new sample packs and plugins or watching fail videos, but no matter what we were doing it was a great time.
Over time we drifted apart, both our lives had become more complicated. I would still see Kaine skating or at parties, and it would be like that distance was never there, and like just the other day we'd been sitting in his room, shooting the shit and EQ'ing an 808 for an hour.
Losing Kaine has been hard, and I'll never feel the same again.
I miss you Kaine, not a single day goes by that I don't think about you.