Happy birthday, Torsten!

Happy birthday, Torsten! 🎂 I don’t remember the exact moment we met, probably because I was experiencing a rush of conference-induced endorphins at the time. But I clearly remember what happened after.

This happened. You helped making it happen. It sent a message lots of folks had been waiting to hear.

WordCamp Hamburg 2014 says Moin Moin

And they came. (That’s , Tammie, Yoav, and Sergej, but there were also Konstantin, Mario, and others.)

Zé presenting at WordCamp Hamburg 2014
Tammie presenting at WordCamp Hamburg 2014
Yoav presenting at WordCamp Hamburg 2014
Sergej at WordCamp Hamburg

And a bunch of them stayed to get some work done.

Contributor Day at WordCamp Hamburg 2014

And we’re talking thought leadership here.

Diagram on black board planning de.wordpress.org

So eventually, this would happen.

And although much can be said (and has been said, by yourself no less) about those days being gone and in the past, and we’re all getting old…

Torsten closing off WordCamp Hamburg 2014

…there is no way around the fact that you were one of the few key people who made all that happen. And by “all that” I mean so much more than just one WordCamp: empowerment, initiative, careers, and – dare I say it – no small amount of healing.

ours  fist raised at WCEU 2014 in Sofia
Photo: @arkangel CC BY-SA

So here’s to you, my friend, and to many more merry meetings. 🍻
Never ever stop being you. ❤️
RANDALE! 🤘

Torsten in front of slide saying Torsten vs. Automttic – Randale!

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