Mike Pandel, officially recognized as Triforce Mike, was fatally injured by a vehicle while routinely traveling on his bicycle. Affectionately known as a persistent driving force in the nerd music community, Triforce Mike was a man of many talents: a wonderful co-host of Nerdy Show, all-around comics overlord at the Orlando’s beloved A Comic Shop, and an overall generous, rambunctious personality to all who knew him.

John “hex” Carter, founder of Nerdapalooza and fellow co-host on Nerdy Show, has dolefully expressed how much Triforce Mike really affected the VGM community:

For those that don’t know, Mike was one of the four pillars of Nerdy Show; he got his nickname at Nerdapalooza 2008; his antics as Chair, the polymorphed furniture turned into a Dwarf, was probably won’t made Dungeons & Doritos listenable; but more than that, he was one of my best friends. I had come to connect my time in Orlando with him… and everything has changed now.

I was with during most of the evening, recording episodes of Nerdy Show. The topics were mainly on our favorite fandoms. It still doesn’t feel real to me. The universe is a much darker place without his light shining bright.

There are so many little things that are killing me, but one of them is that we were working on a Dungeons & Doritos comic that he was writing, and our pal Tony is drawing. Last night Tony had finished drawing the last page and we’ll probably have them in for MegaCon. It’ll be his first published comic and he’ll never get to see it.

I’m sure there are a lot of things like this that will keep popping up, but this was one thing I needed to share. He left an impact in so many people’s lives that will never be filled. You could meet the guy for two minutes and you would never forget him. I’m listening to the Protomen on repeat for a few days in memory of him. He was one of their biggest fans and because of who he was, Mike had a great friendship with them.

If you believe in a place after this one, then I’m sure Mike is up there partying hard with the greats. For others like me, take condolences in that no one else has wrung so much joy from life while giving it back in equal dosages than Michael Pandel. The best way to celebrate his memory is to try to be just as awesome as he was, and make sure that everyone is enjoying the party. <3

Many artists in the community are also coming together to raise funds that will go out to Mike’s family; DJ RoboRob has called for others to assist him for a tribute album while Random has pledged to donate money if Black Materia: Remixes and K-Murdock’s Hero Muzik, Vol. 1 both reach the top five category on Bandcamp. If you happen to live in Orlando, friends of Mike are holding a Triforce Mike tribute tomorrow night at A Comic Shop. During this time, our hearts go out to those who are grieving over one of the best personalities in the nerd music community. RIP Mike, we will truly miss you.