Rowdy Roddy Piper, former pro wrestler, and protagonist of John Carpenter’s film “They Live,” passed away last night from a heart attack. “They Live” was the film that, along with my love of Orwell, inspired the use of the word OBEY in my art. Rowdy Roddy knew about the OBEY connection and we met up a couple of times. He was a genuine, passionate, nice guy! He told me some amazing stories about his early days struggling to establish himself as a wrestler and his times with Andre the Giant. We had a great time talking about rebellion and what it takes to make it on your own terms. I’m really glad I got to hang with him. Rowdy was an original who will be missed. Watch “They Live” if you haven’t… Roddy has some great lines like “I came here to chew bubblegum and kick-ass and I’m all out of bubblegum.” That one was appropriated and reworked by Linklater in “Dazed and Confused.” Thanks for the inspiration Roddy. -Shepard