Hello friends, new and old,

I received the following email earlier today:

To whom it may concern:

With a very heavy heart and sadness I have to tell you that Mark Hillaby has passed away on January 5, 2015.

He suffered from COPD and flu complications along with a mild stroke took him away from me after a short stay in the hospital. He was a man who loved life, his friends and contributions to the life of others such as the Cluster Headache study he helped bring to life.

This email was from his wife.

For those that don't recognize the name, Mark Hillaby, it's ok. Old-timers will remember him as PinkShark Mark.

Mark was one of the originals on this board and was a huge advocate for everyone with clusters. His fame comes from his involvement in discovering and developing the psilocybin treatment and the use of LSD for clusters.

Between myself, Mark and our good friend Flash, we set up the basics of what has become Clusterbusters.
Flash and Mark did all of the early work on setting up the entire process and making it available to everyone. Worked from scratch on developing the dose scheduling and all the initial work.

The foundation that was set about 15 years ago here, on this message board, is responsible for all the advocacy and research that has come from those early days.
Without his work and that of Flash and others, there would never have been a trip to see the researchers at Harvard or the study that came from that.

I wish he'd lived to see the news about the latest studies and the new one we're working on with psilocybin.

If you want to read some great debates, check out the old posts from 2001 and 2002.

I could write a book of his involvement and importance and I may at some point. I will write more later. But for now I needed to let everyone know that this special man has passed.

All the best Mark. I'm sure the psilocybin is legal and readily available where you are.

Bob
Pinkfloyd

So sad to hear this valuable man has passed. Condolences to his family (which includes all of US) and I'm sure you're correct, Bob, about the availability of the product he helped so many to use to such great effect. He will be missed and remembered.

Fly free, Pink--hope we see ya on the beach...

Edit to add part of an email I got from Pink back in '02:

The only reason I came to this board was to try to find something that would STOP THESE HEADACHES. I was NOT looking for sympathy, or jokes, or inspirational messages. I was NOT looking for a place to vent my frustrations at incompetent doctors, or to tell others how this hideous disease has hurt me financially, physically and emotionally, or what it has done to my relationships. I'm not good at that touchy-feely stuff, I never have been. There are many others who post here who are much better at that kind of thing than I ever will be, and I know that their posts are valuable to hundreds or even thousands of readers. So, what can pinksharkmark do to give back something of value?

I figure the best thanks I can give to DJ and his site is to spread the word about the magic bullet. I have left behind me a trail of posts addressing the legal issues, a likely theory of how it works, tips on identification, dosage, storage and cultivation, links to sites that provide spores, links to sites that detail the chemical similarities between psilocybin and serotonin, links to posts regarding a clinical research project in the planning stages, and even a post or two on my own cultivating experiences over twenty years ago.

I think that I have done enough. I think that Flash has done enough. I thank Q and Graham and Stavi for sticking around and giving us progress reports. As Flash pointed out, many others didn't. They took their mushrooms, their headaches stopped, and they vanished from the board. Do I blame them? Not at all. They came here looking for relief, they found it, they reported their success, and then got on with their lives. It's time for me to do the same.
on 7/4/02

Sorry to hear that.  I liked Mark.  As I recall, he had a bar in Puerto Rico.  I always thought that when I made it down that way, I would stop in to say hi.  Rest in peace Mark
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I remember him well. RIP Mark.

RIP Mark..

I am really sorry to hear that.  He was a great guy.

I'm so sorry to hear it.  We have lost a great friend and brother.

Jerry

While I never met Mark, I too got to like him on the original board. His tenacity was undeniable.

I vividly remember watching in fascination as he came back through the insults time and again, telling us that we were being closed minded. He flatly knew that there was an answer in there somewhere.

As BobW said, Flash, Pinkshark Mark were part of the few that kept pushing for others to pay attention, when we refused. Now that this comes up, I remember "Q" being a strong advocate too.

Sorry to hear this news about Mark. RIP indeed.

Marc

Even I remember.

Sorry to hear of this.

I too wish he had lived to see the trials. 

I remember him well and loved the way he stood his ground.

RIP Pink....the world is a better place, for many,
because of you.

Sorry to hear that.  I love mark.he is great

wish he had a great lived,hope so

how in the fuck would one honor one of you three cats who led the way toward stopping CH? I fer one posted anti psychedelic cure posts...figgered you cats were fucked up. THEN being a true CHer ...one who would try ANYTHING...shrooms finally stopped my CH...SHROOMS FINALLY STOPPED MY CLUSTERHEADACHES.!!! I will never be able to express the depth of my gratitude to Pink Shark Mark, pink Floyd and flash (who i gave tons of shit to)....because of yer ancient posts on CH.com i am CH free...crap...i guess i gotta throw a bone to that DJ guy...who made this possible...love

This is very sad to hear. May he rest in peace, and my prayers go out to his family and friends... :'(

So sad to hear this.  RIP Mark.  Condolences to his family.