Written By Kai Orans
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Ralston was an incredible competitor, I always hated playing against him, but we would often find ourselves on opposite teams. He used to sweat like a crazy man, but he didn’t seem to care at all. He was never one to care about conventions, niceties, or what others thought. He was incredibly driven, even at a relatively young age. He started pulling all-nighters to finish projects he was passionate about in early high school and never stopped. He had a dependability, self-assuredness, and steadiness of someone who was much older. We all knew that if he agreed to do something, it would get done, no matter what. All our friends trusted him in this way. We probably all copied off of his homework and leaned on him to take care of stuff more times than we can count, I did at least.
Ralston was insatiably curious about the world outside of Piedmont, California, and even the US, and he took every opportunity to explore. He was a trailblazer forging ahead on his own path, self-motivated every step of the way, and headed towards great things. I always admired how dedicated Ralston was to whatever he chose to pursue. He didn’t do things casually. Soccer, Mandarin, coding, AR/VR, film, understanding China, himself, and his place in the world, philosophy, and many more things. He constantly questioned himself, others, and the society he lived in. He was a seeker looking to find what would bring true value, happiness, and a sense of belonging in this world.
Ralston was a kind soul. I don’t remember him talking ill of or talking down at anyone. He wasn’t condescending, entitled or looking for shortcuts, he appreciated the value of hard work and earned everything he got through hard work. He treated people from all walks of life with respect and dignity.
He cared about the right things; interesting work over money, good friends and relationships over fame, hard work over the easy way out, the road less traveled over comfort, learning over grades, health, family, living life the right way. I think Ralston understood, admired, and loved a lot of people deeply, but sometimes had a hard time expressing himself.
The first time I surfed was with Ralston in Santa Monica when I was visiting him a few years ago. He talked me into trying it and I’m grateful to him for doing that. Since then, Ralston and I surfed together a bunch. A few months ago, when we were out at Pacifica on a huge day, my leash snapped and I was without a board a few hundred yards out with big waves breaking everywhere. I panicked a little bit, looked around, found Ralston, and yelled for him to paddle over. Even though we couldn’t both ride his board back to shore, I felt way better making that long swim back to shore with him paddling next to me for support.
Ralston was fascinated by big ideas and full of great questions. Happy to listen rather than to speak what he knew. We could all learn something from him. Ralston sometimes attended a Vedanta (Indian philosophy) class that I hosted and another class taught by a friend of mine in LA. I remember that he always brought a pen and notebook to every class. Even if he didn’t participate in the class, he would sometimes drop me a text message after the class and share something he had learned. That always made me feel really good and I appreciated the encouragement. I will miss Ralston a lot and I hope these memories and thoughts will remind us of the beautiful spirit and character of a legendary friend, brother, son, and person.
Much love to you all, and may Ralston rest in peace.
-KaiRalston was an incredible competitor, I always hated playing against him, but we would often find ourselves on opposite teams. He used to sweat like a crazy man, but he didn’t seem to care at all. He was never one to care about conventions, niceties, or what others thought. He was incredibly driven, even at a relatively young age. He started pulling all-nighters to finish projects he was passionate about in early high school and never stopped. He had a dependability, self-assuredness, and steadiness of someone who was much older. We all knew that if he agreed to do something, it would get done, no matter what. All our friends trusted him in this way. We probably all copied off of his homework and leaned on him to take care of stuff more times than we can count, I did at least.
Ralston was insatiably curious about the world outside of Piedmont, California, and even the US, and he took every opportunity to explore. He was a trailblazer forging ahead on his own path, self-motivated every step of the way, and headed towards great things. I always admired how dedicated Ralston was to whatever he chose to pursue. He didn’t do things casually. Soccer, Mandarin, coding, AR/VR, film, understanding China, himself, and his place in the world, philosophy, and many more things. He constantly questioned himself, others, and the society he lived in. He was a seeker looking to find what would bring true value, happiness, and a sense of belonging in this world.
Ralston was a kind soul. I don’t remember him talking ill of or talking down at anyone. He wasn’t condescending, entitled or looking for shortcuts, he appreciated the value of hard work and earned everything he got through hard work. He treated people from all walks of life with respect and dignity.
He cared about the right things; interesting work over money, good friends and relationships over fame, hard work over the easy way out, the road less traveled over comfort, learning over grades, health, family, living life the right way. I think Ralston understood, admired, and loved a lot of people deeply, but sometimes had a hard time expressing himself.
The first time I surfed was with Ralston in Santa Monica when I was visiting him a few years ago. He talked me into trying it and I’m grateful to him for doing that. Since then, Ralston and I surfed together a bunch. A few months ago, when we were out at Pacifica on a huge day, my leash snapped and I was without a board a few hundred yards out with big waves breaking everywhere. I panicked a little bit, looked around, found Ralston, and yelled for him to paddle over. Even though we couldn’t both ride his board back to shore, I felt way better making that long swim back to shore with him paddling next to me for support.
Ralston was fascinated by big ideas and full of great questions. Happy to listen rather than to speak what he knew. We could all learn something from him. Ralston sometimes attended a Vedanta (Indian philosophy) class that I hosted and another class taught by a friend of mine in LA. I remember that he always brought a pen and notebook to every class. Even if he didn’t participate in the class, he would sometimes drop me a text message after the class and share something he had learned. That always made me feel really good and I appreciated the encouragement. I will miss Ralston a lot and I hope these memories and thoughts will remind us of the beautiful spirit and character of a legendary friend, brother, son, and person.
Much love to you all, and may Ralston rest in peace.
-Kai
