despite the parodies the guy has lived an awesome life
He was good natured and rolled with the punches. I'm one of the guys here who has parodied him, but I've also PMed him a few times and told him it was just for a laugh, and that I had a lot of respect for him (which I did). He was very cordial in his replies.
And like you, one of my first memories of Getbig was reading about his dragging that heavy ass tire chained to his waist in some place in Hawaii. I thought, "Damn, that's a big bastard", lol.
He was one of the most popular Getbiggers and we will all miss him big time. I'm very saddened by this news of his unexpected death.