‘Live Like Andy.’ T-shirts celebrate slain friend, raise money for Wolfpack athletes
One year after Andy Banks’ death, friends designed a T-shirt they hope will capture his affable free spirit — the attitude of a man who coasted through life in a red Cadillac convertible packed with friends.
It comes in a variety of colors, but the central symbol shows a hand raised in a “Wolfie” salute over the Red Hot Chili Peppers logo, combining Banks’ love of all things N.C. State with his fervor for a funk-punk party band.
“Live Like Andy,” says the slogan.
With more than 600 sold, the shirts add to a Wolfpack scholarship fund in Banks’ name, which has already topped $50,000 — enough to make for a permanent endowment. One alternative design shows a close-up of Banks’ face, tongue extended.
“It’s a real conversation-starter,” said friend Emily “E-Ball” Ballard.
More than 50 people gathered for a memorial picnic Sunday at Dix Park, most of them sporting “Live Like Andy” garb, to celebrate the friend slain in 2020 while trying to sell his car on Craigslist.
Police found Banks’ body in Virginia five days after he disappeared from a parking lot in Raleigh’s Village District.
Officers have not described the circumstances that led to Banks’ death, and accused killer Justin Fernando Merritt has not yet gone to trial. Friends said Banks went to the parking lot near the K&W Restaurant to sell a silver Range Rover he had advertised, one of several ways he earned a living as an alternative to the 9-to-5 desk-job life.
But since his death, Ballard helped compile a photo album full of tributes from as distant as France, recalling a generous streak so wide that Banks would loan out his car to acquaintances who were out of work, or volunteer to help people move when they had scarcely met.
The tributes laugh over a man, who would have turned 40 this past January, who could get by on Chase Rewards points and sleep on mattresses he planned to return at the end of the 90-day money-back guarantee.
Sunday’s picnic, with kids playing soccer around a shady tent, felt like the sort of event Banks would enjoy, with fewer tears than craft beers and hugs. Banks always knew the best spot for a Sunday beer special.
“When I remember Andy Banks and think of that smirk, he always seemed to be treating every moment with gratitude,” wrote Ben Cashatt in the tribute book. “A field trip is a gift. A Capri Sun on the lake is a gift. Friends are incredible gifts. I am so saddened that he will not grow long in the tooth with us, but Andy lived his life like a gift and did not find fault with his.”
His father, Bill Banks of Gastonia, said the scholarship will go toward all types of athletes, given his son’s appreciation for basketball, football, baseball and the pageantry surrounding Wolfpack sports in general.
“We just continue to try to bring a light burning,” he said, “for his kindness and all of these friends.”
Like the scholarship, the memorial picnic will be an annual event. There’s too much to remember on just one day.
This story was originally published September 12, 2021 at 2:57 PM.