Réal Massé, a true monument to the Quebec fashion world, died after a devastating illness. The news hit me like a hammer yesterday.
• Also read: Death of Réal Massé: Farewell, Mr. Massé. We already miss you.
I knew he had health problems, but of course Réal didn't want to talk about the severity of the problem. He walked peacefully to the outfitter surrounded by his family.
I knew Réal when I first started at the Journal. At the time, he was a kickboxing promoter, having been a boxer for years in his youth. His entire gala was impeccably put together to give the best to the fans.
In 1986 I learned that he had decided to become an outfitter. After making moves on the north coast, he changed regions entirely to acquire the Léonard Bellerose club in Saint-Zénon.
Réal remained true to himself and decided to make his supplier the benchmark in the industry. He quickly made a name for himself by offering fishing enthusiasts complete chalets with bathrooms and more, infrastructure that did not exist at the time. From his first appearance in hunting and fishing shows, we could sense that he was opening a new path for the future of Quebec's clothing industry. With his openness and his very strong personality, he set the pace by, among other things, sowing there to feed his lakes. He wanted amateurs to be able to take beautiful shots. At first, many outfitters criticized his method of stocking his lakes. Several outfitters now use his method and offer amateurs what they are primarily looking for: fishing success.
He often told me that the fishing enthusiast who came to him wanted only one thing, to be successful at the Peach, even though he had built beautiful chalets, a high-quality inn and an unparalleled catering service.
- Listen to the interview with Julien Cabana, hunting, fishing, snowmobiling and outdoors columnist on QUB:
AN ATHLETE WITH A SOUL
Réal has always been an athlete at heart. If we look at all the press clippings and the various paintings displayed in the dining room, we can understand this. He loved sports like baseball, along with his friend Felipe Alou, who often visited him at the outfitter's shop. He had his softball team back when he owned breweries. He loved golf and had been playing for years. He was very proud of his new golf course, which he had built on the same land where he took his fall pheasant hunting trips.
As a big hunting fan, he embarked on the African adventure after hunting moose, black bears and deer in Quebec. For several years he went to an outfitter in Africa for several months, where he accompanied local hunters who wanted to experience it. Over the years he created a very impressive collection of the different species he collected in Africa.
Réal was an open, honest man whose personality was not to everyone's liking. Either we liked him or we didn't like him. He had to maintain discipline at the outfitter, where he could accommodate several hundred fishermen in a single day. True to his duties, he was in his small house where he greeted the fishermen, distributed the lakes, gave advice to help them, without forgetting the anecdotes that he liked to tell.
Réal will leave a big gap at the supplier, that's for sure. However, from where he is, he will be able to see that the family will continue their work. His wife Ginette, his daughter Nancy, his son-in-law Gilles and his granddaughter Stéphanie will be there to welcome the fishermen and offer them the dream they have been looking for.
Have a nice trip, my Real.