A Word About Phoenix ...

Mattress Talk General Mattresses Questions
1

With a broken heart I am reaching out to let you know that my beloved husband and co-founder of The Mattress Underground, Onno, died suddenly of a heart attack at home. It happened instantly and with no warning. The previous evening we had a joyful and beautiful dinner with his daughters, my parents and friends sharing stories, joy and laughter. The only consolation is that he died happy with his daughters and I holding him while he set off for his great passage.

Over the years, we’ve been a great team - Onno serving as the spokesperson on The Mattress Underground responding to posts and communicating with consumers and manufacturers, while I worked alongside him behind the scenes as his sounding board and researcher gathering every last scrap of information available on the many questions posed by consumers.

Together, we were “Phoenix” and in my heart we always will be.

Since beginning the site we’ve developed a community of great people from the mattress industry and have worked tirelessly with passion, love, and ever-growing dedication. We formed friendships and deep connections that crossed the barriers of physical reassurance. We educated and informed the general public in the mattress industry where the information provided is confusing, contradictory and based on stories stemming from flawed moral conducts where the end can justify the means and are just meant to make sales.

I have always been immensely proud and admired Onno’s vision and impeccability in the mattress industry. He maintained the highest ethical standards always and provided a great service not only in his answers to followers on the site but also by accepting only members of the same caliber to join the site–both of which created a consumer following because we created a playing field with a gold reputation.

This work has been so significant to us over the years and it is important to me, and I know it would be for Onno too, that I carry on with our plans to improve and grow the website for the benefit of both the members and the consumers who sought our guidance and advice.

As we move forward, I will be continuing on the site as “Phoenix”, keeping the same principles of truthfulness and transparency that we always have.

I thank each one of you for making TMU what it is today. I look forward to growing our relationship in the days to come and I welcome any comments you may wish to offer.

With sorrow and gratitude,
Laura (Phoenix)

2

Dear Laura - I am so sorry for your and your family’s loss. Onno had such an immensely generous, creative spirit, and he used his stunning intellect to create something unlike anything else I’ve seen on the web, really truly dedicated to helping and empowering people. I don’t know what your family’s faith background is, but in dealing with deaths in my own family I always appreciated the message “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Best wishes to you and your family through this challenging time.

3

Dear Laura,
We are shocked and saddened to hear of your great loss.
Thank you for continuing The Mattress Underground.
We appreciate all you have done to inform and guide this community.
We certainly would not be sleeping well at all without you!

4

Laura,

I am incredibly saddened by the news of Onno’s passing. He was one of the smartest, wittiest and kindest persons that I have ever met. He always found a way to find the good in people, and assisting others was truly his calling. Our conversations and emails made me better at my craft, and we both challenged each other to always learn and increase our knowledge in the effort to help others.

The Mattress Underground that you both have both created is such a unique resource for those seeking objective knowledge in an industry known for anything but. Your advice has touched and helped people around the world. I know Onno had an idea of what he had created and how assistive it was, but I don’t think he truly knew the thousands of people he helped achieve happiness and better health through a good night’s sleep. This site was his calling.

I will miss those conversations with my good friend, but I take comfort in knowing he lives on through this site and your continued work, development and writings in The Mattress Underground.

All my best,
Jeff

5

Laura, I am so sorry to hear of your loss. I’ve lurked here for years (the ultimate in “paralysis by analysis”) and "Phoenix"s replies always struck me as so incredibly patient and thoughtful to everyone. He seemed to go out of his way to be helpful and kind.

You and your family are in my thoughts and prayers.

6

Dear Laura,
I am so sorry for your loss, but glad that in his last moments he was comforted and embraced by the love of his family Im only new to this site but have found his responses so generous, thorough, thoughtful, and wise. I was just coming on the site this morning to ask him a quick question before heading out to Yankee Mattress and Im shocked and saddened to learn of his passing.
Your family is in my thoughts and prayer…

7

I just created an account to say how sorry my wife and I are to hear of your husband’s passing! I can’t even imagine what you and your family are going through. May you find comfort in your time of need. Take a break from the site, let the community answer questions in your stead. You deserve it.

8

I too just created an account – I began my mattress search in earnest yesterday and discovered this site, which has already been immensely helpful and informative.

I am so sorry for your loss – what you’ve both created here is an amazing resource.

Be well.

9

I am so thankful for this community, you've helped another person find a worthwhile business to buy a wonderful mattress from… You can be proud of what you've built together, and I stand (lay.?) haha with everyone in saying that we are so grateful this place is here for those clever enough to find it :slight_smile:

We’ll all think of Onno so fondly and thankfully, beyond the years of our havens for sleep <3

10

Laura, I am filled with deep sorrow to hear of the passing of my dear friend Onno. From Shawn, Jennifer, and I, our hearts are with you during this time of emptiness and healing. I will miss my lengthy phone calls with Onno where we discussed not only the mattress industry, and a particular issue he was working on, but a myriad of subjects, both worldly and spiritual.

The Mattress Underground is very unique and stands head and shoulders above all other information websites that have popped up in the last couple of years. You and Onno adopted a refreshing approach to educating mattress buyers and arming them with facts rather than pointing them to companies paying referral commissions. Your research and lengthy answers went way beyond the normal effort that we see day in and day out from other so-called forums. If a person wants to educate themselves on mattress buying and the mattress industry they, earn a Ph.D. at The Mattress Underground.

The mattress underground Membership for manufacturers is by invitation only, and we at Sleep EZ consider it a privilege to help support your continued efforts. So I think I can speak on behalf of many members that I personally know by saying, we are all here to support you, as you and Onno have supported us, over the past years.

Larry Wolfe
Sleep EZ

For what is life? You are a mist that is seen for a moment and then disappears. James 4:14

11

Larry,

Very well stated, both about Onno and The Mattress Underground.

-Jeff Scheuer

12

Hi Laura,

On behalf of the entire team at Sleeping Organic we send our condolences. Each time, I have had the pleasure of speaking or learning from Onno, it was nothing short of remarkable. Either in the awestruck way of learning something new or a point of view that changed my perspective, I am wiser and more informed because of him. Please let us know if there is anyway we can do to be supportive.

Deepest Regards,

Brandon Maxey

13

Dear Laura,

I’m saddened to hear about your loss and I would like to extend my deepest condolences to you and your family during this difficult time on behalf of the entire management and staff of Reverie and OSO.

With caring thoughts,

Mehdi

14

Laura, my condolences.

15

So sorry for your loss. You were both a tremendous help to me in my recent mattress purchase, You and Onno’s dedication to this site and it’s members shows what remarkable people you both are.

16

I’m extremely sorry for your loss and to hear this. I spoke with Onno for the first time at some point in October and loved the fact he was every bit as “real” as he was in his comments here. It was great to speak with someone truly on the consumers side in navigating the mattress buying process.

I opened my store just over two years ago and this website delivered an amazing amount of help in our learning. Even as a retailer, good objective information is hard to find and Phoenix (and this site) helped bring everything together. I’m saddened by this loss but greatful you will be carrying on the work. Although I didn’t personally know him well I’d have no doubt he would want someone carrying the work to help other people sleep better.

17

After stumbling across your site recently, I decided to formally become a member just yesterday and read your post. I am so sorry to hear about your husband but thankful that you were able to be together as a family. I will keep your family in my prayers.

18

Laura I’m so sorry for your loss.
Onno was very instrumental when we opened this store. His integrity was a great example and much needed to all of us in the mattress industry.
At times when I speak to customers who have a question I think to myself “What would Onno say?”
He was one of a kind, and a class act.

We are praying for you and your family during this time.

Pablo and the Mattress Makers Family

Isaiah 26:3

19

Together, as Phoenix you have changed the lives of countless people for the better. I’m in middle-aged and yet have never grieved the loss of a person I who I’ve never met more than Onno. Perhaps, as the legendary phoenix rose from the ashes of death to be once more, you may continue his incredible legacy as Phoenix. I am so very sorry for your loss as are we all.
-Neck

20

Thank you for all he did and you continue to do. If only one could find websites like this across the range of other products where there is so much information and so little clarity, but I believe this site may be unique.