The boy and the pier: How Michael Greenberg transformed the loss of his son into a gift for the place that made him
Michael Greenberg. Photo First of two parts Michael Greenberg was in England on business when the call came that every parent fears most. It was April 7, 2015. His oldest son, 19-year-old Harrison Greenberg, was on the other side of the world. Harrison, heir to the family business, Skechers, was 90 days into a four month internship in China. He was traveling with his cousin Colton, and they’d taken a six day break to visit Thailand while en route to a work assignment in Vietnam. The call was from Michael’s brother, Scott Greenberg. Hotel workers had found Harrison dead in his room. He and Colton had come back to the hotel together that night, and Harrison had ordered room service as Colton went to his own room to go to bed. Harrison apparently choked to death while eating his room service meal. Michael would later watch the hotel’s video surveillance footage to catch a last glimpse of his son alive, buoyantly getting off the elevator with his cousin, eager, as always, to keep on going. Harrison had always been an unusual kid. He wasn’t a conventionally good student; he was diagnosed with ADD and was willfully independent to a sometimes maddening degree, his father would later…
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