EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated to include comments and memories from friends and colleagues of Chris Lebrun.
LOS ANGELES—Longtime industry salesperson Chris Lebrun died in the early hours of Wednesday morning from causes related to a case of pneumonia.
Lebrun's wife, Bee, told AVN through a family friend, "Please know that Chris' condition was due to pneumonia and he was admitted to the hospital last week, where he went into cardiac arrest and CPR was performed. All measures were taken and he died peacefully early this morning at 2 a.m. surrounded by love."
In addition to Bee, Lebrun is survived by his son Luca.
Starting out in adult in 2000 as the director of marketing for Leisure Time Entertainment, Lebrun came to AVN in 2004, where he served as a Senior Account Executive, focusing on the Internext Expo and AVN Online magazine until 2009. He went on to hold sales positions at traffic broker Trafficshop.com and ad network Etology, before moving over to the cannabis industry in January of this year by taking an account executive post at Cannabis Now magazine.
AVN founder Paul Fishbein, who hired Lebrun in 2004, commented, "I'm shocked, he was so young. He was a valuable part of the AVN family for a long time, and I'm really stunned to hear of his passing, and really sorry to his family."
Added former AVN CEO Darren Roberts, "Chris was both a friend and colleague, my heart goes out to his family."
Longtime industry veterans of the adult online sector took the time to share their thoughts and memories of Lebrun with AVN.
“This may sound silly, but I was at a show and my phone went dead. Chris came up to me and said, ‘Hey, I have been trying to reach you.’ I said, ‘My phone died; amateur mistake.’ Without missing a beat, he pulled out a portable charger and said, ’Take this.’ I said thank you. He then followed it up with, ‘Keep it, seriously,’” said Jason Tucker, founder of Falcon Foto. “That was Chris and that was our friendship. He had a kind soul. In all of our years of seeing each other and talking, I never once heard him complain or utter a bad word about someone. I will miss him and hope that he found inner peace.”
Steve Lightspeed, who was already an industry veteran when Lebrun started working at AVN, was aware of Lebrun's recent hospitalization, but was still sadded by the news.
“I’m just in shock,” Lightspeed said. “Chris was a longtime, loyal friend to everyone in the industry. It’s way too soon to say goodbye."
YNOT co-owner Jay Kopita considered Lebrun a friend inside and outside of industry events.
“Chris and I saw eye-to-eye on so many issues over the years (personal, professional, political, etc.) and would rile each other up in a good way, often, whether in person or online. He ‘got it' in my opinion and was really a brother to many. The few times we didn’t agree on something it would always get discussed amicably,” Kopita said. “I really enjoyed him, making him laugh, and getting his insight on just about anything. He’s gone too soon. I’ll definitely miss him and wish the best for his family and friends that he leaves behind."
Details on funeral arrangements were not immediately available.
Sherri L. Shaulis contributed to this story.
