PANews reported on October 13 that The Block reported that RTFKT co-founder Benoît Pagotto has passed away at the age of 41. The news was originally reported by Philippe Rodriguez in a LinkedIn post, who called Pagotto a "client and friend" and noted that Pagotto's death was "very sudden." Rodriguez was a founding partner of Avolta Partners, which advised RTFKT on its sale to Nike in December 2021. Steven Vasilev, another co-founder of RTFKT, later confirmed the news on the X platform. Nike previously announced that it would close the startup in December 2024. Pagotto will continue to stay at Nike as Senior Director of Brand and Partnerships.