Michael and his friend Carlo were big fans of Borderlands. Unfortunately, in October of 2011, Michael passed away due to cancer at age 22. Carlo decided to send Gearbox an email asking them to have Claptrap read a short eulogy in honour of him. Gearbox not only complied with and fulfilled the request, but also inserted him into Borderlands 2 as an NPC in Sanctuary, so he could live on forever in the Borderlands.