Horst, Founder Of Aveda, Dies At Age 72

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Horst Rechelbacher, the founder of Aveda and Intelligent Nutrients, has passed away at the age of 72, according to his company's website.

A native of Austria, he opened the Horst & Friends salon in Minneapolis in 1965.

In 1978, he started the Aveda Corporation, a company which he sold to Estee Lauder in 1997 for $300 million.

A little over a year ago, WCCO's Natalie Nyhus spent time with Horst on his 600-acre farm in Osceola, Wis. They talked about his new line of skin and hair care products called Intelligent Nutrients.

"Don't just think about what you should have done. It's already over," Horst said. "Do something what you can do now, and that's what I call being conscious of the now. What can we do now today to make a difference?"

Intelligent Nutrients' website posted this memorial to their founder on Saturday night:

"The planet has lost one of its most passionate friends. So have we. To know Horst was to wake up to the world around you, to your own potential, to a new way of thinking. His impact truly does live on in salons, shops, fields and minds worldwide. And his mission continues."