PADDLE OUT FOR SCHMIDTY

Saying Goodbye to our Friend and Editor, Aaron Schmidt

WORDS: ZACH CORDNER

On September 28, 2022, we lost one of Oceanside’s finest, our very own Aaron Schmidt, Editorial Director of The Osider. Earlier this year, Aaron, known by his friends as Schmidty, was diagnosed with stage four small-cell lung cancer and immediately started chemotherapy. With the love and support of his family, and home cooking from his mother, Schmidty powered through his treatments.

Friends and family gather at the North Jetty for Schmidty's paddle out.

Within a couple months, his doctors were amazed

by his progress and gave him a clean bill of health. He was cancer free. He had a new lease on life. He gained all of his weight back, ate healthier, cut out sugar, drank almost nothing but water, and had a new positive outlook on life.

His one true love always was surfing. As soon as he had his strength, he was back in the water at his favorite beach, The Rock. At first he would just swim around and body surf. Once he felt confident that he had the strength, he was back on his surfboard.

In September, he learned the cancer had come back and spread to his liver. This time he would have to go through over a week of radiation therapy. His energy was totally zapped. With only two days of treatment left, he was hospitalized with a brain hemorrhage. I raced to the hospital to find out he only had hours to live. There in the ICU, we spent his last hours by his bedside. His two sons, Avery and Kagan, with their mother Kristi, along with long-time friends, Dwayne Carter and Aaron Regan. It was a surreal moment. We knew he was a fighter and thought he could power through, but the cancer had spread to his brain and by early the next morning, he was gone. The shock and pain still lingers in all of us.

Schmidty was truly one-of-a-kind. Growing up in Jacksonville, Florida surfing and skateboarding, he made the move to North County in the early 1990s. He got his start in publishing working at Oceanside-based TransWorld Media. First as a warehouse guy, then as an ad sales guy and writer for Heckler Magazine.

Aaron was then called up to the big leagues as a co-founder and an editor for TransWorld Surf Magazine. After a few years, he moved on as an editor for TransWorld SKATEboarding Magazine. In the early 2000s, he left TransWorld and started freelance writing for many international titles including Thrasher, Surfing, and FHM Magazines. For nearly fifteen years, Aaron and I teamed up on writing and photographing music articles for Thrasher Magazine. His wit and knowledge of surfing, skateboarding, and music was second to none.

In 2014, Schmidty helped co-found The Osider and Encinitas Magazine as Editorial Director. He firmly believed in the concept of a high-quality, free magazine with an emphasis on quality photography and well-written articles that shine a light on the interesting people and places in our community. In 2021, he helped co-found The Riversider Magazine with me for the city of Riverside. He was living his dream as a magazine editor to the end, and we will always try to honor his legacy in the pages of our magazines.

On the morning of Sunday, October 23, 2022, friends and family of Schmidty gathered at the pier parking lot. The plan was for his surfer friends to conduct a paddle out for Schmidty at 9am. Of course, the sea wasn’t cooperating. With 8-10 foot sets of waves rolling in, we knew it would be impossible to conduct the paddle out at the pier.

So, the executive decision was made to move it to the Harbor on the inside of the North Jetty. It

was the perfect choice! With calmer seas and sunlight shining down through a break in the clouds, we couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful ceremony. After our Publisher, Jamey Stone, said a few words, Aaron’s son, Avery paddled to the center of the circle. There, he released some of his father’s ashes into the water. It was a somber yet uplifting experience, with surfers splashing the water at the end, letting everyone see how much we love and miss our friend.

Schmidty’s passing has left a large void for us. We will always cherish our time with Aaron and our only comfort in knowing he helped build a respected local publication to highlight the wonderful things in our community. Thank you, Schmidty. Your legacy will live on. Ride in paradise, my friend.

PHOTOS BY ZACH CORDNER

Aaron's ashes spread by his son Avery.

Schmidty was always a huge WW II history buff.

(L to R): Aaron Schmidt, Mayor Jim Wood and Zach Cordner.

Aaron's sons Avery and Kagan Schmidt.