Students at San Marcos High School are finding ways to honor the life of 17-year-old Tayden Tomblin, a fellow student who died in a skateboarding accident on Thanksgiving Day. Their latest tribute: an emotional paddle-out that drew nearly 200 classmates, family members and friends.
“His parking spot in San Marcos is growing,” said friend Niko Stuart. “It’s really heartwarming to see all the kids come together for him.”
That campus tribute, flowers placed on his former parking spot, is one of several organized over the past two weeks. On Wednesday, many of the teen’s closest friends gathered where they say Tayden felt most at home: the ocean.
“He was just always in the ocean,” said Kate Crowder, another close friend. “We went up to Red Rock a lot … a lot of our hangouts were in the water, so we’re just doing what he loves.”
The group paddled out together, forming a circle beyond the break as they shared memories and released flowers into the water.
“He deserved to be honored,” Crowder said. “He was just so special.”
Tayden’s father, Tyler Tomblin, led the paddle-out. He said the past few weeks have been a painful blur.
“We’re wading through the grief … you know, good days, bad days,” he said. “We went through a lot of really hard days, especially in the beginning. Those were the most difficult and tragic. But we’ve had a lot of support, people holding us up, this community, Santa Barbara, San Marcos High School.”
Tomblin said he hopes to channel that support into something lasting. He plans to launch a nonprofit aimed at promoting helmet safety in the skateboarding community.
“We want to really change the culture,” he said. “A lot of the professionals, videos and photos you see… they’re not wearing helmets.”
As the paddle-out came to a close, students reflected on saying goodbye in a place that meant so much to Tayden.
“This was his home,” Stuart said quietly. Asked whether the moment offered some sense of farewell, he nodded. “Yeah… yeah.”
