Todd von Blomberg, a Topanga surfer, was found dead in his car on Oct. 26 due to an apparent heroin overdose. He was 28.
On Nov. 10, family and friends gathered on a local beach to say good-bye to von Bloomberg. Friend Darren Ho organized a paddle out and tribute that brought out two-dozen people.
Von Bloomberg’s sister Jessica Hupf said of the tribute, “Todd would have been stoked. It was a beautiful experience for all of us.”
The surfer’s family wants to shed light on his drug addiction and help others. “We view his addiction is a chronic disease that is just tragic, and unfortunately it is an epidemic in our society,” Hupf said.
She continued, “Todd struggled with sobriety and really tried hard, but as is often common with addicts, relapse is almost inevitable.”
Hupf called drug addiction an ongoing battle that takes an insurmountable amount of strength to conquer and urges treatment, prevention and education about substance abuse.
Hupf pointed to the following Web sites for more information: www.cleanneedlesnow.org/overdose/task-force/ and http://harmreduction.org/OVERDOSE/index.html
Von Blomberg is survived by his sister; father, Arthur von Blomberg; mother, Sandi Trazzare and daughter, Samantha.
-Ben Marcus