Support Leo & Wyatt & The Palisades after the fire

Hi, my name is Matt Fischer. Two years ago, I moved across the country at 20 years old to Los Angeles, California. From the moment I landed, Leo Rochman (my soon-to-be best friend) and his family took me in and treated me like family. I've spent countless nights at their Palisades house as well as two Thanksgivings due to the generosity of his family. Over the past year and a half, Leo and I have grown together like brothers. I seriously do everything with him. We currently live together in the Valley as we develop our group brand, Enjoy The Show, a multimedia company. Leo is one of the most supportive and genuine friends I have. He balances honor roll at UCLA as a senior philosopher along with his relationships and personal work. The Palisades quickly became my favorite place in all of LA—1 for the people and 2 for the peaceful and gorgeous scenery. Leo's childhood best friend, Wyatt, who has quickly become one of my close friends, is another victim of the heartbreaking Palisades Fire. Wyatt and I, in a short amount of time, have grown to know each other very well as we share a lot of similar interests. Without the friendship and hospitality from both of them, the Palisades wouldn't play a prominent role in my LA life. Wyatt is currently a senior studying Journalism at The University of Wisconsin. With graduation approaching for both of them, they now have to balance their tragedy and loss along with the pressure of life after college. I hope we all can help relieve some of that stress for them and their families.

On the evening of January 7th, Wyatt, Leo, and thousands of others' lives were completely upended as the Palisades Fire swept through their beloved neighborhood. Wyatt’s family home—the house he’s lived in since birth—burned to the ground, and just a day later, Leo’s house, which initially survived the flames, was also destroyed while we were all in the Palisades trying to get back to the burning house to salvage any belongings possible. When we arrived at both houses on foot, we were devastated to see the homes burnt to the ground along with many of their neighbors. It was the most eerie and saddening sight I hope to never see again.

Their homes were so much more than just places to live—they were filled with irreplaceable memories and decades of joy. Seeing these houses destroyed has been devastating, but what makes this loss even harder is the impact on the Palisades community. Wyatt and Leo’s parents, incredibly prideful and hard-working people, raised their families in the Palisades, investing not only in their homes but in their loving community. This makes the devastation of the fire even harder to see. The pain Wyatt and Leo feel is not just from losing their homes but from seeing the community they’ve grown to love suffer such incredible loss.

While their parents are deeply resistant to asking for help, I’m starting this campaign because the road to recovery will be long. Despite losing everything, I’m trying to help Leo and Wyatt rebuild their lives while simultaneously supporting the community. 50% of all donations will go directly to the destroyed small businesses that make up the Palisades, including Beech Street, Pali Park, Garden Café, the YMCA—places that have been a second home to them and everyone else in the community their entire lives. We will be hand-delivering these checks to all of the small businesses as soon as we can, to assist in any and all rebuilding efforts.

MOST IMPORTANTLY: I cannot stress enough that I do not want anyone to feel obligated to donate. This fundraiser is not for fellow Palisades homeowners or anyone else affected by the devastating fires across our Los Angeles communities—I am empathetic with others who are going through similar emotions and hope we can all rebuild together.

Every donation, no matter how small, will go toward healing, recovery, and the rebuilding of two families and a community we all care deeply about.

Thank you for standing with me, and more importantly with Wyatt and Leo during this horrific time.

With gratitude,

Matt