It is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to a loving son, doting brother, loyal friend, amazing artist, and truly one-of-a-kind person. Victor Leong lived every day with joy and wonder. His was a heart made of gold, and a soul with the sweetest of intentions. He spent his last moments doing what he loved most—exploring, discovering, and diving. 

It is our wish as Victor's family to honor his memory in one of the places he spent so much of his time creating and dazzling others. We would like to memorialize his name along the sea wall on 9th Street and Ocean Drive on South Beach. The very spot where he started building his fantastical sandcastles and stayed for so many years, inspiring others. 


We are currently in communications with the city of Miami Beach to see if such a thing is possible, and are not yet sure on the total costs, so we can only guess on a fund goal. In the event we cannot make this commemorative plaque placement come to pass, we have another objective for this fund raising.

Of the many passions Victor enjoyed, he took to freediving early in life and eventually made it his daily adventure in one of the nearby lakes from his home. Though he had been warned of the dangers by many concerned loved ones in the past, Victor continued to dive on his own. It was his place to meditate. And it is how he spent his final moments.

We are almost certain Victor succumbed to what is known as Shallow Water Balckout or Freediver Blackout. He stayed down without air for too long, and his body simply shut itself off due to lack of oxygen. Had this been a widely spoken about issue Victor would have paid better attention to people's warnings. He was never one to take chances on widely known risks.

That is why we feel it is important to bring better awareness to Freediver Blackout and the importance of Freediving safety education. The money raised in this fund will not only go toward a commemorative plaque in Victor's name, but will also go in part, or in whole, as a donation to divewise.org to help promote awareness so that others would not be lost to the water.

We hope to raise our fund goal within the month so that we can honor his memory and have his name forever set in the sea wall on South Beach. And by spreading the word to get people talking about Freediver Blackout more in mainstream media, we can only hope it saves someone else's son, brother, daughter, or sister from drowning. 

We thank you for anything you can give, and for all the love and support that Victor's many friends have been sharing.

We love you Victor; you are a light that will remain with each of us for the rest of our days. We can only hope to enjoy the world as well as you did.