Zachery “Zac” Michael Castillo made a sudden departure from this world on January 3, 2021 when a seizure took him away before finishing his morning cup of coffee. Though, epilepsy had been a part of his life for the last 5 years, Zac was managing well and even got a dog in the last year named F.R.I.D.A.Y., when she walked into his life.
His youngest sister recounts that Zac loved “Taylor Swift the most, then Disneyland, then F.R.I.D.A.Y., me fourth, and then you [she said to their sister Kelsey.]” He came from a family of quick wit who enjoyed taking jabs at each other.
Taylor Swift was Zac’s jam, just go look at his Spotify. He loved her. When Taylor Swift released Folklore, she made eight editions on vinyl with different artwork and posters inside. Zac bought all eight. He had tickets to her concert in 2020, but but was unable to attend due to the pandemic. He recently had a shirt made that reads “I love you to the moon and to Saturn,” a line from the song Seven.
Disneyland and Disney brought Zac a lot of joy. His favorite movie was Wreck it Ralph. He also loved Marvel movies, in particular the Iron Man, where he got the name for F.R.I.D.A.Y.
Zac’s love of movies didn’t end at Disney. He enjoyed a wide variety of film, from Elf to Insidious. Horror movies and scary things made him happy. During his years at Stockdale High School, Zac starting working at Talladega Frights in Bakersfield, CA. There he enjoyed spooking revelers and building lasting friendships. Talladega Frights kept Zac busy for several years.
He later starting working at Conduent where he made more great friends and grew his skills to become a trainer. It was there he met his future roommate and great neighbors.
Social media was Zac’s life! He gained notoriety on Tik Tok garnering up to 10.5k fans, of which he was very proud. There he could express himself doing things he always loved—creating and singing! He found even more friends online in artists who would send him drawings they made of him, other content creators with whom he would collaborate and this is where he met his boyfriend, Asa Sanford.
Iced Coffee was Zac’s drink of choice. He was adventurous and willing to try anything. His current favorite was Dutch Bro’s Peach Ring Ice Coffee.
He was known as Grandson, Nephew, Cousin, Yaya, Goopman, or just Zac, but everyone that knew him can all agree that we’ve lost someone special.
Zac’s family, mother and father, Sandi and Rich, sisters Kelsey and Kendall, will remember him in a Hawaiian shirt, holding an Iced Coffee, listening to Taylor Swift with his chihuahua, F.R.I.D.A.Y. at his heels and that grin on his face.
“It was rare, I was there, I remember it all too well.” - Taylor Swift
A Memorial service will be held on Tuesday, January 12th at 2:00 pm in the Celebration of Life Center at Greenlawn Southwest at 2739 Panama Lane, Bakersfield, CA 93313.