The Beacons Collective

07/23/2025

Save Sharks, Kill Cancer! Link in profile! If it is July, it is sharks, and shark week. This year, we are proud to introduce the “Layla Bracelets for the Ocean: Lucy Edition.” For every bracelet purchased, which comes with a sterling silver replica of the world famous great white shark, Lucy, we will donate 10% to shark research, with Marine Conservation Science Institute, and 10% to the cancer lab in Boston, helping kids like our beloved Layla, who lost her battle with brain cancer earlier this year. There are six oceanic bracelet bead styles to choose from and extra animal charms, such as sea lions and butterflies, to purchase to deck out your bracelets. Bracelets are up to 20% off through the end of shark week. Get yours today and by doing so, help the very finest researchers in their fields help sharks and kids with brain cancer. ♋

07/16/2025

Save sharks, kill cancer! What a win-win! These bracelets are super cool, get yours!

Layla is battling an extremely rare and aggressive brain cancer, a high grade (WHO III) anaplastic supratentorial ependymoma. Less than 200 people per year get this type of brain cancer and to make matters worse, she has a rare strain. Our goal is to help Layla, and to help other children with your....

12/13/2023

The CBS8 story was great and we are thrilled to be here, but it has come at an astounding financial toll, to the point that we have tough decisions to make, and very likely selling the house Layla grew up in is the next move. We created a gofundme to capture support from the CBS story but have been encouraged to be open to the fact that we are staring down the barrel of this. We would welcome your support as unfortunately, this human world is all about money, sadly. The world shouldn’t be this way, but it is. You shouldn’t have to give up every damn aspect of your life to care for these kids, but I did.

I have done nothing but focus on Layla for the last 18-19 months and I will continue to do nothing but. I would not change a damn thing because if I did, she’d be dead. Let me say that again, Layla would be dead and it is painfully obvious. If we end up having to sell the house, as early as March, you all know me, we will just do it. But even that will be a distraction and I wonder as well as fear what that would do to her. If you’d like to once again contribute to Layla’s care, and that is 100% what it directly goes to, we would be again forever grateful. Many more details are at her new gofundme page, address noted on the bottom of the attached flyer as well as in comments below.

Oh, and today is the 1-year anniversary of her leaving the hospital, discharged, and we have kept her out ever since, sleeping where she should be, in her cozy bed and not in some damn hospital. Let me put it another way. She was given 3-6 months to live and for 12-months, 365-days, she didn’t even spend a night in any damn hospital anywhere. And that 3-6 months, well that was 18 months and 7-days ago.

This generic cancer fusion she has is the school yard bully. It’s the biggest kid on the school yard. He’s never been in a fight in his entire life until now because Layla just kicked him in the balls.

It is time to finish the job.

05/13/2023

Tonight is the night on NatGeo Wild! 9PM ET / 6PM PT

07/13/2022

You don’t get much more epic BTS than this. and I on a private client shoot way back when. 2 for 1 great white sharks all day long 🇲🇽

05/10/2022

Happy Ependymoma Awareness Day. Ependymoma is Layla’s type of cancer, very rare so hard to study. Only 200 cases per year.

04/29/2022

So this happened yesterday and today. Hilariousness.

04/02/2022

The one, the only shot on cavern

03/07/2022

Fundraiser link in profile. The past 7-months have been grueling. A 6-year old with brain cancer is the most unfair, maddening, and completely infuriating thing a parent can ever face. But this was such a beautiful bright spot that Layla talks about daily, being invited by Peter Chang and the to release Haggis, the sea lion, back to the wild after they rescued and rehabbed her. Just a rough draft here and all one take, but releasing for karma, and shot on iPhone and thanks to Ben Freeman at PowerPlay Retail. This is part 1, part 2 has yet to be filmed and awaits us in the very near future, beginning this Weds night from LAX to BOS as we go to finish this thing off once and for all at Boston Children’s Hospital, a place I personally was a patient of, many, many times. The voice over is by me, with a very special message, to Layla, while on the boat, moments before we released Haggis.

11/30/2021

Giving Tuesday, link in comments! Help us raise $2,500 for sea turtles today! Link to gofundme in profile or search for “I Am Layla.” Layla, is 6, and has been diagnosed with one of the rarest forms of brain cancer known to man, an anaplastic supratentorial ependymoma. She also has a rare strain of it to make matters worse. On august 1st she was rushed to the ER with uncontrollable headaches and vomiting. She kept asking me to save her. An hour later, life changed forever when they told me she had a brain tumor. She had emergency life saving surgery the next day. Two weeks ago she had a second brutal brain surgery and had started radiation therapy this week. She will start chemotherapy after that, for surely a long road. She is also one of only 60 kids age 6-11 in San Diego county to be selected to the Moderna trial. She received her second vaccine yesterday. We were selected prior to all of this and because of it, it almost did not happen. This is the story of her journey, of where she has been, but where we are going and what we are doing, with this, “FUN(d)raiser.”

11/18/2021

“Hooman, you have something stuck to your head. I remove it for you Hooman!” Love it when they do this, with