RIP Martin Aaron Totten

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class316
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RIP Martin Aaron Totten

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Board member (therearecertainrules) and avid convention goer has died at the age of 40. RIP

This morning I received emails from him with his tickets for Wizard World Philly.

He said, and I quote
I want you to have these and use these in case something happens to me.
martin has always had various meltdowns and rages over the past couple of years, so I just brushed this off as something that will pass. That was my mistake. I later FB messaged him saying that we would use these tickets together (we were planning to split). A few hours after that his sister later FB messaged me back with the news.

I will be using these tickets as he would have wanted. Charlie Sheen photo, Gene Simmons photo, Two jpegs, and an admission ticket.

Truly nothing was more important to Martin than photo ops at a conventions. He rarely did street meets but when he did it meant the world to him. Now he is gone.
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overthetop17
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Re: RIP Martin Aaron Totten

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Met Martin for the first time at RICC last year and spent time talking with him on the Christian Slater line, also just saw him at Chiller a week or so ago said hello and chatted for a bit.
This guy always has had various meltdowns and rages over the past couple of years,
I was present for one of these "meltdowns" you mention, he was a very nice guy, but always seemed angry for some reason even though he was doing something he loved to do. None of this matters though, this is very sad news and I was beyond shocked to hear of his passing. I hope that he has found peace and is in a good place now...RIP Martin. Also to anyone on here who was close with or good friends with him like Jeremiah i am very sorry for your loss....
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Greg2600
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Re: RIP Martin Aaron Totten

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I never witnessed a meltdown, but he was fun to chat with in the lines. Frankly his annoyance with both Class and Joresky at seemingly every Chiller was basically a staple of that convention.
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16times
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Re: RIP Martin Aaron Totten

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This is terrible. I just saw him at Chiller. Anyone who ever went to a con has seen Martin. Does anyone know the reason he would take his life?
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WOODMO
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Re: RIP Martin Aaron Totten

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RIP Martin. I never had a conversation but it will be strange to not see him at these conventions

Prayers to his family and friends.
lanza218
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Re: RIP Martin Aaron Totten

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Just saw him at Chiller, seemed in good spirits. Really shocked by this. Prayers for his friends and family
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Re: RIP Martin Aaron Totten

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16times wrote: May 3rd, 2017, 5:33 am This is terrible. I just saw him at Chiller. Anyone who ever went to a con has seen Martin. Does anyone know the reason he would take his life?
I didn't know him personally, but his FB feed is a long list of complaints about his job. It was a shitty one, and like lousy or hectic con experiences, Martin got far too stressed by it. In particular, despite being a long time employee, he was treated badly, and they were cutting his hours I recall. When we goofed on him and Class for splitting photos, he didn't see the humor in that, because he literally could no longer afford to spend at cons like he did. Obviously we didn't realize that, but cons were his life, and without a steady income he was going to have to cut way back, and he was very angry.

I probably saw Martin at every Chiller, Monster Mania, Wizard Philly, etc. that I attended. He was a friendly chatter if a line was at a standstill, but in my experience, he was normally fairly frazzled trying to get everything done, and any little mishap would get to him badly. Sadly he let the life/job stuff overwhelm him, and should have sought out counseling.
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AsianDave
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Re: RIP Martin Aaron Totten

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My condolences to the Totten family, friends and acquaintances. RIP Martin, I'm glad to have known you!

But let this be a warning sign for those of you who take this hobby way too seriously. There's more to life than the next ultimate combos, and if it doesn't work out in your favor, don't stress over it...it's all trivial. Especially for those who deem this hobby "life and death".
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Re: RIP Martin Aaron Totten

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AsianDave wrote: May 3rd, 2017, 9:41 am My condolences to the Totten family, friends and acquaintances. RIP Martin, I'm glad to have known you!

But let this be a warning sign for those of you who take this hobby way too seriously. There's more to life than the next ultimate combos, and if it doesn't work out in your favor, don't stress over it...it's all trivial. Especially for those who deem this hobby "life and death".
I agree with this completely.. there are more important things in life.. I would be nothing without friends and family.. meeting celebrities is a great hobby but not the end all be all in life.. part of the reason I love this hobby so much is all the great friendships i've forged over the years with people like you guys.. it really sucks when things don't go our way in the hobby or in life in general but nobody should let it define them
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mikeyicon
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Re: RIP Martin Aaron Totten

Post by mikeyicon »

WOW! Although I didn’t know him that well, I’d always see him at Chiller and was amazed at his photos and how he seemed to get EVERYBODY! I had small conversations with him and I believe he even helped take a photo for me once. It’s sad to hear Martin has passed away, but when I heard that he took his own life over trivial things such as work and conventions, even more sad. I know Jeremiah and Class were close with him, so totally feel for those guys. But Greg and Asian Dave beat me to the punch in indicating that hopefully this is a life lesson.

Going to assume Martin wasn’t married, has no kids, and lived a very solitary life, but meeting celebs from his favorite movies and TV shows meant the world to him. With this indication of problems with his job causing him not being able to afford these photos (even more so as the costs keep going up and up), due to an imbalance and perhaps others factors we don’t know about, he took his own life.

So now all these photos that he spend tons of hours and money on, what do they mean now? For the next week or two, people will visit his FB page and look at his photos and say kind words, and then will move on. Friends in life come and go, but family is forever. The photos will languish on the internet forever, but that’s it. There are no stories, or legacy to hand these photos down and share with kids. Nothing!

I guess Martin lived for the moment and wasn’t concerned about the bigger picture. Think of all that time and $$$$ over the years for the instant grat, that now means nothing.

Thoughts and prayers for Martin and his family and friends, and maybe that one celeb who even remembered him and made him feel great ?!?!
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Re: RIP Martin Aaron Totten

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Joresky wrote: May 3rd, 2017, 9:53 am
AsianDave wrote: May 3rd, 2017, 9:41 am My condolences to the Totten family, friends and acquaintances. RIP Martin, I'm glad to have known you!

But let this be a warning sign for those of you who take this hobby way too seriously. There's more to life than the next ultimate combos, and if it doesn't work out in your favor, don't stress over it...it's all trivial. Especially for those who deem this hobby "life and death".
I agree with this completely.. there are more important things in life.. I would be nothing without friends and family.. meeting celebrities is a great hobby but not the end all be all in life.. part of the reason I love this hobby so much is all the great friendships i've forged over the years with people like you guys.. it really sucks when things don't go our way in the hobby or in life in general but nobody should let it define them
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Greg2600
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Re: RIP Martin Aaron Totten

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Well it wasn't simply about combos, but that's what he spent his money on. He did have living expenses as well, but his job was one where had he lost it, or quit, or been cut back hours, even that would have been a struggle. This is something that MILLIONS of Americans have had to confront in the last decade or so. The retail industry, which he technically was a part of, is dying off. Everything is online now, and Martin's situation is the tip of the iceberg. This is why when I read about Amazon creating grocery stores, I thought to myself, well, that's it, that's the end of America. Where will people such as Martin work? How will they subsist? His job bullied him, but I'm sure everyone else there hates the place. Corporations have been sheltered and allowed to behave in this way, and it will only get worse. Often people, even without dependents like children or elderly parents, are overwhelmed. He should have sought help, but the reality is he was effed over by the system, stepped on, and crushed.
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WOODMO
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Re: RIP Martin Aaron Totten

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Yes, there is far more to this than missing a photo. I am not justifying it and he absolutely should've found help, but it was a lot on his plate and not a ton of surface options. Just sad, and I am sure his family and friends feel a ton of guilt since this suicide seems extremely avoidable.
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Re: RIP Martin Aaron Totten

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Greg, you opened up an entire new convo. Without getting too into it, of course the way things are going in our world, it's getting out of control and much harder. Companies now talk and talk about this whole new millenial issue and cost of turnover, but continue to do nothing. Perhaps because once the robots can fully do the jobs (and they don't complain, work 24/7, have no feelings, etc.) then it will get even harder for peopleto keep their jobs, and of course there will no retail or fast food places like we knew it because that is all being automated as well. So even if the US created a general income system (yeah right!), wouldn't guys like Martin take that money and instead of the necessities like shelter, food, and heat/hot water, spend it on these trivial photos with celebs and travel to conventions across the county?

Regardless, we can talk and talk and such, but at the end of the day, we have to make choices and evolve. If you are happy in your life without evolving and the status quo, kudos and don't even listen to guys like me. But if you are status quo and not happy, not saying it's easy, but you need to get help and at least continue to try to do YOUR best with no guarantees. Otherwise, you will go insane and sadly harm yourself as well as the family and friends that truly love you.

RIP Martin!! If there is a heaven, I'm sure he is up there getting all the photos with dead celebs he wants. :)))
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Re: RIP Martin Aaron Totten

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FWIW, quite a few (primarily theater) actresses have already responded to the news on Martin's FB with condolences. He really made a good impression on celebrities that he met.
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