Nearly 100 people gathered outside the student union on Saturday to celebrate the life of Hunter Ford, the UNF student who died in a motorcycle crash near campus earlier this month.
Friends and family of Ford came together for a memorial bike ride and walk around UNF campus in honor of the 21-year-old. Ford was known among students for his bike-riding videos on social media and “What up pookies!” catch-phrase, a slogan printed on T-shirts worn by those who attended Saturday’s event.
Ford was in his senior year studying information technology and interned in UNF’s IT department. He was interested in working in cybersecurity and wanted to work for the government some day.
Hunter Ford’s parents, Lisa and Christopher Ford, said their son fell in love with photography at a young age. Ahead of the memorial bike ride, they shared stories that exemplified their son’s warmth and generosity.
One story in particular, began with Hunter Ford’s love of photography. His father, Christopher Ford, said his son would take photos and videos at no charge for anyone because, “He just loved to help people.”
“He was such a kind, sweet, soul. He would’ve done anything for anybody,” said his mother, Lisa Ford.
The couple shared a story they said perfectly encapsulated their son’s personality. It started with their son’s love for photography and tickets to a Callahan rodeo show.
Hunter Ford bought tickets for the rodeo show because he wanted to take photos for the event. When he showed up to the venue, the gates were closed because in-person tickets had sold out. But he was determined to take photos so, with a camera around his neck, he walked around to the back of the venue and climbed the fence.
“He jumped the fence and then on the other side, there’s a guy standing there, and he says, ‘Hey buddy, what are you doing?,’” Christopher Ford recalled. “And [Hunter] says, ‘I’m sorry, I have a ticket. I have a ticket, I promise, but they closed the gates because they oversold.’”
As it turned out, the guy on the other side of the fence was the owner of the venue, who impossibly, not only let Hunter into the rodeo, but also allowed him to sit in the press box. Hunter came home that night with a story to tell and photos to prove it.
“He comes home telling us this story… and anyone else would’ve been arrested or kicked out,” Christopher Ford said. “But his personality was just so…”
“Likeable,” Lisa Ford inserted.
“You could tell he was a good person when you talked to him and he got away with a lot of stuff just because of how nice he was,” Christopher Ford said.
Christopher Ford said his son would take photos and videos at no charge for anyone who wanted them. “He just loved to help people,” he said.
Lisa Ford also spoke highly of her son’s academic achievements. She said he loved learning and taught himself several coding languages by the time he entered college. In 2023, he won the AI for Good Hackathon and competed in multiple other similar events.
Lisa Ford said she and her husband weren’t able to finish college, so they worked hard to make sure their children had the opportunity to.
Hunter Ford would have graduated this coming spring and would have been the first in his family to earn a bachelors degree. His younger sister, Zoe Ford currently studies education at UNF and expects to graduate in 2027. She and her brother were close, oftentimes attending parties and school events together.
It may surprise those who knew Hunter Ford from seeing him at parties, and his event and sports photography, that he wasn’t naturally a “party person,” according to his sister.
“I would always try and drag him out with me. I was like, ‘It’s a perfect opportunity for pictures, dude,’” Zoe Ford said. She explained that her brother was much different in person than who he was on social media.
“In his videos, he’s very confident, talking to people… but with me, he’s like ‘oh my God I’m so nervous,’” Zoe Ford said. “And I’d just tell him, ‘Be yourself.’”
“He’s loud, confident, whatever— but I feel like he does that because it’s comfortable. That’s how he gets to know people,” Zoe Ford said. “He just wears his personality on his sleeve.”
It wasn’t until this fall that Hunter Ford’s social media really took off. At the beginning of this fall semester, he posted his first bike-riding video that features him exploring UNF campus on his green BMX bike. His sister said she’d push her brother to take videos at campus events and mentioned a video he made with her at UNF’s Oktoberfest last month.
In the video, Ford is invited into a Hot Box Pretzels food truck and takes a video of the workers serving students. Zoe Ford said one of the food truck workers recognized her brother from his recent Instagram videos.
“I was like, ‘Dude, go get on the truck, the guy knows you,’ Zoe Ford said. “I was always trying to push him to go talk to people.”
There is no doubt that Hunter Ford was an unintentional rising campus celebrity. However, his family explained that he was more excited about taking photos and editing videos than the online attention.
“He didn’t really want fame but he wanted to reach people,” Christopher Ford said.
“When he did his first bike video… [Hunter] was excited because it getting a lot of views and he told me, ‘I think people really like the biking thing.’ And I said, ‘It’s not the bike, Hunter, it’s you. Your personality comes through in the video and people like you for what you are,’” Christopher Ford said. “That was hard for him to realize, because it was difficult for him to put himself out there.”
While it may not have come naturally for Hunter Ford to put himself out there, he certainly helped others in this feat. His best friend, Isaac Fletcher, said Hunter has played a huge role in his life since they met in high school.
“He was always loud, always talking,” Fletcher said. “He was able to talk when I couldn’t, so he brought people to me and allowed me to build confidence.”
Ford and Fletcher played video games nearly every day together in high school. Even after Fletcher moved to Daytona Beach for college two years ago, they stayed in touch and talked often.
At Saturday’s memorial bike ride, Fletcher rode Hunter’s bicycle, per the Ford family’s request.
“It feels like your whole life changes in a split second. It’s one of those things that doesn’t feel real, and hasn’t really sunk in yet.”
Another friend, Kadyn McGraw, attested to Hunter Ford’s campus fame. McGraw attends Florida State College at Jacksonville but spends a lot of time at UNF because he plays for the university’s club hockey team. Ford frequently took photos and videos of the team’s games, and became friends with its players.
After Ford’s death, McGraw posted a video on instagram where he talks about the impact Ford had on him, despite only knowing him for a short time.
“I thought he was a celebrity when I saw him on campus,” McGraw said. The hockey player said he met Hunter just a few months before he died. “He was the only guy I knew who was really chasing his dreams,” McGraw said.
Like Ford’s parents, sister and best friend, McGraw remembered Hunter for his kind, bright and spontaneous personality.
“I think his aim was always to try and make someone smile,” McGraw said. “I think all of us can learn from that. We don’t have to have so much hate.”
___
For more information or news tips, or if you see an error in this story or have any compliments or concerns, contact editor@unfspinnaker.com.
