I never thought I would have to write something like this in my life, but tragic circumstances compel me to do so.

On May 28, 2025, former Iowa State Daily Sports Editor Christian Royston passed away in a devastating car crash. He was 26 years old.

For me, not being an Iowa native, I had really hoped that when I saw the news, there was another Christian Royston that lived in the state of Iowa that I didn’t know about.

But sadly, that was not the case as someone who had done so much for the Daily had been taken from our lives way too early.

While I had not been in contact with Christian since he left the Daily to graduate from Iowa State in 2024, my time with him had been nothing short of memorable.

More specifically, when he was appointed the head Sports Editor for the 2023-24 academic year.

Thanks to him and his partner in crime, Assistant Sports Editor Logan Shanks, I was able to join them to cover the Iowa State football team for the first time since I had been with the Daily.

During the season, I got an opportunity to learn more about Christian, whether it was sitting in the press box watching the Cyclones or during our postgame trips to Perkins, he became someone I could go to for advice or just to have a friendly conversation.

The football season would be capped off with a road trip to Memphis, Tennessee, as Iowa State prepared to take on the hometown team, the Memphis Tigers, in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.

While the Cyclones would go on to lose the bowl game, the 20+ hour round-trip drive, along with the stay in our Airbnb, gave me another opportunity to see what kind of person Christian was like away from Ames.

Needless to say, he was the same fun, caring person he was back at Iowa State and I wouldn’t have chosen any other way to end off the football season than with him and the other guys.

This then segued into the basketball season, where I would be covering the women’s basketball team with someone whom I had not known, but got to know very well and now consider one of my best friends, Brett Twelmeyer.

Despite not being able to cover the men’s basketball team with Christian, we still got to participate in the Daily Dish podcast, which covered both the men’s and women’s basketball teams.

It was safe to say that my podcasting skills were not top tier at the time, as I struggled to keep a conversation going because I felt like I was speaking to a large crowd and not just to three other people in a small room.

But one of the people who helped ease my stresses was Christian, as he brought a calming, more relaxed voice that made me realize that podcasting wasn’t as bad as it seemed.

I am very grateful that I got the opportunity to meet Christian and wouldn’t have gotten through my time at the Daily without his wisdom and calm, friendly presence. It was truly a blessing getting to know a guy who shared similar things to me and I was glad to consider him a friend.

While my story of getting to know Christian may seem short, many others at the Daily got to know the same person as I and wanted to share their thoughts as one final message to a fallen friend.

“Christian was as good a leader as there is, but more importantly, as good a friend as I could ever ask for,” 2023-24 Editor in Chief Andrew Harrington said. “When we both started working for the Daily, around the same time, he was considered a quiet guy. As the years went on, we got to see that there was much more to him than that. He became close with so many people who wrote for the Daily, and his memory will live on.”

“Christian made a huge impact on my life in such a short amount of time,” Shanks said. “He taught me how to be a better writer, but more importantly, how to be a better friend and person in general. My only regret in our friendship is that I didn’t tell him that one more time.”

“Christian was one of a kind,” Twelmeyer said. “He always knew how to make a room light up and was always himself. I’m grateful for the limited time I knew him and appreciate everything he did to kickstart my time at the Daily. I will miss him deeply.”

“Christian showed me nothing but kindness and warmth from the moment we met,” 2022-25 Visuals Editor Jacob Rice said. “I’m so grateful we randomly chose to sit next to each other in the office, because over the next year and a half, that simple decision turned into a meaningful friendship. He was unapologetically himself. Whether it was the specific brand of sausages and rice he brought for lunch, his collection of Ariana Grande CDs or the endless amount of patterned socks, Christian never shied away from what made him happy. And that confidence was something to look up to. Christian was a bright point of my time in college. Whether we were recording podcasts, filming TikToks, sitting through daily budget meetings or heading to the next game, I knew I’d be laughing at something ridiculous he said until my lungs hurt. That kind of joy is rare and I’ll always be thankful he shared it with me.”

Christian, you will be deeply missed by all your friends who have worked and currently still work for the Daily and your memory will live eternally through us all.