“He had a short time on this earth and he made the best of it,” says Pedram Hendizadeh, friend of the late Solomon Choi, who died at age 44Antonia DeBianchi is an Associate Editor, Food & Lifestyle, at PEOPLE. Their work has previously appeared in the Kitchn, TODAY Digital and Insider.The founder of the popular frozen yogurt chain 16 Handles died at the age of 44 on June 7. A cause of death was not given.
“He left California to come to New York and he said, ‘If I can make it there, I can make it anywhere.’ It's just like the song. And he started really with nothing and he came from nothing,” says Hendizadeh, a podiatric surgeon in New York.“I interviewed five or six forums and the minute I met Solomon, I said, ‘I want to be in his forum,’” he says. “He just had amazing vision, amazing energy, he had lofty goals and just great advice and just made time for friends.
Of Choi's death, Hendizadeh says “nobody saw this coming” as he was “very healthy, very happy, very upbeat.” Despite Choi’s tragic passing, Hendizadeh is very proud of his late friend — and he says the young entrepreneur was proud of his own accomplishments, too.