Collin Tombazian was born in Takoma Park, Maryland, in the same hospital his mother, Andrea Rasmussen Tombazian, was born in, 37 years before him. He and his family lived in Silver Spring, MD, just outside the D.C. Beltway, near Holy Cross Hospital. At 18 months of age, he received caring day care from Jillyne Keene. Jillyne is the daughter-in-law of Samuel Keene of Boulder, Colorado. Sam and Collin's Father, Charles Tombazian, attended the University of Colorado together. Collin and his older brother Rory would occasionally stay with Jillyne, her husband Jim Keene and son Joshua while his parents traveled. They were very important influences in Collin's early life.

Collin's family moved to Scottsdale, AZ, when he was 3 years old. He and his brother entered Scottsdale School (Christian), led by William Berry. This was an excellent environment for Collin to learn and be cared for. He made several friends there who remained in his life for many years. He was an outgoing, people-oriented child, who made friends easily.

Collin attended Scottsdale's Zuni Elementary, Desert Canyon Middle School, and Desert Mountain High School. He spent many hours at Boys and Girls Club after school. He played Scottsdale City Soccer from ages 8-11 and found physical and leadership skills he didn't realize he had. More long-term friendships were cultivated through sports, as he took a liking to basketball.

Collin's favorite sport though was skateboarding. He excelled at it and was a dedicated student of the sport. He, his brother, and father spent many weekends for years at skateparks in Scottsdale and Phoenix. Collin got so good at it, he was noticed by someone filming a TV commercial for a new skateboard on the market. He was filmed by himself, demonstrating features of the new skateboard. The commercial ran on local Phoenix TV for a few months.

After high school, Collin attended Scottsdale Community College and Paradise Valley Community College. During this period, he had typical entry-level jobs for his age group. His favorite being a cashier/server at Chick-Fil-A. Several years later, Collin found his true passion in wildlands firefighting. He loved the opportunity to work among nature while saving trees, homes, lives of wildlife and people with his comrades. Unfortunately, his life was cut short of being able to fulfill his dream of being an Arizona Wildlands Fireman.

Collin is survived by his mother Andrea, father Charles, and older brother Rory.