Oliver Tree's mom reveals details of their last conversation before fatal helicopter crash

Oliver Tree's mother, Christine Begin Nickell, recalled their last conversation during a celebration of life event held on Saturday, July 25
Oliver Tree died in a mid-air helicopter collision in Brazil on June 14 (Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images)
Oliver Tree died in a mid-air helicopter collision in Brazil on June 14 (Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images)

SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA: Oliver Tree's mother Christine Begin Nickell has revealed the last conversation she had with her son a day before he tragically died in a helicopter crash.

During a celebration of life event held at the University of California, Santa Cruz's Quarry Amphitheater on Saturday, July 25, Nickell shared that the late singer was “happy and excited” before he took the ill-fated helicopter on June 14.

Oliver Tree died along with five others in helicopter crash in Brazil

Subtronics and Oliver Tree perform at the Sahara Tent during the 2026 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 12, 2026 in Indio, California (Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Coachella)
Subtronics and Oliver Tree perform at the Sahara Tent during the 2026 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 12, 2026, in Indio, California (Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Coachella)

Tree was 32 when he died in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He was reportedly going to a mountaintop house when the helicopter had a fatal mid-air collision, which also took the lives of five other people.

Those who lost their lives were — music producer Lucas Brito Chaves, 21; YouTube star Gaspar "Gaspi" Prim, 23; director/screenwriter Lucas Vignale, 29; and pilots Charles Marsillac and Alexandre Souza.

Oliver Tree was excited 'to make TikToks and music with his friends' before his death

As per Tree's mother, she had sent a text message to him on June 13 to know about his goal to quit smoking because he had “promised he would give it up once he was on tour.”

Oliver Tree attends the
Oliver Tree attends the 'Paradise Records' premiere during the 2025 Tribeca Festival at Village East Cinema on June 6, 2025, in New York City (John Nacion/WireImage)

“He FaceTimed me immediately and let out a huge puff of cigarette smoke in my face - but he was so happy and excited about life that day,” she recalled.

Nickell also further explained that Tree was excited “to make TikToks and music with his friends” as “he loved having epic days - each one more memorable than the last.”

Logan Paul calls Oliver Tree a 'generational artist'

Logan Paul was also in attendance at the event as he called Tree “everyone’s best friend”.

He also shared that the late record producer “was an adventurer with an incomparable zest for life and the ultimate ability to make anyone feel seen and heard.”

Oliver Tree performs at History on January 15, 2024 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Jeremychanphotography/Getty Images)
Oliver Tree performs at History on January 15, 2024, in Toronto, Ontario (Jeremychanphotography/Getty Images)

“Oliver is a generational artist whose legacy and music will last forever, and he’d be proud of all of us for keeping our heads up high by celebrating the impact of his time here on Earth, because at the end of the day, life goes on,” Paul added.

Oliver Tree made a shocking statement about his will before his death

Just a few months before his untimely demise, Tree had talked about his will in an interview.

On the ‘Zach Sang Show’, he had reportedly said, “I don't believe that any of the wealth or the things that get made from it is mine. And so when I die, set it up, my will is set up that when I pass, my family, no one's gonna get a penny; if I have a wife or kids or anything, [they're] not getting a f***ing penny.”

“I'll get my kids through college, that's the agreement, but they're not going to be a silver spoon,” Tree, who was neither married nor had any children, had added in April.

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