Hudson Falls teen gets nose broken for liking Spider-Man

A 15-year-old boy smacked in the face for wearing a Spider-Man costume is speaking out. It’s been nearly three weeks now, and Aydin Pedone is recovering both emotionally and physically after undergoing nose surgery.

Aydin details the horror of that viral video where one of his peers, a 14-year-old female, struck him in the face twice.

The incident happened on June 21 at Derby Park in the Village of Hudson Falls.

“I had no clue what was happening, so then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, I’m just being beaten on for no reason. I’m like, ‘What’s going on, why is this happening.’ I feel like I don’t want to be here. I feel like I don’t want to live,” he said.

Aydin was under the impression these were his friends, and they’d be making a movie, but suddenly a large group of people started recording him with cellphones, and the next thing he knows, he’s being hit in the face, and blood is pouring down his face from a broken nose.

His mother, Michele Pedone, was speechless.

“There’s so many emotions that you can’t even describe it, she says. You just want to keep your baby safe.”

Pedone says Aydin’s love for Spider-Man has made him the target for bullying.

“It started in 6^th grade when it really got bad. He still was interested in Spider-Man, and all the other kids were growing out of it,” she said.

For Aydin, Spider-Man represents what’s good in the world, and helps those who need it.

“I’m not going to quit on Spider-Man, he said. I’m just going to use this as motivation to keep going, be stronger and not let these other kids get to me.”

For the past few months, Aydin’s taken jiu-jitsu at Atlas Jiu-Jitsu in Glens Falls. That video of Aydin being hit struck a nerve in his instructor, Joe Zakriski.

“It was rage. It was humiliation. It was just everything, because I lived that too,” Zakriski said.

Zakriski called on other martial art studios on Facebook to wear their superhero gear during class to support. Zakriski received calls from people all over, he said, even as far as Germany and France, all wanting to show they care.

Aydin said he’s in the process of starting a Facebook group, “Aydin’s Heroes,” where he can offer his support for others who experience bullying.

“Don’t worry about what other kids think about you, just be yourself,” he said.

A GoFundMe has been created for Aydin, so he can attend an Avengers Campus at Disney and extra proceeds will go towards martial arts training.