Before his death at the age of 27, Presley Gerber was candid about his struggles with mental health, depression and addiction. He also spoke openly about what he hoped those experiences could mean for other people who were struggling. Now, following his death Sunday, words Gerber shared during a 2023 podcast conversation offer a poignant glimpse into the kind of legacy he hoped to leave behind.
Presley Gerber Opened Up About His Struggles in 2023
Gerber sat down with Studio 22 podcast host Jason Kennedy in February 2023, when he was 23, for a candid conversation about mental health, depression and some of the difficult experiences he had faced. Rather than presenting himself as someone who had everything figured out, Gerber spoke about the mistakes he had made and the things he had learned along the way.
“No matter how alone you feel,” Gerber shared, “there’s so many other people going through if not the exact same thing very similar stuff.”
He also talked about learning to appreciate the small things in life rather than constantly stressing about one thing, describing those everyday moments as a blessing.
But it was his hope that his own experiences could help someone else that stood out most.
Presley Gerber Hoped His Story Could Help Others
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♬ original sound – Presley Gerber
“Having struggled with mental health, depression and some other things that come along with that, I think that whether I help one person or a hundred people get out of that place that I was in at one point in my life, that’s all I need to do,” Gerber said during the conversation.
He went on to explain that mental health was a significant part of his life and that he wanted to help people who were struggling, regardless of what they were facing.
“I’ve seen a lot of stuff and I’ve learned a lot of things,” he said. “What I hope I can do is have made the mistakes for some other people, so they don’t have to make the same mistakes that I made.”
Those words take on a different weight following Gerber’s death. His message wasn’t that he had found an easy answer to his struggles. Instead, he hoped that being honest about what he had experienced could make someone else feel less alone or help them avoid some of the mistakes he had made.
Jason Kennedy Remembered Presley Gerber’s Openness
Following Gerber’s death, Kennedy resurfaced footage from their conversation and reflected on the young man he had come to know.
“Feel sick to my stomach knowing that Presley Gerber has passed,” Kennedy wrote, remembering Gerber as someone who had a huge heart and was open about his struggles because he believed sharing them could help others.
Kennedy also recalled their time together in Malibu, remembering Gerber sharing his story and laughing over a game of pickleball.
“You were special,” Kennedy wrote.
One fan responded to Kennedy’s post with a simple reflection on what Gerber had hoped to accomplish: “This is his legacy. Helping others.”
Gerber, the son of supermodel Cindy Crawford and entrepreneur Rande Gerber and the older brother of model and actress Kaia Gerber, died Sunday, Sept. 20, at a rehabilitation facility in Santa Monica, California. Santa Monica police are investigating his death as a suspected overdose, and there is no indication of foul play. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner has said the official cause and manner of death have been deferred pending additional testing and studies.
Gerber couldn’t know how many people might ultimately hear his story. But during that 2023 conversation, he made clear that reaching even one person would have mattered to him.
And in his own words, that was enough.
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