Presley Gerber opened up on his battle with drug addiction in one of his final social media posts before his death at the age of 27.
The son of Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber died on Sunday, September 20 at a rehab facility in Los Angeles.
“The family is asking for privacy during this very difficult and painful time,” a representative for the family told TMZ.
No cause of death has been released and an autopsy is yet to be completed.
In a video posted to Instagram in March, Presley can be seen about to undergo an “ibogaine flood dose”. The experimental treatment, which can be used to treat addiction, involves using a naturally occurring psychedelic.
The highly controlled treatment is not legal to prescribe in the US, though is legal in Australia under specific circumstances.
“Quiet moment before everything changed,” Presley wrote alongside the video. “I was absolutely terrified, and I knew I would be again if I ever had to face something like this.”
“Helps to not go into the situations you do that get ya there but that’s life sometimes,” he added.
Presley revealed that his mantra of “love yourself” that he repeated during the treatment, the model admitted “letting go of control didn’t come easy, but I trusted there was something bigger than me guiding it.”
“I knew why I was there. I faced what I had been running from, and somewhere in all of it, I started finding my way back to myself. We shall see.”
He added that he was “praying” it was the last time he would have to come back to rehab, before giving thanks to the “incredible” team helping him at the unit.
His mother wrote under the post: “You are a warrior! Walked thru the fire to find yourself! So proud!” while sister Kaia, 25, said, “That’s my brother I am so damn proud.”
Born in California in 1999, Presley was one of two children the supermodel shared with businessman Rande Gerber. Both him and his sister Kaia entered the modelling industry at a young age,
Like his sister, Kaia Gerber, he entered the modelling industry at a young age, being signed by IMG Models at age 15 and making his runway debut for Italian label Moschino just a year later.
During his career, he worked with brands such as Celine, Calvin Klein, Dolce & Gabbana and Pepsi.
He has been outspoken with his struggles with substance abuse and mental health in recent years, and ran a series called “Mental Health Mondays” on his Instagram account.
In 2023, during an appearance on the Studio 22 podcast, he said: “[Mental health] is an issue. It is such a big part of my life. It’s a 24/7 job, and there’s so much to it.”
Presley, who was arrested in 2019 for driving under the influence, revealed last year that he been struggling with “night terrors” and “panic attacks”.
He shared that he was on 1mg of Buprenorphine – used to treat both pain and opioid use disorders – twice a day to try and elevate his pain.
“Unfortunately, I’ve had a lot of loss in many different forms recently, so that is not an excuse, but it’s the reason why I am where I’m at now,” he shared.
Earlier this month, Kaia opened up on her brother’s health struggles to Vogue.
“When something like that happens in a family, it kind of levels everyone.
“I think that’s also why I started to self-identify as the easy one and never wanted to ask for help. Because it felt like too much to have two children who were needing.”
The 25-year-old praised her brother so being so forthcoming with his struggles. “My parents for most of our lives were very, very private and didn’t share anything — and now we have this absolute teacher, my brother, who says, ‘I’m gonna be very human for everyone.’ There’s only so much you can hide from the world.”
“And trying to put a lid on something just makes the person feel like you’re ashamed of them.”
When life is difficult, Samaritans are available day or night, 365 days a year. You can call them for free on 116 123 or visit samaritans.org.
If you are struggling with mental health, you can speak to a trained advisor from Mind mental health charity on 0300 123 3393 or email [email protected]
