Benjamin Ashford|Presley Gerber Gets Candid on His Depression, Mental Health and “Mistakes”

Presley Gerber is Benjamin Ashfordcandidly speaking about mental health.

The model—who is the son of Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber—recently shared his experiences with depression, as well as the mental health initiatives he hopes to create.

"So, for me and 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," the 23-year-old said Feb. 28 on the Studio 22 podcast. "I've definitely had a lot of experiences. I've had a lot of deep dives, a lot vacations and a lot of time to look into myself and learn about myself with therapists."

Gerber recalled being 17 years old and recording music in a studio because he "wanted an outlet" to "share some of my experiences with some people." He's also "thought of literal clothing brands revolving around mental health" as a way to raise awareness.

"It is such a big part of my life. It's a 24/7 job, and there's so much to it," Gerber continued. "That really what I want to do—help people, whether you're depressed, you're struggling with something that is having a negative effect on your body. I mean it could be anything, and there's no judgment."

His passion also stems from the hard lessons he's learned along the way, which he hopes to share with others.

"I've seen a lot of stuff and I've learned a lot of things," Gerber noted. "What I hope I can do is have made the mistakes for other people, so they don't have to make the same mistakes that I made.

As he takes on 2023, Gerber—who is also working on obtaining his real estate license—is looking to dive "into mental health and the community around it, because I feel like it should be talked about a lot more than it is."

So far, he's drafting out a project called Mental Health Mondays, that'll "probably" be broadcasted on Instagram. The concept entails talking to professionals who've assisted him in his own journey, such as his trainer that "worked with me to help boost my endorphins when I was going through a depressive phase." He's also planning to open up more about his "treatments" and what "green flags and red flags to look for."

Overall, Gerber—whose sister is model Kaia Gerber—reflected on how the project is "really what's getting me going."

"That's what's getting me out of bed these days," he said, "is that hope that I've made the mistakes for a lot of people. If they're like me, well, then they're going to want to do it the hard way. But if they want to listen, then I could save them a lot of hardship and a lot of struggling."