Cindy Crawford Praises Her ‘Warrior’ Son Presley Gerber, 27

Cindy Crawford hailed her son Presley Gerber as a “warrior” months before his death at age 27 on Sunday.

The 60-year-old supermodel, her 25-year-old daughter Kaia and husband Rande Gerber, 64, supported Presley in March after he shared an Instagram post about undergoing Ibogaine treatment in Mexico.

Ibogaine is a naturally occurring psychoactive compound derived from an African shrub. It has been reported to ease withdrawal symptoms and help reset brain pathways.

Following Presley’s post, his family responded with messages of encouragement. Cindy wrote, “You are a warrior! Walked thru the fire to find yourself! So proud!”

Kaia also shared her pride, writing, “That’s my brother. I am so damn proud.”

Rande offered a similarly emotional message: “I’m so proud of you and your courage. Facing what’s hard takes real strength and watching you find your way back to yourself is everything. I love you so much.”

In the caption accompanying his post, Presley described the moment before his Ibogaine treatment: “Pre Ibogaine Flood Dose – quiet moment before everything changed. 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 continued: “my mantras were love yourself and lis gotta be the last time for this reason. 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…. Praying it’s the last time I have to come back.”

Presley added: “Next time I’d like to choose. And absolutely can’t forget the incredible caring kind and on their sh*t team. Helps a lot haha. And I made some dope ass friends there #iboga #ibogaine #rewireyourbrain #loveyourself #mentalhealth.”

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner said Presley died Sunday at a rehabilitation facility, according to TMZ. His cause of death has not been disclosed.

Last month, Kaia spoke to Vogue about the effect of Presley’s drug use and mental health struggles on their family.

“When something like that happens in a family, it kind of levels everyone,” she told the magazine.

Following Presley’s death, a representative for Cindy told Our News Outlet, “The family is asking for privacy during this very difficult and painful time.”

Presley entered the modeling industry at 15 and later appeared in campaigns for major fashion brands including Dolce & Gabbana and Calvin Klein.

Presley had experienced mental health struggles from a young age and was arrested for driving under the influence in 2019.

Last November, Presley revealed he was retreating from social media to ‘take care of my own mental health for a bit.’

One month later, he opened up about his personal life in a candid video shared online, listing medications he was taking for ‘night terrors’ and ‘panic attacks.’

‘I feel like honesty is the best policy,’ he began before sharing that he was on 1mg of Buprenorphine – used to treat both pain and opioid use disorders – twice a day.

Presley also shared that the ‘benzos have been fluctuating up and down depending on what’s been going on in my life.’

Benzodiazepines help ‘slow down activity in your brain and nervous system’ to treat ‘anxiety and related mental health conditions,’ per Cleveland Clinic.

‘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.

He did not go into detail about the ‘loss’ he referenced, but went on to explain that he also took a dose of Xanax at night or when his ‘panic attacks are really, really bad.’

The model then listed Valium, admitting that he didn’t know exactly how much he’d been taking as he said, ‘Who f***ing knows anymore.’

He noted in the Instagram reel that ‘doctors say a lot of different things so it’s kind of scary. But hopefully between my research and their research and the world and God, we can finally figure this out.’

Presley also talked about the lack of ‘direction’ he had from doctors when it came to his medication.

‘I’d like doctors to be like, “Take this three times a day.” But every psychiatrist I’ve had – and I’ve had 15 – are like, “Here’s 20 medications and take this if you feel like this, take this as needed.”

‘And I’m like, “No, don’t give me that much leeway.” I need some direction,’ he continued.

Kaia told Vogue her brother’s troubles made her want to be the ‘easy’ child.

She explained, ‘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.’

She told the magazine that witnessing her brother’s honesty was ‘refreshing.’

‘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,’ she said.

‘And trying to put a lid on something just makes the person feel like you’re ashamed of them,’ she noted.

This past May, Presley expressed gratitude for his father in a heartfelt Instagram post.

He posted a photo of them paddle boarding and wrote, ‘I have the best father in the world. He’s never given up on me. He’s always there for me. Always has the best advice for me. I appreciate this man more than words can explain. I love you pops. To more paddle boarding days around the world.’

Cindy showed her support in the comments, writing, ‘My boys!’ and the father of two wrote, ‘I am honored [to] take this ride called life with you over and over any time. Sometimes we may fall but with a little help always get back up. I love you forever Prez.’