IN THE PAST YEAR alone, Phil Gizzie, 40, the director of a smart-tech clothing brand, has lost four of his close friends to suicide or for drug-related reasons. He refers to himself as ‘a survivor’, having been in multiple situations and circumstances that he says could have prematurely ended his life too.
He is not alone in his devastating loss. Choreographer David Allwood, 36, has lost three of his friends in the past year alone — and they were not the first to have died from similar causes.
Davide Cini, a digital product manager, 45, has lost two ex-partners to suicide — including Strictly Come Dancing star Robin Windsor in February this year — and too many friends to count whose deaths were drug related. “Robin was loved and adored by many, but I could see him slowly giving up in recent years,” shares Davide. “Despite our best efforts to show him our love and be there for him, he still felt lonely and that something fundamental to fulfil his need for happiness was missing. He just couldn’t see himself the way we saw him. [He was] chasing an insatiable need to be loved and admired — or perhaps simply accepted.”