Sam Ellis's best friend Jai Reed was in the waiting room when Sam was born, and for the next 16 years they were inseparable.

Their mothers were childhood best friends and the two boys — born six months apart — looked set to extend that bond for another generation.

"Jai was this really outgoing kid, there wasn't a single person that met him that didn't love him," Sam said.

"He was just one of those people you'd meet at a party and speak to him for 10 seconds and become best mates with him.

The friends couldn't have been more different — while Sam was quiet and more impressionable, Jai knew who he was from a young age.

"He was one of those kids where if he didn't want to do something, he wasn't scared to say no," Sam said.

"You couldn't be pressuring him, he had that much confidence in himself and self-esteem."

When the boys entered adolescence, Sam's choices deviated. He started treating his worsening anxiety and depression by abusing progressively harder forms of drugs.

"I've suffered a lot of mental health issues, I've seen psychiatrists and psychologists since I was about nine," Sam said.

"I ended up using marijuana therapeutically because I thought it was helping, but eventually it stopped working.

"I started moving on to heavier and heavier drugs and going down a really dark path towards criminal activity, and my mental health was suffering more and more."

Before he turned 16, Sam had suffered multiple drug overdoses, undergone treatment in rehab and hospital, and was running into trouble with the police.

"I ended up having an overdose at one point, and I was pronounced medically dead," he said.

"And then got revived after 47 seconds. I was 15 at the time of that, almost 16."

Whatever Sam went through, Jai was beside him to offer support without judgement.

"My mum would come in, and then he'd be following straight behind."

Sudden death of a best mate

In 2018, Jai — who was epileptic — had a seizure, hit his head, went into cardiac arrest, and died. He was 16 years old.

Sam was devastated. It felt like he'd lost a limb.

"I thought: 'You have [Jai], this amazing kid, 16 years old, who's going to achieve everything, had all these plans in place, he had so much potential for his future, and it all got taken away'," Sam said.

"And you've got me who does have potential, but he's throwing that potential away."

Jai's death shifted something within Sam, and he hasn't touched drugs since.

"It's almost like my body's rejected that side of my life, where I just am no longer interested at all," he said.

Grief can force a change of mindset

Jackie Taraway, a specialist bereavement counsellor at the Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement, works with people of all ages who are processing grief over a recent death.

She says grief among teenagers mourning the loss of a friend can manifest differently than grief over other losses.

"The death of a friend can really violate their basic assumptions," Ms Taraway said.

"It's interesting the closeness teenagers have with their friends because their sense of belonging is with their friends.

"Sometimes when there's a loss of a friend, it's very similar to the death of a child, where it occurs out of time and out of sequence.

Post-traumatic growth

Ms Taraway said for some people, a sudden death could serve as a wake-up call and prompt "post-traumatic growth".

"Everyone grieves in their own unique way," she said.

"[People] can look at a life crisis and it presents as a catalyst for growth and transformation.

"Post-traumatic growth is a positive transformation, resulting from adversity in order to have a better life.

"Some people can go: 'I can't cope with this, and life is unfair', and perhaps have more of a pessimistic worldview.

She said all manifestations of grief were valid and it was important for families to help teenagers process the loss in a healthy way.

"The first thing is to create a safe, nurturing environment, by really trying to be present, be empathetic, and be genuine with each other," she said.

"I tell parents to listen, and listen more.

"Acknowledge the adolescent's presence, acknowledge their opinions, thoughts and their feelings, and be really patient and open-minded, and allow them to grieve in their own way."

Honouring Jai via a passion for music

Sam, from Kilsyth in Melbourne's east, remains clean and has redirected his energy into a passion for music.

"Music is an incredible tool for people facing mental health problems or drug issues, it's so powerful," he said.

"When I was going through a lot of my struggles, I always had music in my ears.

He started making tracks with a friend, who started living temporarily with Sam's family several months after Jai died.

"Sometimes he'd come into my room at midnight and go, "Hey Sam, I've got a new song, want to check it out?" he said. 

"I'd have a listen and from there, we'd work through the night before we realised it was almost time to go to school."

As time passed, Sam started working with new artists, built up his client base and opened his own record label.

The label name RYSE is based off the graffiti tag Sam used when he was going down a dark path.

"You've got my past, you've got this behaviour, the drug use, the crime, and all the stupid things that I was doing," he said.

"So RYSE is showing me I still am carrying my past, I haven't forgotten it because I've learned so many lessons, but I'm no longer that person anymore."

Hidden within the RYSE logo is a commemoration to Sam's first and best friend, with the tail of the Y forming a J.

"The darker shade in the R and the darker shade in the J say JR, for Jai Reed," he said.

"I had that hidden in there because it's showing he's a big part of everything.

"I might as well live it twice as well, because now I'm carrying two people's lives along with me, and I need to build a legacy for myself and a legacy for him."

The ABC’s Takeover Melbourne program gives a voice to young people across Greater Melbourne. If you would like to find out more about the next Takeover Melbourne intake, which will open in late March, go to the Takeover website.