In this episode of The 10 Ninety Podcast, Mason sits down with Samie Hardman and Brittney Obray—two mothers whose sons died by suicide in 2022, just months apart.

Samie's son, Drayke, was 12 years old—an old soul obsessed with basketball and the Utah Jazz who wore mismatched socks and loved with his whole being. After enduring relentless bullying that triggered severe anxiety, Drake came home from school on February 10, 2022, with a bruise from being body-slammed by his bully. That night, he skipped basketball, watched Lost in Space with his family, and quietly went to bed. His 16-year-old sister found him unresponsive. Despite CPR and life flight to Primary Children's Hospital, Drake died the next morning at 8:17 AM in his parents' arms.

Brittney's son, Dexton, was 14—a gentle giant, football player, and protector who wasn't bullied but battled depression silently. The week before he died on October 26, 2022, Dexton was thriving—meal prepping, excited about starting varsity football, riding his motorcycle to practice. Then a girl rejected him. That night, he asked for more internet time past curfew. His stepdad said no. The next morning, they found him gone. Police discovered his phone filled with TikTok's algorithm feeding him suicide content daily: videos teaching kids how to die, messages that "nothing would change" if he left, and constant reinforcement that ending the pain was the only option.

Together, Samie and Brittney discuss the hard truths:

How schools silence suicide and refuse to honor these kids
Why toxic algorithms prey on vulnerable teens
The myth that talking about suicide "plants the idea" when kids are already drowning in it
How child suicide is almost always impulsive—no note, no plan, just a moment
Why kids need "three trusted people" they can call in crisis
The disconnect between kids and adults that costs lives
How they've turned grief into advocacy, fighting for policy change and open conversations

Both mothers have become voices for a generation of parents who never imagined having these conversations—until it was too late.

Content Warning: This episode contains detailed discussions of child suicide, bullying, and loss.

#182 - Samie Hardman and Brittney Obray