Before his death in May 2013, weeks after his 18th birthday, Sobiech released a song, “Clouds,” and was the first unsigned artist to top the iTunes charts. There have been three seasons of the YouTube series and a spinoff mini-series on the CW network.

It was the beginning of a turnaround for Baldoni, both personally and professionally. After hearing Baldoni talk about his girlfriend, Sobiech told him to go propose to this woman he clearly loved. They’re married now. And through the production company Baldoni founded to create the series, Wayfarer Entertainment, he launched the Man Enough movement to challenge unhealthy definitions of masculinity.

Baldoni has found new purpose to his career by facing uncomfortable subjects head on, starting with that dark night seven years ago. In doing so, he said, “I really saw how death and joy can be seen in the same sentence.” And it ended up changing his life.

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