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A young man who survived a stabbing attack in Melbourne's south-east has issued a powerful statement condemning "wannabe gangsters" involved in knife crime.
Ethan Tirant, 20, was outside a KFC outlet in Pakenham with friends when he was stabbed in the chest by a 13-year-old last year.
Now he has joined dozens of high school students and youth representatives to create a Crime Stoppers campaign.
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"I just remember being in the ambulance texting all my friends, my family that I love them," Tirant said.
"I honestly felt like I was dying, because I was."
He had to undergo life-saving surgery and went into a coma.
Ethan's accused attacker, a 13-year-old boy, was charged with a number of offences.
The charges were thrown out, however, after it couldn't be proven the boy was old enough to understand what he did was seriously wrong.
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Tirant said he hoped to turn the terrifying incident into something young people could learn from.
He has shared a message to youths who use knives: "You are not tough and you are not a gangster."
"So many things have impacted my life just because of one kid being dumb for 10 seconds," he said.
"I had to learn how to walk again and when your lung collapses, it's the worst feeling."
Crime Stoppers chief executive Stella Smith said powerful and strong youth voices were behind the campaign.
"They don't want to see their parents devastated. They can picture the hurt in their own parents if they were to become a victim," she said.
"The kids came back and said they said their voices had been heard."
