Dead publican James Miller Source: The Sunday Telegraph
He was nicknamed "The Bull" for his ability to "out-party the best of them". A social dynamo with Sydney's who's-who on speed dial, James Miller had emerged in the past three years as an unofficial king of the Harbour City - one of the few central characters around which Sydney's "in crowd" seemed to orbit.
But his sudden death last weekend has brought the whirl of Sydney's party scene to a halt - and exposed the dark side of a culture that seems so glamorous, yet flirts with danger.
Although the results of Miller's autopsy have not been released, reports suggest the 38-year-old died accidentally as the result of allegedly mixing illicit drugs with sleeping tablets after a night with friends at his home in eastern Sydney.
His death has sent a shudder through this world - a world in which "party", is for some, a euphemism for drug and alcohol use.
Amid the grief, some will be thinking "there but for the grace of God go I".
Miller's was a charmed life that ended tragically and needlessly.
"He never said no to a party but he was always up and ready to go at 9am," says his friend and pub landlord Greg Magree, one of the major stakeholders in Miller's pub business. "He was an animal like that. He was always moving. A true entrepreneur, I called him the 'natural born hustler'."
The co-founder of the SumoSalad chain back in 2003, Miller had changed direction three years ago, co-managing a wildly successful chain of pubs that included The Norfolk Hotel, The Carrington and The Forresters Hotel in Surry Hills.
Dumping pokies and repositioning the places as eateries, Miller and partner Jaime Wirth (under the company banner Drink-N-Dine) signalled a new era in pub dining that sparked a renaissance in the market.
It was a lead other hoteliers (though they would be loathe to admit it) were quick to follow.
Recently Miller and Wirth put the finishing touches to what seemed the jewel in their hospitality crown - the first non-pub venue nestled underneath the famous Coca-Cola sign in Kings Cross. Santa Barbara opened with a lavish bash last December and, like the four venues that preceded it, was an instant hit among Sydney's notoriously fickle it-crowd. Miller had, it seemed, the magic touch.
"We had started The Norfolk without any further plans for other hotels or a hotel group, but quite quickly The Carrington and The Abercrombie came up ... we opened those a week apart ... yikes," Wirth tells Agenda. "Then the Forresters soon after we had opened those two.
"James was pretty unstoppable and was always keen to talk about a new idea no matter how busy we were with existing venues. You'd be just about to pull out your hair with the stress of opening a new venue and James would come bouncing into the office talking about a new space or new idea he'd had.
"He liked the thrill of pushing to get something open and working to impossible deadlines."
A partnership that flourished after the pair were introduced by Magree back in 2009, Wirth and Miller were a complementary mix of business savvy and food and drink know-how that proved to be successful beyond all expectations.
"James took care of the business side of things whereas I took care of the creative element, food, venue, vibe, service and booze - but we'd obviously have a say in what each other was doing too.
"James had a really amazing business mind. He brought his sales and franchising background and tweaked them to fit the format of the pubs. He was great at lining up deals, putting teams of people together and motivating them to be successful."
Bright and flush with brilliant business acumen, Miller was also known to his friends as a devoted dad to four-year-old Xavier (who is believed to live in Byron Bay with his ex-partner Amanda Susic) and friends say the opening of his fifth business and the dawning of a new year seemed to signal a personal
and career apex.
"He was at the top of his game," says friend and flatmate Andrew Hawkins, prominent in entertainment circles as Kyle Sandilands' manager.
It's understood Hawkins, along with another flatmate Nasser Elkordi, discovered Miller's body in their Elizabeth Bay flat last Sunday.
"The feeling around Sydney is absolute devastating shock.
"No one ever thought anything like this would happen, especially to someone like James.
"He was just one of those guys that ... was never in a bad mood. Was never negative. He was always positive," says Hawkins.
Miller's tight-knit circle of close friends included Kings Cross identity John Ibrahim and model and socialite Lara Bingle, who was one of the first to react to news of Miller's death last Monday, tweeting: "RIP James Miller".
A fast mix of models, musicians, millionaires and movers-and-shakers, the group also included Dave Freeman - son of the late Kings Cross identity George Freeman - as well as the son of deceased entrepreneur Rene Rivkin, 32-year-old Dion Rivkin. Miller had previously dated model Maddy King, known better now as the girlfriend of Dannii Minogue's ex Kris Smith, but at the time of his death he was believed to have been dating rising modelling star Tegan Haining.
Though, as a clearer picture of his friends and social network emerges, it's obvious Miller enjoyed a rare level of popularity that made him - at least according to several friends contacted by Agenda - "the
envy of everyone".
"The girls absolutely loved him," says one pal (who requested their name not be published).
"Let's just say he never had any shortage of potential dates. You have this combo of looks, brains, talent and connections. But he had this normalness as well.
"He was this normal guy from Canberra who happened to live this ridiculously amazing life."
An IT graduate from the University of Canberra, Miller first gained attention on the small business radar when a stint working an IT job in the US inspired a plan for a "healthy" fast-food franchise. He began SumoSalad with Luke Baylis, its current managing director.
The chain was an international success and, three years after its opening in 2006, was named the fastest growing franchise on the BRW Hot Franchise list.
Miller stopped working for SumoSalad in 2009 and sold his share of the business last year to focus on Drink-N-Dine - the aim of which was to take "the pubs that people walk out of" (as he said in an interview in 2010) and relaunch them as hip, appealing, pokie-free boites.
The movement began with the Norfolk Hotel in Redfern and was soon followed by The Carrington Hotel in Surry Hills, the Abercrombie in Chippendale and the Forresters on Riley St.
But a move into the pub industry brought with it a hectic social life, one that Miller embraced with unashamed gusto.
"Obviously you are working in pubs and there is a party element to it," says housemate Hawkins.
"He was a social guy. He was the kind of guy who would see a group of friends sitting in one of his pubs and he'd go over and say 'everyone come back to mine' and the next thing you know three carloads of people would turn up at the house."
Miller was found dead some time on Sunday afternoon. It is believed he sought to offset the effects of recreational drugs with sleeping pills.
Curtin University's National Drug Research Institute associate professor Simon Lenton says although sedatives such as sleeping pills and alcohol can be safe when ingested separately and in moderation, together they form
a potentially deadly cocktail.
Adding illicit drugs such as cocaine or heroin to the mix increases the risk exponentially.
"Mixing drugs is extremely dangerous because they can have a combined effect much greater than each of the drugs on their own," Lenton says.
"The outcomes can be very unpredictable, so people are really playing Russian roulette in terms of the potential for risky effects."
Each person reacts in different ways depending on their physiological make-up, their health and many other variable factors.
Lenton says depressants, such as alcohol or sleeping pills, act on the body's central nervous system, shutting down the brain's "breathing centre" if the dose
is too high.
"They just nod off and go into a deep sleep. Their breathing is suppressed and they eventually stop breathing," he says.
Consuming a cocktail of drugs and alcohol has become commonplace in Sydney, says Lenton.
"They take a stimulant to keep them going all night, and that increases the amount of time you have to drink," he says. "And obviously if you are intoxicated
and a bit impulsive, and there are other things going around, you are more likely to take them."
Miller's funeral service will be held at Sydney's St Mary's Cathedral tomorrow at 2pm and friends are urging that, despite the circumstances surrounding his death, he ultimately be remembered as "a fantastic guy taken too soon".
"The fact is we don't know exactly what the circumstances are around (Miller's death)," says Hawkins "and I just think he should be remembered for being an awesome guy."
Miller's former SumoSalad partner Baylis says he will remember Miller as an endlessly energetic, generous and intensely loyal friend.
"He had a fierce business drive and intelligence, but also a real understanding of what was important to him - friends, family and enjoying every day," Baylis says in a statement.
"I learnt a lot from James in business, friendship and life, and I will miss him greatly."
Wirth adds: "A really good friend, generous, fun loving and a really big personality. James was a big guy with a big heart."
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