1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,880 Speaker 1: If you have your own story of being in a 2 00:00:01,960 --> 00:00:03,720 Speaker 1: cult or a high control group. 3 00:00:03,640 --> 00:00:06,760 Speaker 2: Or if you've had experience with manipulation or abusive power 4 00:00:06,760 --> 00:00:07,760 Speaker 2: that you'd like to share. 5 00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:10,039 Speaker 1: Leave us a message on our hotline number at three 6 00:00:10,080 --> 00:00:12,400 Speaker 1: four seven eight six trust. 7 00:00:12,200 --> 00:00:16,079 Speaker 2: That's three four seven eight six eight seven eight seven eight. 8 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:19,959 Speaker 1: Or shoot us an email at trustmepod at gmail dot com. 9 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:24,960 Speaker 1: Trust me, trust me, Trust me. I'm like a swat person. 10 00:00:25,320 --> 00:00:28,840 Speaker 3: I've never lived to you, I never do. 11 00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:31,600 Speaker 2: You think that one person has all the answers? 12 00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:36,599 Speaker 1: Don't welcome to Trust Me, the podcast about cults, extreme 13 00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:40,440 Speaker 1: belief and manipulation. I am Megan Elizabeth and this week 14 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:43,920 Speaker 1: we are without Lo Lablanc, but this time it's good news. 15 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:47,360 Speaker 1: She is in Spain at a very prestigious film festival 16 00:00:47,479 --> 00:00:50,640 Speaker 1: where her film is in it. We are with producer Steve. 17 00:00:50,800 --> 00:00:55,360 Speaker 1: He's clapping hello, Hello, so Steve. This week it's just 18 00:00:55,520 --> 00:00:58,320 Speaker 1: me talking to some of our listeners, which people seem 19 00:00:58,360 --> 00:01:00,440 Speaker 1: to really enjoy the episodes where we get to know 20 00:01:00,520 --> 00:01:03,000 Speaker 1: some of the people that were speaking to every week 21 00:01:03,080 --> 00:01:06,959 Speaker 1: and their experience with their own very culty upbringings or 22 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:08,600 Speaker 1: things they got into later in life. 23 00:01:08,680 --> 00:01:10,720 Speaker 4: Yeah, and we have a couple of great stories this week, 24 00:01:10,720 --> 00:01:15,000 Speaker 4: including one from novelist and cult survivor Shelley Snowpordia, who 25 00:01:15,319 --> 00:01:19,480 Speaker 4: was involved with the Independent Fundamentalist Baptist movement. She talks 26 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:22,560 Speaker 4: about her involvement with it, what was going on with 27 00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:26,320 Speaker 4: the leader, his ulterior motives, and the cult awareness work 28 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:26,920 Speaker 4: that she's. 29 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:28,880 Speaker 1: Doing right now. And we talked to our new friend 30 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:33,080 Speaker 1: Claire who got involved in a capawera cults New Orleans. 31 00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:38,880 Speaker 1: Fascinating stuff, so stay tuned for that story as well. Now, Steve, yes, Megan, 32 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:41,399 Speaker 1: are you ready for this week's cultiest thing of the week? 33 00:01:41,520 --> 00:01:43,360 Speaker 1: So ready, there's only going to be one. It's going 34 00:01:43,400 --> 00:01:46,280 Speaker 1: to be mine because you don't have one, because you 35 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:49,440 Speaker 1: don't know that you had to do this. Sorry, it's okay, 36 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:54,000 Speaker 1: because mine fills twenty buckets worth of stuff. Maybe everybody's 37 00:01:54,040 --> 00:01:57,800 Speaker 1: seen the Vanity Fair article about these YouTubers. Their names 38 00:01:57,800 --> 00:01:59,720 Speaker 1: are Jeff, and her name's like you know how people 39 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:02,920 Speaker 1: name their kids Ashley, but it's like Ashlee La Like 40 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:05,600 Speaker 1: her name to me looks like Sheila, but it has 41 00:02:05,680 --> 00:02:08,440 Speaker 1: like twenty more letters out. Oh great, Okay. They have 42 00:02:08,520 --> 00:02:12,680 Speaker 1: a YouTube channel, lots of subscribers, twin flame universe. Nobody 43 00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:14,320 Speaker 1: look it up because I don't want to give them 44 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:18,280 Speaker 1: any more. Look up the Vanity Fair article. But you know, 45 00:02:18,440 --> 00:02:21,840 Speaker 1: twin Flames is the kind of thing that I personally 46 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:24,720 Speaker 1: could get very involved in have gotten very involved in. 47 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:28,240 Speaker 1: It's a concept I like, it's spiritual. It's like every 48 00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:31,480 Speaker 1: person on Earth has their counterpart. 49 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:35,519 Speaker 4: Correct, okay, And this is a centralized group organization platform 50 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:37,680 Speaker 4: that teaches these kinds of things. 51 00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:40,200 Speaker 1: Well yeah, I mean essentially they were like, we're twin 52 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:42,280 Speaker 1: flames and we found each other. We're going to help 53 00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:46,560 Speaker 1: you find your twin flames. Join our Facebook group. A 54 00:02:46,680 --> 00:02:50,840 Speaker 1: lot of people sell their courses, these spiritual people for 55 00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:54,800 Speaker 1: numbers like four four hundred and forty four dollars, So 56 00:02:55,040 --> 00:02:57,079 Speaker 1: because you know, everybody loves a repeating. 57 00:02:56,720 --> 00:02:58,200 Speaker 4: Numbers Angel numbers. 58 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:01,280 Speaker 1: Yeah, I love those memes where it's like you get 59 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:04,680 Speaker 1: your bank account's negative three hundred and thirty three dollars 60 00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:09,000 Speaker 1: and somebody's like my angel number. It's a meme, not 61 00:03:09,120 --> 00:03:13,160 Speaker 1: something that's ever happened to me. So these people, essentially, 62 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:17,000 Speaker 1: you know, are kind of selling their courses for these repeating, 63 00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:19,600 Speaker 1: very high numbers. It teaches you how to find your 64 00:03:19,639 --> 00:03:25,000 Speaker 1: twin flame, and sometimes finding your twin flame means stalking, 65 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:30,960 Speaker 1: oh means becoming a completely different person and maybe doing 66 00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:33,560 Speaker 1: stuff that you wouldn't normally feel comfortable doing. 67 00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:37,000 Speaker 4: And we're hoping to get somebody involved in the documentary 68 00:03:37,200 --> 00:03:40,480 Speaker 4: on interview in a future episode, so stay tuned for that. 69 00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:54,080 Speaker 1: Welcome Shelley Pordia. 70 00:03:54,240 --> 00:03:56,760 Speaker 3: Thank you so much. It's really a pleasure and honor. 71 00:03:57,080 --> 00:03:59,640 Speaker 1: So I've already told you I'm kind of obsessed with 72 00:03:59,680 --> 00:04:01,400 Speaker 1: the work that you're doing now, and we're going to 73 00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:04,240 Speaker 1: get to it and kind of go into what that is. 74 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:08,600 Speaker 1: But let's start from the beginning. How did you grow 75 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:13,080 Speaker 1: up or what is your quote unquote cult experience? 76 00:04:13,600 --> 00:04:16,080 Speaker 3: Yeah, so I was born and raised in the Independent 77 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:20,360 Speaker 3: Fundamental Baptist Movement or the IFB and our yeah, our 78 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:23,560 Speaker 3: church was also introduced to the IBOP at one point, 79 00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:25,560 Speaker 3: so I have some of that, you know, that's. 80 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:28,520 Speaker 1: The dutters yes, okay, okay. 81 00:04:28,320 --> 00:04:31,400 Speaker 3: That peppered out throughout my experience as well. 82 00:04:31,839 --> 00:04:35,599 Speaker 1: So how does this differ from the Baptist Church is 83 00:04:35,720 --> 00:04:37,520 Speaker 1: just a general yes. 84 00:04:37,920 --> 00:04:40,120 Speaker 3: So I think like there's a long history of it. 85 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:43,560 Speaker 3: It probably stems back to like the nineteen hundreds, early 86 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:46,719 Speaker 3: nineteen hundred and nineteen twenties ish where they decided that 87 00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:49,600 Speaker 3: they were going to break away from the General Baptist 88 00:04:49,640 --> 00:04:52,640 Speaker 3: Convention or the Southern Baptist Convention, American Baptists. You know, 89 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:56,320 Speaker 3: there's all these different types of Baptists in the United States, 90 00:04:56,360 --> 00:05:01,880 Speaker 3: and I think they were just really firm on specific 91 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:06,440 Speaker 3: rules and they started to form their own network. And 92 00:05:06,640 --> 00:05:09,360 Speaker 3: they are very clever in calling it independent because then 93 00:05:09,400 --> 00:05:12,400 Speaker 3: they don't claim that, you know, they are part of 94 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:16,320 Speaker 3: anything else. And it became a whole movement. Yeah. 95 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:17,520 Speaker 1: How big did it get? 96 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:20,440 Speaker 3: I think when I was born, it was probably in 97 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:23,600 Speaker 3: its heyday, you know, in my early childhood and even 98 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:27,239 Speaker 3: up to my teenage years really, so like nineteen seventy 99 00:05:27,320 --> 00:05:30,000 Speaker 3: four or five, I believe the leader that we followed, 100 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:34,400 Speaker 3: Jack Kyles, was in Time magazine, so he was featured, Yeah, 101 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:39,000 Speaker 3: as having the world's largest Sunday school. We would go 102 00:05:39,320 --> 00:05:42,440 Speaker 3: on campus every Sunday and they would claim that like 103 00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:45,440 Speaker 3: twenty thousand people were in attendance, so. 104 00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:49,919 Speaker 1: Okay, so okay, wow, So this was super mainstream. 105 00:05:50,200 --> 00:05:53,160 Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean like Megachurch before we had the terminology 106 00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:56,120 Speaker 3: of megachurch. That's what it was, right for sure, Like 107 00:05:56,440 --> 00:05:58,280 Speaker 3: I grew up in the nineteen seventies and eighties, and 108 00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:01,400 Speaker 3: like that's was normal for me to go to a 109 00:06:01,520 --> 00:06:05,040 Speaker 3: church of you know, five six thousand people and one auditorium, 110 00:06:05,400 --> 00:06:06,239 Speaker 3: you know, one service. 111 00:06:07,240 --> 00:06:08,560 Speaker 1: Where were you located in. 112 00:06:08,880 --> 00:06:12,040 Speaker 3: The hamlet in Indiana area, it's like an hour outside 113 00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:12,560 Speaker 3: of Chicago. 114 00:06:13,200 --> 00:06:16,560 Speaker 1: So maybe you can go into a little bit about 115 00:06:16,720 --> 00:06:21,320 Speaker 1: what made this church independent, what rules they really got 116 00:06:21,320 --> 00:06:23,839 Speaker 1: hooked onto, and what that looked like for you. 117 00:06:24,400 --> 00:06:28,120 Speaker 3: Yeah, so I think that it's kind of just like 118 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:30,200 Speaker 3: any other could. It starts out as one thing and 119 00:06:30,240 --> 00:06:32,000 Speaker 3: then you build on it. You know, the goalpost is 120 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:37,240 Speaker 3: always moving. But the when the moral majority, I guess 121 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:40,960 Speaker 3: was like starting specifically like in my lifetime, right, and 122 00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:44,640 Speaker 3: they kind of saw a need to modernize. Our leaders 123 00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:47,160 Speaker 3: saw that we were going to be the ones that 124 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:49,520 Speaker 3: held onto what they called the old paths. And so 125 00:06:49,560 --> 00:06:53,039 Speaker 3: the women had very strict gender roles. We were not 126 00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:57,960 Speaker 3: allowed to wear anything but a skirt depending on the family. 127 00:06:58,160 --> 00:07:00,320 Speaker 3: Like girls were allowed to cut their hair are in 128 00:07:00,560 --> 00:07:01,840 Speaker 3: like shorter haircuts. 129 00:07:01,920 --> 00:07:04,480 Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, this is my life growing up too. 130 00:07:05,400 --> 00:07:09,440 Speaker 3: I know. I will relate to your stories for sure. 131 00:07:10,800 --> 00:07:13,280 Speaker 3: And then there was a whole movement about bus kids 132 00:07:13,480 --> 00:07:15,720 Speaker 3: and so like we were going to go save the 133 00:07:16,040 --> 00:07:18,680 Speaker 3: poor children whose parents weren't sending them to church, and 134 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:21,360 Speaker 3: so we would go into the cities with our buses 135 00:07:21,520 --> 00:07:26,080 Speaker 3: and you know, collect children. And I'm not even joking. 136 00:07:26,840 --> 00:07:29,520 Speaker 1: So what would you Okay, let's role play. I'm a child, 137 00:07:29,880 --> 00:07:33,600 Speaker 1: You're you're trying to get me onto the bus. How 138 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:34,160 Speaker 1: would that go? 139 00:07:34,560 --> 00:07:39,360 Speaker 3: Yeah, hey, Megan, we have this exciting day of fun tomorrow. 140 00:07:39,520 --> 00:07:41,760 Speaker 3: We are all going to church. And if you ride 141 00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:44,720 Speaker 3: our bus, you are going to get a goldfish in 142 00:07:44,800 --> 00:07:47,160 Speaker 3: a bag, A love goldfish. What do you love to 143 00:07:47,200 --> 00:07:47,480 Speaker 3: have on? 144 00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:51,000 Speaker 1: Oh my god, I would be on that bus faster 145 00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:55,960 Speaker 1: than okay, then a goldfish dies, I guess. Wow, Okay, Okay, 146 00:07:56,040 --> 00:08:00,040 Speaker 1: So there was little incentives. And I mean, would the 147 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:02,720 Speaker 1: parents come to or would these kids just be like, guess, 148 00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:04,160 Speaker 1: I'm going to Sunday school. 149 00:08:04,520 --> 00:08:06,640 Speaker 3: I mean, I guess there's a reason there was this 150 00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:10,000 Speaker 3: whole stranger danger panic, you know, Okay, because we were 151 00:08:10,200 --> 00:08:15,640 Speaker 3: riding around saying I'm with us. Yeah, yeah, they won't 152 00:08:15,800 --> 00:08:19,040 Speaker 3: they would, they would let us. And and that's really 153 00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:22,080 Speaker 3: actually the reason I got connected with trust Me. I 154 00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:26,360 Speaker 3: called in first because I heard somebody call in and say, 155 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:28,640 Speaker 3: I don't know, like these random people came and picked 156 00:08:28,680 --> 00:08:29,800 Speaker 3: us up on buses, and I'm like. 157 00:08:30,600 --> 00:08:33,720 Speaker 1: You were, like that was me? That was me? 158 00:08:34,559 --> 00:08:39,079 Speaker 3: Yes, I do you remember? Yeah? Yes? 159 00:08:39,720 --> 00:08:43,160 Speaker 1: Were you sent to secular school or okay, no, no, 160 00:08:43,280 --> 00:08:44,400 Speaker 1: it was a school. 161 00:08:44,760 --> 00:08:47,400 Speaker 3: Yeah. And that was another thing, you know, like back 162 00:08:47,400 --> 00:08:52,000 Speaker 3: in the seventies where everybody was panicking, probably more grow 163 00:08:52,240 --> 00:08:54,920 Speaker 3: about segregation, integration, all the other things than they were 164 00:08:54,960 --> 00:08:59,200 Speaker 3: about actual education. But that's a different conversation probably, But 165 00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:02,440 Speaker 3: they we ar died saying like it's you're feeding your 166 00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:03,959 Speaker 3: children to the devil when you send them to the 167 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:07,720 Speaker 3: public schools. And so they would raise up these independent 168 00:09:07,760 --> 00:09:11,120 Speaker 3: fundaental Baptist schools, and we went to since we were 169 00:09:11,120 --> 00:09:14,360 Speaker 3: at the megachurch at the time, that's where we were enrolled, 170 00:09:14,400 --> 00:09:16,000 Speaker 3: So we went to those schools. 171 00:09:16,440 --> 00:09:18,679 Speaker 1: So did you have any outside friends, did you have 172 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:20,160 Speaker 1: any outside influences? 173 00:09:20,679 --> 00:09:23,360 Speaker 3: Not for the earlier parts of my childhood. So I 174 00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:25,280 Speaker 3: was born in Saint Louis, Missouri, and we lived here 175 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:27,920 Speaker 3: until I was like four probably, and then when I 176 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:32,640 Speaker 3: was entering preschool kindergarten age, we moved up there to 177 00:09:32,760 --> 00:09:35,880 Speaker 3: the megachurch, and so my dad went to the college there, 178 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:37,880 Speaker 3: and the kids, you know, we were enrolled in the 179 00:09:37,880 --> 00:09:42,040 Speaker 3: schools and so until I was probably eleven or so 180 00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:44,440 Speaker 3: when we moved back. That was my whole life. I 181 00:09:44,480 --> 00:09:46,920 Speaker 3: did not have outside influences. 182 00:09:46,559 --> 00:09:49,120 Speaker 1: And you were totally in. It was all you knew. 183 00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:53,199 Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, totally in. Yeah, for sure. I mean we 184 00:09:53,320 --> 00:09:55,559 Speaker 3: you know, we were still kids. And like I said, 185 00:09:55,600 --> 00:09:57,920 Speaker 3: back then, the rules were starting to change more and more. 186 00:09:57,960 --> 00:09:59,920 Speaker 3: It was stricter and stricter and stricter, and so like 187 00:10:00,520 --> 00:10:03,120 Speaker 3: some families still had TVs in their homes. I remember 188 00:10:03,160 --> 00:10:05,959 Speaker 3: when we got rid of ours, or I wasn't allowed 189 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:09,400 Speaker 3: to watch you know, like Superhero Ducay of Hazard. I 190 00:10:09,440 --> 00:10:11,640 Speaker 3: remember we weren't allowed to watch it anymore, you know, 191 00:10:11,720 --> 00:10:15,040 Speaker 3: because the women weren't dressed right and all that. So, yeah, 192 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:18,400 Speaker 3: I just got stricter and stricter. And I'm sure that 193 00:10:18,600 --> 00:10:22,440 Speaker 3: you know, the rules were in place for some, but 194 00:10:22,480 --> 00:10:25,000 Speaker 3: I think it became more blatant from the pulpit and 195 00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:27,920 Speaker 3: that became the focus. Like I don't remember hearing a 196 00:10:27,960 --> 00:10:31,360 Speaker 3: lot of sermons growing up on like this is what 197 00:10:31,520 --> 00:10:34,000 Speaker 3: Jesus taught and this is how we should live. It 198 00:10:34,080 --> 00:10:36,880 Speaker 3: was more like this is how evil everyone else is 199 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:38,160 Speaker 3: and these are evils. 200 00:10:38,760 --> 00:10:39,000 Speaker 5: Yeah. 201 00:10:39,120 --> 00:10:41,560 Speaker 1: It was like there was never anything of like this 202 00:10:41,679 --> 00:10:44,199 Speaker 1: is what's good. It was just this is how other 203 00:10:44,240 --> 00:10:46,360 Speaker 1: people are doing it bad. And I was like, okay, 204 00:10:46,360 --> 00:10:50,440 Speaker 1: but what's good? So I have two different questions. I'm 205 00:10:50,440 --> 00:10:52,200 Speaker 1: just going to say them both out loud so that 206 00:10:52,240 --> 00:10:56,160 Speaker 1: you can answer which comes first. What was the crack 207 00:10:56,320 --> 00:10:59,040 Speaker 1: in your shelf that made you finally be like, what 208 00:10:59,040 --> 00:11:02,440 Speaker 1: what's happening? And what ended up happening with this leader? 209 00:11:02,520 --> 00:11:07,000 Speaker 1: Did he become some dark force that we usually see 210 00:11:07,280 --> 00:11:11,640 Speaker 1: or is he still practicing and a normal member quote 211 00:11:11,679 --> 00:11:12,719 Speaker 1: unquote of society? 212 00:11:13,120 --> 00:11:13,320 Speaker 6: Yeah? 213 00:11:13,400 --> 00:11:16,360 Speaker 3: So the leader that I grew up with had a 214 00:11:16,400 --> 00:11:20,920 Speaker 3: long brain, and he you know, lived and died as 215 00:11:20,960 --> 00:11:26,480 Speaker 3: the leader he I guess to me, I always had 216 00:11:26,520 --> 00:11:30,400 Speaker 3: an experience of benevolence. I you know, loved him and 217 00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:34,680 Speaker 3: thought he was just this gracious and wonderful man. I 218 00:11:34,720 --> 00:11:38,320 Speaker 3: didn't know how controlling he was. The scandals were hidden 219 00:11:38,320 --> 00:11:41,280 Speaker 3: from us, Like when I was in high school, there 220 00:11:41,360 --> 00:11:44,440 Speaker 3: was a whole scandal. He was on one of those 221 00:11:44,520 --> 00:11:48,920 Speaker 3: shows like hard Copy or something or Inside Edition or something, 222 00:11:49,040 --> 00:11:53,920 Speaker 3: because he had a deacon accuse him of having a 223 00:11:54,320 --> 00:11:57,120 Speaker 3: years long affair with his wife, but that was hidden 224 00:11:57,200 --> 00:12:03,640 Speaker 3: from us. I actually do remember were seeing that and 225 00:12:04,040 --> 00:12:07,280 Speaker 3: asking my parents about it, and the response was like, 226 00:12:07,360 --> 00:12:11,320 Speaker 3: it's just amazing the links people will go to to 227 00:12:11,640 --> 00:12:14,960 Speaker 3: bring down the man of God. And that was the explanation. Yeah, 228 00:12:15,960 --> 00:12:18,960 Speaker 3: so those types of things happen, and I know that 229 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:21,040 Speaker 3: he was a lot more controlling than I was ever 230 00:12:21,160 --> 00:12:24,800 Speaker 3: exposed to his You know, he's had a child come 231 00:12:24,840 --> 00:12:30,559 Speaker 3: out and talk about her dad the cult eaterer. So yeah, yeah, 232 00:12:30,600 --> 00:12:33,480 Speaker 3: so you know, like he's he's got some see the 233 00:12:33,600 --> 00:12:34,880 Speaker 3: stuff in his past. 234 00:12:35,800 --> 00:12:38,800 Speaker 1: Was her experience like with that? What did she say? 235 00:12:38,920 --> 00:12:41,840 Speaker 3: Yeah? So she said that, yeah, they witnessed us children, 236 00:12:41,960 --> 00:12:45,120 Speaker 3: the fact that they had strict rules around being friends 237 00:12:45,160 --> 00:12:51,000 Speaker 3: with the mistress's children, and how they lived within walking distance, 238 00:12:51,040 --> 00:12:57,320 Speaker 3: like a few houses away. Apparently this is allegedly he 239 00:12:57,480 --> 00:13:00,800 Speaker 3: built them a house and so he could see her 240 00:13:00,840 --> 00:13:03,800 Speaker 3: all the time and they would have these Yeah, so 241 00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:07,120 Speaker 3: they would have these like light flashing of their vehicles 242 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:10,160 Speaker 3: when he would come home that she would know. And anyway, 243 00:13:10,280 --> 00:13:14,080 Speaker 3: so like this whole secret life that he lived and 244 00:13:14,240 --> 00:13:19,000 Speaker 3: treated her husband very cruelly manipulatively. You know, he would 245 00:13:19,040 --> 00:13:22,600 Speaker 3: convince him that God that he was celibate, that he 246 00:13:22,640 --> 00:13:25,120 Speaker 3: no longer had a relationship with his own wife, and 247 00:13:25,160 --> 00:13:30,160 Speaker 3: that God was using him to help his stress in 248 00:13:30,200 --> 00:13:32,880 Speaker 3: her relationship, and that he shouldn't have any more sexual 249 00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:36,200 Speaker 3: relations with his own wife, and convinced him to move 250 00:13:36,360 --> 00:13:39,679 Speaker 3: up into an apartment above his garage and not live 251 00:13:39,720 --> 00:13:40,440 Speaker 3: with her anymore. 252 00:13:40,640 --> 00:13:43,480 Speaker 1: Yeah, it doesn't sound like he was calling himself per 253 00:13:43,520 --> 00:13:47,120 Speaker 1: se a prophet, was he, or like my son will 254 00:13:47,120 --> 00:13:49,200 Speaker 1: take my place? Like who took his place? 255 00:13:49,280 --> 00:13:53,360 Speaker 3: What was his Yeah, his son in law took his place. 256 00:13:54,679 --> 00:13:58,320 Speaker 3: He did not call himself a prophet, but he preached 257 00:13:58,440 --> 00:14:01,720 Speaker 3: often about what happened to people who go against the 258 00:14:01,760 --> 00:14:05,640 Speaker 3: man of God. So there was definite, you know, loyalty 259 00:14:05,679 --> 00:14:08,600 Speaker 3: and submission and anything that he said. Like I remember 260 00:14:08,640 --> 00:14:12,640 Speaker 3: when I was dating my husband and my husband didn't return, 261 00:14:13,760 --> 00:14:16,560 Speaker 3: you know, obviously at the time he was just my 262 00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:19,560 Speaker 3: boyfriend and he didn't return to the college where you know, 263 00:14:19,600 --> 00:14:22,480 Speaker 3: I was attending. And he told me, like there are 264 00:14:22,480 --> 00:14:24,200 Speaker 3: other fish in the sea. If he can't make it here, 265 00:14:24,640 --> 00:14:26,920 Speaker 3: he's not for you. Like he would try to control 266 00:14:26,960 --> 00:14:29,720 Speaker 3: everything about us, Like I wasn't supposed to date my 267 00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:32,240 Speaker 3: husband because he didn't he wasn't one of us, He 268 00:14:32,280 --> 00:14:35,480 Speaker 3: wasn't raised this way. He didn't you know, he couldn't 269 00:14:35,480 --> 00:14:39,680 Speaker 3: hack it here, and so yeah, you know, you see 270 00:14:39,680 --> 00:14:42,560 Speaker 3: it now. It seems like a kind grandfatherly thing for 271 00:14:42,640 --> 00:14:45,800 Speaker 3: him to do, but he was very controlling. So yeah, 272 00:14:46,240 --> 00:14:50,160 Speaker 3: his son in law, his son has a very just 273 00:14:50,320 --> 00:14:57,480 Speaker 3: crazy background. He's been accused of attempted murder and these 274 00:14:57,640 --> 00:15:02,160 Speaker 3: crazy affairs and just that. Obviously he couldn't pass on 275 00:15:02,240 --> 00:15:05,160 Speaker 3: his empire to his son, so he passed it to 276 00:15:05,200 --> 00:15:08,360 Speaker 3: his son in law, and his son in law went 277 00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:11,240 Speaker 3: to prison for eleven years. I believe he got out 278 00:15:11,360 --> 00:15:13,520 Speaker 3: last year or maybe early this year. Was it early 279 00:15:13,600 --> 00:15:15,760 Speaker 3: this year? Yeah? I believe it was earlier this year 280 00:15:16,680 --> 00:15:19,400 Speaker 3: because he served his time, but he was taking a 281 00:15:19,720 --> 00:15:22,400 Speaker 3: teenager across state lines for oh my god. 282 00:15:22,880 --> 00:15:27,080 Speaker 1: Okay, so the is this religion still in existence? Is 283 00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:30,520 Speaker 1: there still the megachurch? Is it still happening? Yeah? 284 00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:32,680 Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, I mean I don't know anything really about 285 00:15:32,720 --> 00:15:36,960 Speaker 3: what happens nowadays, but you know that the system is 286 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:40,720 Speaker 3: still there. I don't know that the man who has 287 00:15:40,760 --> 00:15:43,840 Speaker 3: gone on to lead it is you know, malicious and 288 00:15:43,880 --> 00:15:47,440 Speaker 3: horrible and abusive and a pedophile like I can't say 289 00:15:47,440 --> 00:15:49,920 Speaker 3: anything about that because I haven't heard anything like that. 290 00:15:50,880 --> 00:15:54,360 Speaker 3: But the system in play is still there, and I 291 00:15:54,440 --> 00:15:58,560 Speaker 3: know that as recent as this year, there was a 292 00:15:59,240 --> 00:16:03,280 Speaker 3: like a bus word I believe who was accused of 293 00:16:03,520 --> 00:16:07,440 Speaker 3: sexual misconduct and the same things were said from the 294 00:16:07,480 --> 00:16:13,440 Speaker 3: pulpit about loving and forgiving and our brother in Christ 295 00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:16,160 Speaker 3: and accusations. 296 00:16:15,400 --> 00:16:20,480 Speaker 1: And it's always all about forgiveness until a woman wears pants. 297 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:25,280 Speaker 3: Right or go on the podcast? 298 00:16:27,400 --> 00:16:30,280 Speaker 1: Does this stiff still affect you? I mean I want to. 299 00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:32,160 Speaker 1: I know we only have a limited time with you, 300 00:16:32,480 --> 00:16:34,080 Speaker 1: and I want to get into all the work that 301 00:16:34,160 --> 00:16:37,600 Speaker 1: you've been doing now because you have books. Do you 302 00:16:37,680 --> 00:16:40,600 Speaker 1: still feel crushed by some of the system that was 303 00:16:40,640 --> 00:16:44,120 Speaker 1: instilled in you? Or do you feel free? Or what's 304 00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:45,920 Speaker 1: happened with you now? And how did you get out 305 00:16:45,960 --> 00:16:46,280 Speaker 1: of it? 306 00:16:46,560 --> 00:16:49,600 Speaker 3: Yeah? I mean I definitely feel free, Thank goodness. I 307 00:16:50,760 --> 00:16:52,960 Speaker 3: you know, using the word cult is very healing for 308 00:16:53,080 --> 00:16:55,080 Speaker 3: me because I feel as if, you know, just to 309 00:16:55,080 --> 00:16:58,200 Speaker 3: piggyback off of the shining happy people. Think that's very 310 00:16:58,280 --> 00:17:00,920 Speaker 3: much what we presented. We present so those these you know, 311 00:17:01,120 --> 00:17:05,840 Speaker 3: very shiny happy people. And there was always, at least 312 00:17:05,840 --> 00:17:08,080 Speaker 3: in me and in my body I always had this 313 00:17:08,160 --> 00:17:13,159 Speaker 3: agitation that I couldn't shake, and I felt as if 314 00:17:13,359 --> 00:17:16,000 Speaker 3: there was no peace ever. And to be able to 315 00:17:16,400 --> 00:17:19,600 Speaker 3: pull out that darkness and like you know, see that 316 00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:23,359 Speaker 3: hey cult labels this for what it is is like 317 00:17:23,720 --> 00:17:28,320 Speaker 3: so freeing for me totally. So yeah, And you know, 318 00:17:28,320 --> 00:17:31,159 Speaker 3: I know the word can be problematic and whatever. I 319 00:17:31,240 --> 00:17:34,080 Speaker 3: just choose to define it in my life that way. 320 00:17:35,280 --> 00:17:38,320 Speaker 3: But yeah, it's it's still in existence. And the things 321 00:17:38,320 --> 00:17:41,080 Speaker 3: that really affect me the most is when I see 322 00:17:41,119 --> 00:17:44,680 Speaker 3: people who look like they're wearing the uniform I used 323 00:17:44,680 --> 00:17:48,720 Speaker 3: to wear and are trying to stab me and proselytize 324 00:17:48,840 --> 00:17:51,840 Speaker 3: or other you know, just talk to me. It's like 325 00:17:52,320 --> 00:17:55,239 Speaker 3: those are the times where it's like I just want 326 00:17:55,280 --> 00:17:58,320 Speaker 3: to tell stories to help people figure out the red 327 00:17:58,320 --> 00:18:00,680 Speaker 3: flags and maybe wantay they'll be free. 328 00:18:00,760 --> 00:18:02,040 Speaker 1: What are some of the red flags? 329 00:18:02,600 --> 00:18:04,240 Speaker 3: You know? Some of the things that I would say 330 00:18:04,320 --> 00:18:06,080 Speaker 3: or wish are the red flags that I, you know, 331 00:18:06,080 --> 00:18:10,480 Speaker 3: would like to highlight. Or's just personal autonomy, Like there's 332 00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:13,320 Speaker 3: there's a worth inside you that no one can take 333 00:18:13,359 --> 00:18:16,800 Speaker 3: away and that was beaten out of us. And just 334 00:18:16,840 --> 00:18:19,480 Speaker 3: to be able to reflect some kind of worth back 335 00:18:19,520 --> 00:18:24,560 Speaker 3: to another person, is I don't know to you know, 336 00:18:24,800 --> 00:18:27,040 Speaker 3: hopefully not trigger anyone, but it's like it's a calling 337 00:18:27,119 --> 00:18:29,720 Speaker 3: for me, you know. It was just like I want 338 00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:33,359 Speaker 3: to be able to let you see the worth that's 339 00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:34,000 Speaker 3: within you. 340 00:18:34,440 --> 00:18:37,200 Speaker 1: Well you got out. Was your husband a big part 341 00:18:37,200 --> 00:18:37,439 Speaker 1: of that? 342 00:18:37,840 --> 00:18:40,960 Speaker 3: Yeah, for sure. Yeah, he didn't grow up like us. 343 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:44,280 Speaker 3: And we moved overseas in nineteen ninety nine and I 344 00:18:44,359 --> 00:18:48,479 Speaker 3: lived there until twenty thirteen, and I was, you know, 345 00:18:48,560 --> 00:18:50,879 Speaker 3: so far removed of it and I didn't break free 346 00:18:51,520 --> 00:18:56,399 Speaker 3: from the mind control for years. And he was very gracious, 347 00:18:56,480 --> 00:18:59,600 Speaker 3: and I don't know, he must have had some kind 348 00:18:59,640 --> 00:19:03,000 Speaker 3: of like weird innate cult training inside of him, because 349 00:19:03,480 --> 00:19:06,680 Speaker 3: he let me process as I processed and release things 350 00:19:06,680 --> 00:19:11,520 Speaker 3: as I released them. And I, yeah, I think that 351 00:19:12,160 --> 00:19:15,040 Speaker 3: I didn't have like a breakaway moment. I had a 352 00:19:15,080 --> 00:19:17,840 Speaker 3: gradual unveiling of. 353 00:19:17,680 --> 00:19:22,760 Speaker 1: Probably more commonly. So, yeah, it always feels like like 354 00:19:22,800 --> 00:19:25,760 Speaker 1: there's going to be that one big crack. But somebody 355 00:19:25,880 --> 00:19:27,639 Speaker 1: just used the example of it's like a shelf that 356 00:19:27,800 --> 00:19:30,439 Speaker 1: just things keep getting placed on it on it and 357 00:19:30,480 --> 00:19:32,120 Speaker 1: eventually it breaks. 358 00:19:32,359 --> 00:19:36,640 Speaker 3: So yeah, yeah, I remember the breaking like I do. 359 00:19:36,760 --> 00:19:38,399 Speaker 3: There was a moment where it felt like I was 360 00:19:38,440 --> 00:19:43,600 Speaker 3: just completely untethered, there's nothing left. But yeah, as far 361 00:19:43,640 --> 00:19:46,200 Speaker 3: as like, is there something that you know, No, it's 362 00:19:46,200 --> 00:19:49,000 Speaker 3: a stacking up. There's evidence after evidence that people who 363 00:19:49,040 --> 00:19:54,240 Speaker 3: live differently from us have good, beautiful, fulfilling, loving lives 364 00:19:54,480 --> 00:19:58,720 Speaker 3: and treat each other with respect and dignity. And that's 365 00:19:58,880 --> 00:20:00,000 Speaker 3: never the message I got. 366 00:20:00,520 --> 00:20:03,440 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, what's your relationship like with your family now? 367 00:20:03,600 --> 00:20:07,639 Speaker 3: Yeah, so my dad is deceased, my mother is still 368 00:20:07,720 --> 00:20:10,160 Speaker 3: She still goes to and it dependent on a Baptist church. 369 00:20:10,359 --> 00:20:15,560 Speaker 3: And she's really good about not practicing all the things 370 00:20:15,560 --> 00:20:20,000 Speaker 3: that they say that I should probably, but she's good 371 00:20:20,040 --> 00:20:21,760 Speaker 3: about saying like, I'm only going to say this once, 372 00:20:21,960 --> 00:20:24,080 Speaker 3: and she will. She'll say it once, and she'll you know, 373 00:20:24,200 --> 00:20:26,600 Speaker 3: like if she disapproves or she's like not comfortable lot somethings, 374 00:20:26,600 --> 00:20:28,040 Speaker 3: she'll say it once and then just let you do 375 00:20:28,119 --> 00:20:32,840 Speaker 3: your thing. And so you know, that's good. And we 376 00:20:32,920 --> 00:20:36,199 Speaker 3: see each other for holidays and things. It's very cordial. 377 00:20:36,240 --> 00:20:39,359 Speaker 3: I have three siblings and an older brother who I 378 00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:42,680 Speaker 3: do some work with, but my younger siblings as well. 379 00:20:42,720 --> 00:20:44,439 Speaker 3: I was the last one out, like I was the 380 00:20:44,480 --> 00:20:47,560 Speaker 3: one I was always the peacemaker, and so you know 381 00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:48,920 Speaker 3: it took me the longest. 382 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:52,040 Speaker 1: What age were you when you were officially out? 383 00:20:52,200 --> 00:20:55,880 Speaker 3: Would you say, gosh, I think mentally I had a 384 00:20:55,920 --> 00:21:00,359 Speaker 3: breakdown when I was thirty and then you know, it 385 00:21:00,400 --> 00:21:03,879 Speaker 3: took it was that full year, probably year and a half, 386 00:21:03,960 --> 00:21:07,840 Speaker 3: of like finally just saying this is this is not right, 387 00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:10,080 Speaker 3: this is not for me. Yeah, I can't ever go back. 388 00:21:11,040 --> 00:21:13,119 Speaker 3: I'm gonna wear pants in front of my parents, like 389 00:21:13,160 --> 00:21:15,840 Speaker 3: you know, those kind of things, like I'm not gonna 390 00:21:15,840 --> 00:21:18,680 Speaker 3: be scared anymore. It's gonna Yeah, it. 391 00:21:18,640 --> 00:21:22,040 Speaker 1: Sounds it sounds so silly to people who weren't raised 392 00:21:22,080 --> 00:21:24,840 Speaker 1: this way, but I mean the like shame and the 393 00:21:24,960 --> 00:21:29,439 Speaker 1: terror and this just icky feeling inside of you is 394 00:21:29,520 --> 00:21:33,639 Speaker 1: so hard to portray to people who weren't raised the 395 00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:37,120 Speaker 1: same way. So you put it into beautiful words, and 396 00:21:37,560 --> 00:21:41,000 Speaker 1: I mean you're helping people tell their own stories now correct. 397 00:21:41,480 --> 00:21:46,960 Speaker 3: Yes, yes, yeah, I started with them, like I said, 398 00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:52,000 Speaker 3: just publishing a story. It is a time travel love story, 399 00:21:52,080 --> 00:21:56,359 Speaker 3: kind of cheesy little work that I put out and 400 00:21:56,800 --> 00:21:58,919 Speaker 3: I had people just ask me, hey, how did you 401 00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:02,240 Speaker 3: do that. It started getting into coaching of you know, 402 00:22:02,280 --> 00:22:05,960 Speaker 3: how to self publish, how to write, and I ended 403 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:08,680 Speaker 3: up putting it up online. I still do some coaching, 404 00:22:09,119 --> 00:22:12,320 Speaker 3: but I have a few courses that I really walk 405 00:22:12,359 --> 00:22:16,720 Speaker 3: people through, and you know, write and publish your work. 406 00:22:16,760 --> 00:22:20,080 Speaker 3: I'm really passionate about people being able to tell their stories. 407 00:22:20,160 --> 00:22:23,480 Speaker 3: I feel like part of being born and raised in 408 00:22:23,480 --> 00:22:26,479 Speaker 3: a cult is the fact that you feel silenced so often, 409 00:22:26,560 --> 00:22:28,920 Speaker 3: and so I really just want to like help people. Yes, 410 00:22:28,960 --> 00:22:30,800 Speaker 3: tell your story, It's amazing. Come do it. 411 00:22:31,240 --> 00:22:34,719 Speaker 1: Yes, yes, even if it's just journaling. Everybody needs to 412 00:22:34,840 --> 00:22:40,360 Speaker 1: just get it out, especially people raised and high control groups, 413 00:22:40,480 --> 00:22:43,719 Speaker 1: like get your own thoughts out, get your own thoughts moving, 414 00:22:44,080 --> 00:22:46,960 Speaker 1: and meet the real you. But like I told you 415 00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:49,840 Speaker 1: at the beginning of this, I'll probably be hiring you 416 00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:53,960 Speaker 1: very soon to write my own book because your website's fantastic. 417 00:22:54,720 --> 00:22:57,320 Speaker 1: What is it for everybody who would like to find you? 418 00:22:57,920 --> 00:23:00,600 Speaker 3: Yes, you can find me just at my named Shelley 419 00:23:00,720 --> 00:23:04,760 Speaker 3: Snowportia dot com and it'll take you to all the 420 00:23:04,800 --> 00:23:08,600 Speaker 3: links that I've got. I own a separate website, The 421 00:23:08,760 --> 00:23:14,119 Speaker 3: Creative View, is where my courses are hosted. So damn 422 00:23:14,200 --> 00:23:15,639 Speaker 3: good find on everybody there. 423 00:23:15,800 --> 00:23:20,960 Speaker 1: That's a great website, name the Creative View. I've yes, good, 424 00:23:21,320 --> 00:23:22,240 Speaker 1: good find well. 425 00:23:22,280 --> 00:23:24,560 Speaker 3: I just love to do a big shout out. I 426 00:23:24,640 --> 00:23:28,119 Speaker 3: am part of the I Got Out movement, the hashtag 427 00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:30,439 Speaker 3: if you've seen it with people using that. We are 428 00:23:30,560 --> 00:23:33,840 Speaker 3: doing our first ever story jams. So it's literally survivors 429 00:23:33,880 --> 00:23:38,080 Speaker 3: are on stage telling their story live in person. It 430 00:23:38,280 --> 00:23:41,160 Speaker 3: is the twenty first of October. So it's a week 431 00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:45,480 Speaker 3: from Saturday. Yeah, I'm just really excited. Where Hea and 432 00:23:45,560 --> 00:23:46,280 Speaker 3: Saint Louis. 433 00:23:46,560 --> 00:23:50,960 Speaker 1: So anybody in Saint Louis, Okay, near Saint Louis, run 434 00:23:51,040 --> 00:23:54,240 Speaker 1: as fast as you can. I would. I would love 435 00:23:54,359 --> 00:23:58,280 Speaker 1: to see that. I hope that comes to Los Angeles 436 00:23:58,320 --> 00:24:00,000 Speaker 1: and because that sounds fantastic. 437 00:24:00,119 --> 00:24:00,439 Speaker 5: Stick. 438 00:24:00,800 --> 00:24:04,240 Speaker 3: Yes, we are putting out surveys. We want to do it, 439 00:24:04,320 --> 00:24:06,639 Speaker 3: you know, in other cities. This was just kind of 440 00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:09,679 Speaker 3: the brainchild at one of the co founders and she 441 00:24:09,920 --> 00:24:13,240 Speaker 3: and I met here locally and partnered with somebody. I 442 00:24:13,280 --> 00:24:15,520 Speaker 3: was like, you should meet so and so, and we 443 00:24:15,760 --> 00:24:20,159 Speaker 3: partnered and it just turned into something. Yeah, just that, 444 00:24:20,320 --> 00:24:22,160 Speaker 3: something that I think we're going to be really really 445 00:24:22,200 --> 00:24:25,720 Speaker 3: proud of. So it's exciting and check it out. There 446 00:24:25,720 --> 00:24:27,760 Speaker 3: aren't a lot of tickets left. I think we're down 447 00:24:27,800 --> 00:24:29,040 Speaker 3: to like thirty. 448 00:24:28,880 --> 00:24:32,440 Speaker 1: I buy it. So yeah, that's going to be, that's 449 00:24:32,480 --> 00:24:34,720 Speaker 1: going to be packed and as it should be. I'm 450 00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:37,000 Speaker 1: going to definitely email you and see how that went. 451 00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:41,879 Speaker 1: And I'm just so grateful for you talking to me today. 452 00:24:41,960 --> 00:24:43,919 Speaker 1: I cannot believe you are one of the bus people. 453 00:24:44,960 --> 00:24:49,200 Speaker 3: One of the bus people. Yes, yes, indeed. 454 00:24:50,760 --> 00:24:54,320 Speaker 1: Last question, what was the what was the like vibe 455 00:24:54,359 --> 00:24:56,800 Speaker 1: on the bus? Were people excited or was it more 456 00:24:56,800 --> 00:24:57,600 Speaker 1: of a solemn? 457 00:24:58,040 --> 00:25:00,760 Speaker 3: I mean, thirty two A is the best, but okay, 458 00:25:00,840 --> 00:25:05,600 Speaker 3: cramp like hello, okay, so it's goldfish chanting fun. 459 00:25:05,640 --> 00:25:06,560 Speaker 1: The bus was fun. 460 00:25:06,760 --> 00:25:07,840 Speaker 3: The bus was fun. 461 00:25:08,040 --> 00:25:11,320 Speaker 1: Okay, great, okay, fun absolutely. 462 00:25:10,720 --> 00:25:12,280 Speaker 3: And we have candy too, so. 463 00:25:12,440 --> 00:25:19,919 Speaker 1: Holy shit, I might join we Yeah. Well, thank you 464 00:25:20,040 --> 00:25:22,639 Speaker 1: so much, Shelly, and we're so grateful to have spoken 465 00:25:22,680 --> 00:25:23,240 Speaker 1: to you today. 466 00:25:23,480 --> 00:25:25,600 Speaker 3: Oh, thank you so much, Megan. I really appreciate it. 467 00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:35,440 Speaker 1: Hi, Claire, welcome to the podcast. 468 00:25:35,880 --> 00:25:37,280 Speaker 5: Hi, thank you so much for having me. 469 00:25:37,520 --> 00:25:41,240 Speaker 1: All Right, So you got involved with something I've never 470 00:25:41,560 --> 00:25:44,320 Speaker 1: really been familiar with before. I've been looking it up online. 471 00:25:44,440 --> 00:25:47,960 Speaker 1: It looks like just fun martial arts. Maybe you can 472 00:25:48,119 --> 00:25:50,480 Speaker 1: pronounce it for me, because you say it way more 473 00:25:50,480 --> 00:25:51,720 Speaker 1: eloquently than I do. 474 00:25:52,040 --> 00:25:55,880 Speaker 6: Yeah, So it's cappaweta it's an Afro Brazilian martial art. 475 00:25:56,840 --> 00:25:59,480 Speaker 6: A lot of people will refer to it as dance fighting, 476 00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:02,000 Speaker 6: and a lot of people have their point of reference 477 00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:03,440 Speaker 6: from an episode. 478 00:26:03,119 --> 00:26:06,720 Speaker 5: Of Bob's Burgers. They're actually a couple episodes of Bob's Burgers. 479 00:26:06,840 --> 00:26:09,520 Speaker 1: Yeah, what do they do with it? And Bob's Burgers. 480 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:14,720 Speaker 6: They have Tina the awkward teenage child like fall in 481 00:26:14,760 --> 00:26:18,720 Speaker 6: love with this Caputa mestre like the head of his 482 00:26:18,760 --> 00:26:23,280 Speaker 6: studio down the street. Yeah, and his little running joke 483 00:26:23,600 --> 00:26:25,960 Speaker 6: that they do with it is he's got long hair 484 00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:27,480 Speaker 6: and he just always goes ponytail. 485 00:26:27,640 --> 00:26:30,280 Speaker 1: Okay, Okay, now I need to watch it to be honest. 486 00:26:30,560 --> 00:26:33,840 Speaker 1: Uh slight aside, my best friend wants Stressed as her 487 00:26:33,920 --> 00:26:37,919 Speaker 1: for Halloween and sent the video to two guys that 488 00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:39,560 Speaker 1: she was dating at the same time and they just 489 00:26:39,560 --> 00:26:42,040 Speaker 1: so happened to be eating at the same table together 490 00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:47,000 Speaker 1: and both sat so very very traumatizing show for our 491 00:26:47,040 --> 00:26:48,800 Speaker 1: friend group. Anyway. 492 00:26:50,119 --> 00:26:52,359 Speaker 6: Yeah, I might touch back on it later after I 493 00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:55,440 Speaker 6: tell my story, but yeah, So it was developed by 494 00:26:56,200 --> 00:26:59,520 Speaker 6: enslaved African people in Brazil as a method of resistance 495 00:26:59,720 --> 00:27:03,280 Speaker 6: again the people who had enslaved them, and the reason 496 00:27:03,320 --> 00:27:05,480 Speaker 6: that it looks more like a dance than a fight 497 00:27:05,640 --> 00:27:08,320 Speaker 6: is because they were trying to disguise it wow and 498 00:27:08,400 --> 00:27:10,359 Speaker 6: saying no, actually, this is just a dance from our 499 00:27:10,400 --> 00:27:10,959 Speaker 6: home country. 500 00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:12,280 Speaker 5: So they would play music with it. 501 00:27:13,280 --> 00:27:16,679 Speaker 6: And since they're also training to fight, but training with 502 00:27:16,720 --> 00:27:20,160 Speaker 6: each other, they weren't beating each other up. So even 503 00:27:20,160 --> 00:27:23,639 Speaker 6: when you see it today, you're kicking and dodging, but 504 00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:25,280 Speaker 6: there's very little contact. 505 00:27:25,560 --> 00:27:30,560 Speaker 1: Well, it sounds beautiful, It sounds like something anyone would 506 00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:34,080 Speaker 1: become interested in, but you went the extra mile and 507 00:27:34,119 --> 00:27:37,000 Speaker 1: actually started practicing it. What did you hope that that 508 00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:39,040 Speaker 1: would look like and what did it become? 509 00:27:39,400 --> 00:27:42,399 Speaker 6: Yeah, so it was kind of an accident how I 510 00:27:42,440 --> 00:27:45,320 Speaker 6: got into it. I've always been a dancer and I 511 00:27:45,359 --> 00:27:48,200 Speaker 6: had gymnastics training. So the summer after high school, I 512 00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:51,800 Speaker 6: went to work at a creative arts camp as an intern, 513 00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:54,679 Speaker 6: and they just kind of placed the interns wherever. So 514 00:27:54,720 --> 00:27:59,600 Speaker 6: they placed me in a capoeta class with a really sweet, 515 00:27:59,680 --> 00:28:02,760 Speaker 6: kind of shy teacher who I worked with for that summer, 516 00:28:03,160 --> 00:28:06,800 Speaker 6: and I loved seeing how like I would hear adults 517 00:28:06,880 --> 00:28:09,200 Speaker 6: say that, oh, you should put your kids in soccer 518 00:28:09,320 --> 00:28:14,600 Speaker 6: and gymnastics for like agility and flexibility and cardio, and 519 00:28:14,680 --> 00:28:19,040 Speaker 6: I saw this as like all of that combined, it's 520 00:28:19,080 --> 00:28:21,320 Speaker 6: really really fun to teach kids and to do it 521 00:28:21,359 --> 00:28:23,879 Speaker 6: with kids, and to learn alongside kids, because then it 522 00:28:23,880 --> 00:28:26,240 Speaker 6: wasn't as intimidating to get into right. 523 00:28:26,720 --> 00:28:28,520 Speaker 5: But by the end of the summer they were. 524 00:28:28,400 --> 00:28:30,159 Speaker 6: Like or this this guy that I had worked with, 525 00:28:30,280 --> 00:28:32,360 Speaker 6: was like, you should really check out the actual academy 526 00:28:32,400 --> 00:28:35,679 Speaker 6: and go to some adult classes in town. And I 527 00:28:35,680 --> 00:28:38,040 Speaker 6: had a car, I could get myself there, and definitely 528 00:28:38,200 --> 00:28:41,640 Speaker 6: when I first showed up, I was intimidated seeing all 529 00:28:41,640 --> 00:28:45,920 Speaker 6: these like grown men in their uniforms practicing. 530 00:28:47,680 --> 00:28:50,440 Speaker 1: So do the uniforms what did the uniforms look like? 531 00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:55,520 Speaker 5: They're white? They're usually white. There are some like branches 532 00:28:55,560 --> 00:28:56,640 Speaker 5: of it that'll wear. 533 00:28:56,680 --> 00:29:02,080 Speaker 6: Black and yellow, but mostly white, with the logo of 534 00:29:02,120 --> 00:29:05,920 Speaker 6: the certain academy on the pants and the shirt and 535 00:29:06,560 --> 00:29:09,440 Speaker 6: built to denote how long you've been training, what level 536 00:29:09,440 --> 00:29:09,800 Speaker 6: you're at. 537 00:29:09,960 --> 00:29:13,600 Speaker 1: Great, So you show up, everybody seems cool and nice. 538 00:29:13,600 --> 00:29:16,480 Speaker 1: I'm assuming and you're rare in to go. 539 00:29:17,320 --> 00:29:22,880 Speaker 6: We're in to go eighteen years old and definitely one 540 00:29:22,880 --> 00:29:25,280 Speaker 6: of the youngest people in the adult classes because it 541 00:29:25,360 --> 00:29:27,880 Speaker 6: switches over at sixteen and it seems like a lot 542 00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:31,960 Speaker 6: of the kids that train drop off after they're like, Okay, 543 00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:33,440 Speaker 6: that's the thing that I did when I was a kid, 544 00:29:34,400 --> 00:29:35,840 Speaker 6: at least in the States. 545 00:29:35,920 --> 00:29:37,240 Speaker 5: I'm not sure about in Brazil. 546 00:29:37,720 --> 00:29:41,880 Speaker 1: Okay, and you're in the southern US, so just for 547 00:29:41,960 --> 00:29:44,880 Speaker 1: context for people. But by the time, so now that 548 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:48,880 Speaker 1: you're joining the adult classes, these are people who are 549 00:29:49,320 --> 00:29:50,240 Speaker 1: really into it. 550 00:29:50,480 --> 00:29:52,560 Speaker 6: They're really into it, and a lot of them are 551 00:29:53,160 --> 00:29:56,480 Speaker 6: or were adult beginners, like picked it as adults as 552 00:29:56,560 --> 00:30:01,800 Speaker 6: they're at their fun extracurricular their workout and I had 553 00:30:01,840 --> 00:30:04,680 Speaker 6: all this other dance stuff going on, and I was 554 00:30:05,040 --> 00:30:08,920 Speaker 6: looking at it like, wow, that looks like a amazing 555 00:30:08,920 --> 00:30:12,880 Speaker 6: opportunity to cross train for dance. I'm going to get strong, 556 00:30:12,960 --> 00:30:15,920 Speaker 6: I'm going to get all these jumps. There's acrobatics. Acrobatics 557 00:30:15,920 --> 00:30:18,400 Speaker 6: are a big part of it, and I missed doing 558 00:30:18,400 --> 00:30:21,160 Speaker 6: more acrobatics from when I was a baby gymnast. So 559 00:30:21,240 --> 00:30:24,400 Speaker 6: I was really into it for the movement and the 560 00:30:24,440 --> 00:30:27,800 Speaker 6: workout of it, and not as much the whole cultural thing. 561 00:30:28,440 --> 00:30:30,760 Speaker 6: It got it, but as I came to find out, 562 00:30:30,920 --> 00:30:33,560 Speaker 6: you kind of have to get into the cultural element 563 00:30:33,600 --> 00:30:36,160 Speaker 6: of it, and that is where it started to get 564 00:30:36,160 --> 00:30:37,000 Speaker 6: a little stressful. 565 00:30:37,280 --> 00:30:40,040 Speaker 1: Okay, So does the cultural element do you just mean, 566 00:30:40,160 --> 00:30:43,640 Speaker 1: like the community that you're in you have to become 567 00:30:43,680 --> 00:30:46,320 Speaker 1: more tight netwith and kind of start spending a lot 568 00:30:46,360 --> 00:30:48,280 Speaker 1: of time with. Is that what you're you mean? 569 00:30:48,720 --> 00:30:51,920 Speaker 6: Yeah, start spending a lot of time there, Start helping 570 00:30:51,920 --> 00:30:55,000 Speaker 6: a lot with any events that they're putting on for 571 00:30:55,120 --> 00:30:57,640 Speaker 6: free iosim for free, of course. 572 00:30:58,280 --> 00:30:59,800 Speaker 5: And then that's an interesting thing too. 573 00:31:00,160 --> 00:31:02,480 Speaker 6: As soon as I showed up, I was coming from 574 00:31:02,920 --> 00:31:07,960 Speaker 6: having assisted kids classes. So the mestray of this studio said, 575 00:31:08,240 --> 00:31:10,800 Speaker 6: I'd love to have you assist my kids classes here, 576 00:31:11,200 --> 00:31:11,920 Speaker 6: and you don't have. 577 00:31:11,920 --> 00:31:13,040 Speaker 5: To pay membership. 578 00:31:13,240 --> 00:31:14,240 Speaker 1: Oh okay. 579 00:31:14,720 --> 00:31:18,080 Speaker 6: So from the beginning, I didn't have to pay the 580 00:31:18,080 --> 00:31:20,640 Speaker 6: one hundred dollars a month membership that other people did. 581 00:31:21,240 --> 00:31:23,120 Speaker 6: Once I got a uniform, I didn't have to pay 582 00:31:23,160 --> 00:31:27,440 Speaker 6: for a uniform. Once I eventually got an instrument, that 583 00:31:27,520 --> 00:31:29,800 Speaker 6: was that's kind of part of the cultural part that 584 00:31:29,840 --> 00:31:31,760 Speaker 6: you're like, They're like, Okay, you've been coming to a 585 00:31:31,760 --> 00:31:33,640 Speaker 6: lot of classes, but now you have to start learning 586 00:31:33,680 --> 00:31:34,160 Speaker 6: the music. 587 00:31:34,640 --> 00:31:37,280 Speaker 5: Now you have songs. Now you have to start learning 588 00:31:37,320 --> 00:31:37,960 Speaker 5: the language. 589 00:31:38,440 --> 00:31:39,280 Speaker 1: Oh wow. 590 00:31:39,920 --> 00:31:42,440 Speaker 6: And so I was being given all this access to 591 00:31:42,480 --> 00:31:46,240 Speaker 6: all this training for free. Yah, as I assisted the 592 00:31:46,320 --> 00:31:52,440 Speaker 6: kids classes, which wasn't even a super strict rule for 593 00:31:52,520 --> 00:31:54,440 Speaker 6: me because I was in college in a different state 594 00:31:54,680 --> 00:31:57,240 Speaker 6: and so I was only assisting on winter breaks or 595 00:31:57,280 --> 00:31:59,360 Speaker 6: on summer breaks, and I don't know what they were 596 00:31:59,360 --> 00:32:01,280 Speaker 6: doing the rest of the time. But it was like, no, no, no, 597 00:32:01,280 --> 00:32:03,239 Speaker 6: you always helped me. You helped me so much, so 598 00:32:03,640 --> 00:32:04,760 Speaker 6: I don't need anything from you. 599 00:32:05,120 --> 00:32:08,360 Speaker 1: Oh so then you kind of feel indebted. Yeah, I'm 600 00:32:08,400 --> 00:32:12,360 Speaker 1: assuming and like all of this again sounds fine, Like 601 00:32:12,520 --> 00:32:15,600 Speaker 1: if you want to learn and you want to it 602 00:32:15,640 --> 00:32:18,960 Speaker 1: sounds great. I'm sure there's people who want nothing more 603 00:32:19,040 --> 00:32:22,560 Speaker 1: than to do these things. Ye when did it start 604 00:32:22,640 --> 00:32:27,000 Speaker 1: getting like a little bit ugly for you? And who 605 00:32:27,360 --> 00:32:30,720 Speaker 1: was responsible for that turn? 606 00:32:31,280 --> 00:32:34,560 Speaker 6: Yeah, I would say it's once I wasn't a beginner anymore. 607 00:32:34,720 --> 00:32:38,800 Speaker 5: There are ahions of belts. 608 00:32:38,960 --> 00:32:42,400 Speaker 6: There's like ten belts before you're at a teaching level. 609 00:32:43,600 --> 00:32:46,880 Speaker 6: But they were also letting me surpass that rule to 610 00:32:47,040 --> 00:32:51,400 Speaker 6: teach kids because I was willing. But I think it's 611 00:32:51,520 --> 00:32:54,440 Speaker 6: five or six years and the belts are about a year, 612 00:32:54,480 --> 00:32:56,440 Speaker 6: So five or six years of this until I wasn't 613 00:32:56,440 --> 00:33:00,920 Speaker 6: a beginner anymore, And that's when it started feeling a 614 00:33:00,960 --> 00:33:03,360 Speaker 6: little more like you really should be here to do 615 00:33:03,400 --> 00:33:06,920 Speaker 6: the music, you really should be helping out with X, 616 00:33:07,040 --> 00:33:12,280 Speaker 6: Y and Z, and just not letting me treat it 617 00:33:12,360 --> 00:33:14,920 Speaker 6: quite as fun anymore. And also I had gone from 618 00:33:15,560 --> 00:33:20,720 Speaker 6: a college student to a graduated adult, right right, Yeah, 619 00:33:20,800 --> 00:33:23,480 Speaker 6: so like growing pains for me as well of like, oh, 620 00:33:23,520 --> 00:33:26,040 Speaker 6: I was just here being like the silly, silly little 621 00:33:26,080 --> 00:33:30,080 Speaker 6: one who likes to do flips, and then more expectations 622 00:33:30,080 --> 00:33:33,960 Speaker 6: started being placed on me. But where it really shifted 623 00:33:34,360 --> 00:33:39,040 Speaker 6: was the mestre, who was so sweet I saw as 624 00:33:39,080 --> 00:33:42,720 Speaker 6: a mentor figure for many years. I used to get 625 00:33:42,720 --> 00:33:44,200 Speaker 6: a lot of panic attacks, so I would have panic 626 00:33:44,200 --> 00:33:47,520 Speaker 6: attacks during class, and he was like supportive of that. 627 00:33:47,600 --> 00:33:48,520 Speaker 5: He's like, take your time. 628 00:33:49,440 --> 00:33:52,640 Speaker 6: But he started inviting me to private training on Sundays, 629 00:33:52,920 --> 00:33:56,680 Speaker 6: which there are no other classes on Sundays, so it 630 00:33:56,720 --> 00:33:59,080 Speaker 6: would just be me and him and we would train. 631 00:33:59,440 --> 00:34:01,720 Speaker 6: And we had had masks gone for a while because 632 00:34:01,760 --> 00:34:04,640 Speaker 6: this is like early COVID or late COVID, I guess, 633 00:34:04,640 --> 00:34:08,520 Speaker 6: because we were training, and then then we started taking 634 00:34:08,520 --> 00:34:11,400 Speaker 6: our masks off in those private sessions, even though we 635 00:34:11,400 --> 00:34:15,239 Speaker 6: were still wearing masks in the rest of this larger classes. 636 00:34:16,320 --> 00:34:19,080 Speaker 6: And I would ask, you know, why no one else 637 00:34:19,160 --> 00:34:20,799 Speaker 6: was training on Sundays and he was like, well, I 638 00:34:20,800 --> 00:34:22,239 Speaker 6: invite other people, but they don't. 639 00:34:22,719 --> 00:34:24,200 Speaker 5: They don't want to come because it's too hard. 640 00:34:24,960 --> 00:34:29,000 Speaker 1: But he probably wasn't inviting other people. I'm assuming I 641 00:34:29,080 --> 00:34:31,799 Speaker 1: know there was at least one other person. Was it 642 00:34:31,880 --> 00:34:33,360 Speaker 1: also a woman? 643 00:34:33,840 --> 00:34:35,280 Speaker 5: It was also a woman? 644 00:34:35,840 --> 00:34:36,360 Speaker 1: Interesting? 645 00:34:37,080 --> 00:34:42,080 Speaker 6: Yeah, And then I got an injury, so he started 646 00:34:42,120 --> 00:34:46,200 Speaker 6: offering massages to ease this pain. So I was having 647 00:34:46,280 --> 00:34:49,640 Speaker 6: really bad back pain and it was lower back. So 648 00:34:49,880 --> 00:34:54,040 Speaker 6: at first the massages were lower back, almost upper glutes, 649 00:34:54,400 --> 00:34:57,879 Speaker 6: and I'm like, well, that makes sense, yeah, because that's 650 00:34:57,920 --> 00:35:01,600 Speaker 6: where the pain is, yep. And then it moved to 651 00:35:02,360 --> 00:35:06,000 Speaker 6: like hips and inner thighs. And this is over the 652 00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:09,000 Speaker 6: course of a few months. Like I wasn't going every Sunday, 653 00:35:10,239 --> 00:35:14,200 Speaker 6: but the last time I went there was some touching 654 00:35:14,239 --> 00:35:17,239 Speaker 6: in an area that there shouldn't have been, and I 655 00:35:17,400 --> 00:35:20,360 Speaker 6: was feeling very awkward as I left, and he said 656 00:35:20,360 --> 00:35:22,319 Speaker 6: something like thanks, I needed that. 657 00:35:22,360 --> 00:35:24,240 Speaker 1: Today, Oh my god. 658 00:35:24,920 --> 00:35:27,880 Speaker 6: And I said, I thought you already trained today, and 659 00:35:27,920 --> 00:35:30,680 Speaker 6: he went, uh, yeah. 660 00:35:29,880 --> 00:35:36,200 Speaker 1: Wow, I'm so sorry. That's such a mind fuck, especially 661 00:35:36,239 --> 00:35:40,480 Speaker 1: when you think about the it's like power dynamic I 662 00:35:40,480 --> 00:35:43,400 Speaker 1: feel like is so overused. But I mean this is 663 00:35:43,480 --> 00:35:48,319 Speaker 1: like a sense of sorts, you know. I mean this 664 00:35:47,480 --> 00:35:51,560 Speaker 1: is this is a really confusing situation to be in, 665 00:35:52,239 --> 00:35:56,520 Speaker 1: and then that happens. I can't even imagine how upside 666 00:35:56,560 --> 00:35:58,360 Speaker 1: down that must have made you feel. 667 00:35:58,680 --> 00:36:02,400 Speaker 6: Very upside down. And I know I said in my 668 00:36:03,080 --> 00:36:06,640 Speaker 6: texts to your producer, the language. 669 00:36:06,200 --> 00:36:07,399 Speaker 5: Barrier played a big role. 670 00:36:07,960 --> 00:36:08,520 Speaker 1: Interesting. 671 00:36:08,719 --> 00:36:12,640 Speaker 6: I was never as vocal or like yeah, outspoken, or 672 00:36:12,719 --> 00:36:16,279 Speaker 6: silly or jokey as I am in normal life, right 673 00:36:16,360 --> 00:36:20,000 Speaker 6: because he just wouldn't always understand he had been here 674 00:36:20,040 --> 00:36:23,719 Speaker 6: for fifteen years, he could speak English, but is also like, hey, 675 00:36:23,760 --> 00:36:26,799 Speaker 6: we're only here to talk about the sport. There was 676 00:36:26,880 --> 00:36:29,440 Speaker 6: just kind of like things that I felt like I 677 00:36:29,520 --> 00:36:30,960 Speaker 6: was allowed to talk about or not. 678 00:36:31,560 --> 00:36:34,120 Speaker 1: Yeah, it sounds like there's like a like a formality 679 00:36:34,400 --> 00:36:36,520 Speaker 1: about it too, almost a. 680 00:36:36,440 --> 00:36:37,440 Speaker 5: Lot, And I love that. 681 00:36:37,560 --> 00:36:41,520 Speaker 6: At first, the discipline, it's like, wow, I'm very add 682 00:36:41,640 --> 00:36:43,640 Speaker 6: I'm very bad at standing still, and now I really 683 00:36:43,640 --> 00:36:46,040 Speaker 6: have to stand still for like two hours and clap 684 00:36:46,080 --> 00:36:47,399 Speaker 6: and sing. 685 00:36:47,000 --> 00:36:52,080 Speaker 1: Yeah yeah oh. I could see myself getting exactly to 686 00:36:52,920 --> 00:36:56,719 Speaker 1: where I was in that exact same situation. That is 687 00:36:57,200 --> 00:37:02,320 Speaker 1: absolutely terrifying. What what did you do next? 688 00:37:02,920 --> 00:37:06,400 Speaker 6: I don't remember exactly what order this happened in, but 689 00:37:06,440 --> 00:37:09,000 Speaker 6: I was I know, I was getting a tattoo and 690 00:37:09,239 --> 00:37:11,600 Speaker 6: I was talking it up with the artist, and for 691 00:37:11,640 --> 00:37:14,320 Speaker 6: some reason, I said that maybe I was talking about 692 00:37:14,400 --> 00:37:17,480 Speaker 6: my injury, and I was like, but he's been giving 693 00:37:17,480 --> 00:37:20,279 Speaker 6: me some massages and it's been helping, and she just 694 00:37:20,320 --> 00:37:22,640 Speaker 6: like stopped tattooing for a second and was like, that 695 00:37:22,680 --> 00:37:25,359 Speaker 6: doesn't sound normal. So I went home and I made 696 00:37:26,280 --> 00:37:28,799 Speaker 6: a pros and cons list, and it was like, what 697 00:37:28,960 --> 00:37:31,560 Speaker 6: supports that this did happen? And what supports that this 698 00:37:31,640 --> 00:37:34,799 Speaker 6: maybe didn't happen the way that I'm perceiving it, And 699 00:37:34,840 --> 00:37:36,600 Speaker 6: the pros were just so much longer. 700 00:37:36,960 --> 00:37:37,520 Speaker 4: Wow. 701 00:37:38,200 --> 00:37:41,800 Speaker 1: So it was like an innocent remark from a tattoo 702 00:37:41,920 --> 00:37:47,920 Speaker 1: artist that kind of made this whole, very structured ideology 703 00:37:47,960 --> 00:37:50,879 Speaker 1: crumble in your mind again, Like I don't want him 704 00:37:51,080 --> 00:37:54,880 Speaker 1: to make the whole system bad, because obviously it's not. 705 00:37:55,000 --> 00:37:58,400 Speaker 1: It's a beautiful art form for many people, but his 706 00:37:59,200 --> 00:38:02,160 Speaker 1: specific some of abuse on you that obviously he was 707 00:38:02,200 --> 00:38:06,600 Speaker 1: playing the long game for like months of massage without 708 00:38:06,640 --> 00:38:11,120 Speaker 1: ever making it weird, and then suddenly doing that is 709 00:38:11,160 --> 00:38:14,120 Speaker 1: like long game psychopathic behavior. 710 00:38:14,680 --> 00:38:15,000 Speaker 5: It was. 711 00:38:15,120 --> 00:38:19,320 Speaker 6: It was very, very long, and you know, I started 712 00:38:19,320 --> 00:38:24,560 Speaker 6: distancing myself. I actually taught was the sole teacher at 713 00:38:24,600 --> 00:38:28,320 Speaker 6: camp that summer that that I had first been introduced 714 00:38:28,320 --> 00:38:29,240 Speaker 6: to kapawaa At. 715 00:38:29,320 --> 00:38:32,239 Speaker 5: I became the lead teacher that summer. But that was 716 00:38:32,280 --> 00:38:32,919 Speaker 5: all I was doing. 717 00:38:33,000 --> 00:38:38,200 Speaker 6: I wasn't uh interacting with the academy itself. And then 718 00:38:38,520 --> 00:38:40,960 Speaker 6: I remember I told them one day after the session 719 00:38:40,960 --> 00:38:43,760 Speaker 6: had ended that I wasn't going to come back for 720 00:38:43,840 --> 00:38:44,280 Speaker 6: a while. 721 00:38:44,680 --> 00:38:46,520 Speaker 5: I was like, I need to take a big long break, 722 00:38:47,040 --> 00:38:47,600 Speaker 5: But I said I. 723 00:38:47,520 --> 00:38:50,359 Speaker 6: Would come back for the kids to get their next 724 00:38:50,360 --> 00:38:53,680 Speaker 6: belt because I had been helping those kids for two 725 00:38:53,760 --> 00:38:56,920 Speaker 6: years and I wanted to show face for them. And 726 00:38:56,960 --> 00:38:59,279 Speaker 6: that was the last time I did anything at that 727 00:39:00,040 --> 00:39:01,080 Speaker 6: Do you wow? 728 00:39:01,880 --> 00:39:05,640 Speaker 1: Is the power dynamic a common thing between leaders and 729 00:39:05,719 --> 00:39:07,920 Speaker 1: female students of this. 730 00:39:08,280 --> 00:39:11,959 Speaker 6: Yes, And this guy in particular talks a big game 731 00:39:12,000 --> 00:39:16,719 Speaker 6: about how he respects women. He has a wife, an 732 00:39:16,760 --> 00:39:21,360 Speaker 6: American wife, and their like marriage issues were kind of 733 00:39:21,400 --> 00:39:25,200 Speaker 6: weirdly being talked about among the academy for a while, 734 00:39:25,239 --> 00:39:27,440 Speaker 6: so I also had that context of like he is 735 00:39:27,480 --> 00:39:28,840 Speaker 6: having problems with his wife. 736 00:39:29,040 --> 00:39:31,239 Speaker 1: Oh my god, so toxic. 737 00:39:32,760 --> 00:39:38,239 Speaker 6: Or definitely in Brazil, it's a problem and they talk 738 00:39:38,320 --> 00:39:42,520 Speaker 6: about it. And even in the year before this went 739 00:39:42,560 --> 00:39:47,799 Speaker 6: down for me, my Mestray denounced that some Brazilian Master 740 00:39:47,840 --> 00:39:49,600 Speaker 6: rays were exposed as pedophilic. 741 00:39:50,040 --> 00:39:54,960 Speaker 1: Oh shit, fuck, can anything just be nice? 742 00:39:55,640 --> 00:39:56,040 Speaker 3: Yeah? 743 00:39:56,760 --> 00:40:03,000 Speaker 1: Can any system just be cool? That would be great? Wow. Okay, 744 00:40:03,200 --> 00:40:07,239 Speaker 1: so this is a widespread problem that's coming to light. 745 00:40:07,719 --> 00:40:11,040 Speaker 6: Yeah, it only came to the US in the seventies, 746 00:40:11,080 --> 00:40:16,600 Speaker 6: I believe, so not super old. I also, very early on, 747 00:40:16,680 --> 00:40:19,440 Speaker 6: had a weird experience with I knew that, like, maybe 748 00:40:19,480 --> 00:40:22,920 Speaker 6: outside of my studio I could encounter bigger problems, but 749 00:40:22,960 --> 00:40:26,359 Speaker 6: I thought my studio was very safe because when I 750 00:40:26,480 --> 00:40:27,880 Speaker 6: was at college. 751 00:40:27,600 --> 00:40:29,120 Speaker 5: I was like, I really like this thing. I want 752 00:40:29,160 --> 00:40:29,800 Speaker 5: to keep training. 753 00:40:30,680 --> 00:40:33,719 Speaker 6: And after just a few weeks that Mestrey pulled me 754 00:40:33,719 --> 00:40:35,399 Speaker 6: aside and was like, so, you know, if you want 755 00:40:35,440 --> 00:40:37,600 Speaker 6: to be part of my academy, I have a pair 756 00:40:37,600 --> 00:40:38,640 Speaker 6: of pants in your size. 757 00:40:39,160 --> 00:40:40,560 Speaker 1: Oh wow. 758 00:40:41,080 --> 00:40:42,759 Speaker 6: And I was like, what do you mean, because I 759 00:40:42,760 --> 00:40:46,920 Speaker 6: didn't know yet that there's this like allegiances. You have 760 00:40:47,000 --> 00:40:50,920 Speaker 6: to choose your teacher, and I said no one. I 761 00:40:50,960 --> 00:40:54,840 Speaker 6: never went back there, but now my my old roommate 762 00:40:54,920 --> 00:40:59,080 Speaker 6: moved away and decided in her new city to start training, 763 00:40:59,080 --> 00:41:02,200 Speaker 6: and she also so that super stressed between like two 764 00:41:02,239 --> 00:41:05,279 Speaker 6: academies that were being very weird about like, well, which 765 00:41:05,320 --> 00:41:05,840 Speaker 6: is your home? 766 00:41:06,280 --> 00:41:07,200 Speaker 1: Oh my god? 767 00:41:07,920 --> 00:41:10,360 Speaker 6: Okay he called me and was like, oh my god, 768 00:41:10,440 --> 00:41:12,920 Speaker 6: one mester saw me in the other studios uniform. 769 00:41:12,920 --> 00:41:14,320 Speaker 5: I think I have to tell them now. 770 00:41:15,080 --> 00:41:19,840 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean it shouldn't be that stressful to practice 771 00:41:20,280 --> 00:41:24,520 Speaker 1: a martial art, correct, I mean you know, like I 772 00:41:24,520 --> 00:41:28,879 Speaker 1: think that's a red flag. And I'm wondering, I mean, 773 00:41:29,440 --> 00:41:32,640 Speaker 1: you made this pros and cons list? What else did 774 00:41:32,719 --> 00:41:34,680 Speaker 1: you do to help you get out of this? Because 775 00:41:34,760 --> 00:41:36,120 Speaker 1: how how many years had passed? 776 00:41:36,160 --> 00:41:36,319 Speaker 3: Now? 777 00:41:36,400 --> 00:41:38,640 Speaker 1: I'm I'm doing them up in my head? Is it ten? 778 00:41:38,840 --> 00:41:39,920 Speaker 1: Is it eight? Six? 779 00:41:40,080 --> 00:41:40,160 Speaker 3: Like? 780 00:41:40,280 --> 00:41:43,720 Speaker 1: How how many years had you spent in this group 781 00:41:45,000 --> 00:41:45,960 Speaker 1: since college? 782 00:41:46,160 --> 00:41:49,600 Speaker 6: Since since college twenty sixteen to twenty twenty two? It 783 00:41:49,640 --> 00:41:51,080 Speaker 6: was it was six or seven years? 784 00:41:51,280 --> 00:41:55,560 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, that's a long time. Yeah, it's a really 785 00:41:55,640 --> 00:42:01,120 Speaker 1: long time. So how do you unwind these new thought processes? 786 00:42:01,440 --> 00:42:06,799 Speaker 1: And I'm sure rigorous beliefs of like well, if I'm 787 00:42:06,800 --> 00:42:09,960 Speaker 1: not doing it, then I'm being lazy or I'm whatever. 788 00:42:10,040 --> 00:42:12,000 Speaker 1: I don't know what. Yeah, how did you? 789 00:42:12,040 --> 00:42:12,239 Speaker 3: Oh? 790 00:42:12,280 --> 00:42:13,120 Speaker 1: No, there was a lot of that. 791 00:42:13,239 --> 00:42:14,400 Speaker 5: There was definitely a lot of that. 792 00:42:15,480 --> 00:42:18,480 Speaker 6: So this probably this might not relate to a lot 793 00:42:18,480 --> 00:42:20,520 Speaker 6: of people, but it will relate to a big group 794 00:42:20,560 --> 00:42:26,319 Speaker 6: of people. Me leaving like directly coincided with me getting sober. Interesting, 795 00:42:26,840 --> 00:42:30,359 Speaker 6: So I had to defog my brain and decide to stop. 796 00:42:30,120 --> 00:42:33,720 Speaker 5: All physical activity for a year. And I'm just getting 797 00:42:33,760 --> 00:42:34,440 Speaker 5: back into it. 798 00:42:34,840 --> 00:42:38,359 Speaker 1: Cool. So, so you were sober you mean from like 799 00:42:38,400 --> 00:42:43,480 Speaker 1: substances and exercising, are just sober from physical activity? 800 00:42:43,920 --> 00:42:47,520 Speaker 6: It was for substances, but then I quickly realized that 801 00:42:47,960 --> 00:42:49,600 Speaker 6: like physical activity was part of it. 802 00:42:50,040 --> 00:42:55,120 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, yeah, so you you got your brain clear. 803 00:42:55,200 --> 00:42:58,920 Speaker 1: We actually do hear about that a lot, not even 804 00:42:59,160 --> 00:43:02,919 Speaker 1: so much on the podcast, just as from people who 805 00:43:02,960 --> 00:43:05,439 Speaker 1: email us and stuff that. Sobriety is a big part 806 00:43:05,560 --> 00:43:10,239 Speaker 1: of kind of clarity obviously, right, Like, yeah, you start 807 00:43:10,280 --> 00:43:13,120 Speaker 1: to see things more clearly. So that makes perfect sense 808 00:43:13,200 --> 00:43:17,560 Speaker 1: that you would have that experience. But I'm just curious, 809 00:43:17,600 --> 00:43:22,799 Speaker 1: like what the clarity brought you that made you have 810 00:43:22,960 --> 00:43:24,640 Speaker 1: the power to be like I'm not going to do 811 00:43:24,680 --> 00:43:27,560 Speaker 1: that anymore, even though you had for so long. 812 00:43:28,000 --> 00:43:33,840 Speaker 6: Yeah, a lot of like finding what my identity really 813 00:43:33,960 --> 00:43:36,080 Speaker 6: was without constantly escaping. 814 00:43:36,600 --> 00:43:38,800 Speaker 1: Yeah, Yeah, that took up a lot of time. 815 00:43:39,120 --> 00:43:42,120 Speaker 5: It took up a lot of time. So escaping. Yeah, 816 00:43:42,120 --> 00:43:44,160 Speaker 5: I was using drugs and alcohol to escape. 817 00:43:44,160 --> 00:43:46,880 Speaker 6: But also just like I'm gonna put on this uniform 818 00:43:46,880 --> 00:43:47,560 Speaker 6: and go to the space. 819 00:43:47,600 --> 00:43:51,120 Speaker 5: You also have nicknames. Oh she called a different name? 820 00:43:52,160 --> 00:43:56,640 Speaker 6: Yeah, yeah, just be someone else. Decide that it's more 821 00:43:56,680 --> 00:44:00,000 Speaker 6: important today to get this flip down than to like, oh, 822 00:44:00,040 --> 00:44:01,040 Speaker 6: make myself dinner. 823 00:44:01,440 --> 00:44:02,600 Speaker 1: Right right? 824 00:44:03,200 --> 00:44:06,839 Speaker 6: Yeah, So starting to focus on Yeah have I not 825 00:44:06,920 --> 00:44:09,279 Speaker 6: have I trained today? And have I improved or learned 826 00:44:09,320 --> 00:44:11,920 Speaker 6: anything today? But have I eaten a drink enough water today? 827 00:44:12,239 --> 00:44:12,799 Speaker 5: Wow? 828 00:44:13,680 --> 00:44:16,799 Speaker 1: For somebody who was a dancer and an athlete and 829 00:44:16,840 --> 00:44:22,160 Speaker 1: a gymnast, I'm speaking about you, not myself, those are 830 00:44:22,360 --> 00:44:26,680 Speaker 1: really hard. I mean exercise addiction as its own cult. 831 00:44:27,960 --> 00:44:31,279 Speaker 1: Movement addiction is its own cult, you know, in a 832 00:44:31,520 --> 00:44:37,120 Speaker 1: very broad sense. So you're you're deconstructing and like, what's 833 00:44:37,200 --> 00:44:41,279 Speaker 1: the word I'm looking for, detoxifying from a lot of 834 00:44:41,320 --> 00:44:45,319 Speaker 1: bullshit all at the same time. And what were you 835 00:44:45,440 --> 00:44:49,000 Speaker 1: just journaling your ass off and like talking to friends 836 00:44:49,080 --> 00:44:53,759 Speaker 1: therapy because you can't you can't work it out? What 837 00:44:54,080 --> 00:44:54,680 Speaker 1: were you doing? 838 00:44:55,560 --> 00:45:01,960 Speaker 6: Definitely talking to other people who were in substance abuse recovery, because. 839 00:45:02,239 --> 00:45:07,000 Speaker 5: A lot of them were not athletes, even. 840 00:45:06,840 --> 00:45:10,839 Speaker 6: Just just having friends that weren't wrapped up in it 841 00:45:10,880 --> 00:45:14,000 Speaker 6: like I was. And then also, even though this had 842 00:45:14,040 --> 00:45:16,600 Speaker 6: already been going on for a few years, teaching kids, 843 00:45:17,760 --> 00:45:21,319 Speaker 6: because I became the person telling them like, it doesn't 844 00:45:21,320 --> 00:45:23,160 Speaker 6: matter if you don't have a split, if you're if 845 00:45:23,200 --> 00:45:24,320 Speaker 6: you're tired, take a break. 846 00:45:25,760 --> 00:45:29,040 Speaker 1: So what what do you teach kids now? Currently? 847 00:45:29,080 --> 00:45:33,680 Speaker 6: I just do summer camps. But it was like circus arts, 848 00:45:33,800 --> 00:45:41,000 Speaker 6: creative movement. Nothing that has like an overarching vocabulary yeah yeah, 849 00:45:41,600 --> 00:45:43,920 Speaker 6: and standards to it where you have to look a 850 00:45:43,920 --> 00:45:44,439 Speaker 6: certain way. 851 00:45:44,800 --> 00:45:49,120 Speaker 1: I'm really impressed. That's a lot of stuff to deconstruct. 852 00:45:49,360 --> 00:45:55,040 Speaker 1: And what I mean, what has happened to this teacher? 853 00:45:55,280 --> 00:45:56,160 Speaker 1: Is he still teaching? 854 00:45:56,480 --> 00:45:58,160 Speaker 5: He moved back to Brazil. 855 00:45:58,320 --> 00:46:01,279 Speaker 1: I wonder if his life was catching up with him. 856 00:46:01,360 --> 00:46:02,960 Speaker 1: Do you think that that might be part of it? 857 00:46:03,200 --> 00:46:03,719 Speaker 5: Possibly? 858 00:46:05,200 --> 00:46:09,759 Speaker 6: I actually ran into him in home depot about a 859 00:46:09,800 --> 00:46:15,680 Speaker 6: week before he moved back, and he came came back 860 00:46:15,719 --> 00:46:17,680 Speaker 6: around and found me and asked if we could talk, 861 00:46:18,960 --> 00:46:22,000 Speaker 6: and wasn't very explicit about anything, but he had found 862 00:46:22,000 --> 00:46:24,279 Speaker 6: out through someone else. I did not tell him like, 863 00:46:24,560 --> 00:46:25,719 Speaker 6: this is what happened, and this. 864 00:46:25,680 --> 00:46:26,440 Speaker 5: Is why I'm leaving. 865 00:46:26,760 --> 00:46:30,319 Speaker 6: Yeah, but word got around. People apologized for me for 866 00:46:30,400 --> 00:46:35,920 Speaker 6: maybe telling my story about my permission, but he was 867 00:46:35,960 --> 00:46:39,040 Speaker 6: saying that this has been such a learning experience and 868 00:46:39,160 --> 00:46:41,160 Speaker 6: I want you to know that I've learned from it 869 00:46:41,200 --> 00:46:42,520 Speaker 6: and I'll never do it again. 870 00:46:42,680 --> 00:46:45,400 Speaker 1: And like you if you've seen, this isn't a home depot. 871 00:46:45,640 --> 00:46:48,040 Speaker 5: This isn't a home depot. This is by the light bulbs. 872 00:46:48,280 --> 00:46:50,600 Speaker 1: Okay, okay, okay. 873 00:46:50,600 --> 00:46:52,040 Speaker 5: I just want to get my succulents. 874 00:46:52,719 --> 00:46:56,040 Speaker 1: You're like, please, God, I just need a board and 875 00:46:56,200 --> 00:46:56,799 Speaker 1: to go home. 876 00:46:57,440 --> 00:46:58,000 Speaker 6: Yeah. 877 00:46:58,040 --> 00:47:00,680 Speaker 1: Well, I'm glad that you're not going to run into 878 00:47:00,760 --> 00:47:05,120 Speaker 1: him anymore. I'm glad that he's back in Brazil. What 879 00:47:05,480 --> 00:47:10,120 Speaker 1: are you thinking moving forward? And how can people avoid 880 00:47:10,880 --> 00:47:12,800 Speaker 1: going through the same thing that you went through? 881 00:47:13,200 --> 00:47:17,799 Speaker 6: I would say always having friends or support system outside 882 00:47:18,000 --> 00:47:24,640 Speaker 6: of the activity or the group that is feeling too controlling. Yeah, 883 00:47:24,840 --> 00:47:27,920 Speaker 6: and at least in my case, like not accepting too 884 00:47:27,920 --> 00:47:28,680 Speaker 6: many favors. 885 00:47:29,239 --> 00:47:29,680 Speaker 5: Yeah. 886 00:47:30,000 --> 00:47:32,480 Speaker 6: Yeah, getting into that place where I did feel indebted 887 00:47:32,719 --> 00:47:34,920 Speaker 6: and felt like I was he was taking me on 888 00:47:34,960 --> 00:47:37,360 Speaker 6: as a prodigy and I was special and I should 889 00:47:37,560 --> 00:47:39,680 Speaker 6: raise rise to his expectations. 890 00:47:40,320 --> 00:47:44,799 Speaker 1: Those are two amazing points, and it reminds me of 891 00:47:45,040 --> 00:47:48,000 Speaker 1: the Nike episode we did with a runner who was 892 00:47:48,040 --> 00:47:51,640 Speaker 1: sent to the Nike camp and her coach was abusive, 893 00:47:51,880 --> 00:47:56,520 Speaker 1: and just those relationships that we can get into that 894 00:47:56,640 --> 00:48:01,120 Speaker 1: are very socially acceptable. The runner's name is Kara Goucher 895 00:48:01,560 --> 00:48:05,840 Speaker 1: and it was Alberto Salazar from the Nike organ Project. 896 00:48:05,920 --> 00:48:08,640 Speaker 1: Just for anyone who's curious, you know some of the 897 00:48:08,719 --> 00:48:13,560 Speaker 1: more wacky quote unquote cults where you just disappear and 898 00:48:13,719 --> 00:48:16,200 Speaker 1: suddenly you're like naked in a field with a bunch 899 00:48:16,280 --> 00:48:19,080 Speaker 1: of people. Society is like you're in a cult. But 900 00:48:19,239 --> 00:48:22,800 Speaker 1: if you're running for Nike or you're practicing this really 901 00:48:22,840 --> 00:48:29,319 Speaker 1: cool art that people respect, it's harder to recognize that 902 00:48:29,600 --> 00:48:33,480 Speaker 1: you could be in an unhealthy dynamic. So those are 903 00:48:34,000 --> 00:48:37,200 Speaker 1: wonderful points. I'm so grateful that you shared your story 904 00:48:37,480 --> 00:48:42,640 Speaker 1: and so impressed with how how you deconstructed and it 905 00:48:42,640 --> 00:48:47,279 Speaker 1: looks like you're making beautiful things and going to live 906 00:48:47,320 --> 00:48:49,279 Speaker 1: a beautiful life, and I'm so excited for you. 907 00:48:49,719 --> 00:48:50,160 Speaker 5: Thank you. 908 00:48:50,719 --> 00:48:52,799 Speaker 6: I did want to say that it was that that 909 00:48:52,960 --> 00:48:55,960 Speaker 6: Nike episode that was really a turning point for me 910 00:48:56,040 --> 00:48:58,360 Speaker 6: of like, this is a story I could share. 911 00:48:59,120 --> 00:49:02,160 Speaker 1: It's so important to stay on top of the difference 912 00:49:02,160 --> 00:49:07,319 Speaker 1: in sports between being abused and being driven. It's so hard, so. 913 00:49:07,400 --> 00:49:11,120 Speaker 5: It should be coming from you and not from the 914 00:49:11,120 --> 00:49:12,040 Speaker 5: person training you. 915 00:49:12,360 --> 00:49:18,040 Speaker 1: Well, Claire, you've really been vulnerable and I couldn't appreciate 916 00:49:18,080 --> 00:49:21,800 Speaker 1: it more. Just excited to see what the future holds 917 00:49:21,800 --> 00:49:24,480 Speaker 1: for you. And thank you so much for agreeing to 918 00:49:24,520 --> 00:49:25,239 Speaker 1: speak to us. 919 00:49:25,600 --> 00:49:27,799 Speaker 6: Thank you so much. I do want to add one 920 00:49:27,800 --> 00:49:30,919 Speaker 6: more thing is that the academy is still running and 921 00:49:31,080 --> 00:49:31,640 Speaker 6: it is being. 922 00:49:31,640 --> 00:49:33,759 Speaker 5: Run by a black American woman. 923 00:49:33,840 --> 00:49:38,160 Speaker 6: Now, oh so it's probably a lovely change, wonderful. 924 00:49:38,400 --> 00:49:40,440 Speaker 5: Yeah, I just don't really want to go back to 925 00:49:41,120 --> 00:49:41,680 Speaker 5: check it out. 926 00:49:42,400 --> 00:49:43,240 Speaker 1: Yeah. Probably. 927 00:49:43,280 --> 00:49:45,879 Speaker 5: I'm happy that that's where they're at right now. 928 00:49:46,320 --> 00:49:49,640 Speaker 1: Good, good, Okay, I'm glad to hear that, glad to 929 00:49:49,680 --> 00:49:52,719 Speaker 1: hear that he is no longer living near you or 930 00:49:52,760 --> 00:49:57,759 Speaker 1: your home depot. Yeah. Just thank you so much and 931 00:49:58,120 --> 00:49:59,120 Speaker 1: we'll be in touch. 932 00:49:59,320 --> 00:49:59,960 Speaker 5: Thank you so much. 933 00:50:00,040 --> 00:50:03,960 Speaker 1: M Wow, thank you so much for listening and first 934 00:50:03,960 --> 00:50:08,279 Speaker 1: sending in all of these wonderful stories. Steve, you have 935 00:50:08,320 --> 00:50:11,760 Speaker 1: the hotline number if anybody else wants to jump in 936 00:50:11,840 --> 00:50:12,920 Speaker 1: and talk to us. 937 00:50:13,160 --> 00:50:16,560 Speaker 4: YEP, I go through them myself, so if you want 938 00:50:16,560 --> 00:50:19,680 Speaker 4: to call or text three four seven eight six eight 939 00:50:19,880 --> 00:50:22,919 Speaker 4: seven eight seven eight or three four seven eight six 940 00:50:23,239 --> 00:50:25,560 Speaker 4: trust I'll have eyes on it. 941 00:50:25,719 --> 00:50:29,799 Speaker 1: Thank y'all so much for listening as always, can't wait 942 00:50:29,880 --> 00:50:33,200 Speaker 1: to see you again next week, and remember to follow 943 00:50:33,239 --> 00:50:36,480 Speaker 1: your gut, watch out for red flags, and never ever 944 00:50:36,800 --> 00:50:37,960 Speaker 1: trust me by. 945 00:50:42,000 --> 00:50:44,680 Speaker 2: Trust Me as produced by Kirsten Woodward, Gabby Rapp and 946 00:50:44,760 --> 00:50:45,600 Speaker 2: Steve Delemator. 947 00:50:45,680 --> 00:50:47,640 Speaker 1: The special thanks to Stacy Para. 948 00:50:47,560 --> 00:50:50,000 Speaker 2: And our theme song was composed by Holly amber Church. 949 00:50:50,200 --> 00:50:53,080 Speaker 1: You can find us on Instagram at trust Me Podcast, 950 00:50:53,280 --> 00:50:56,640 Speaker 1: Twitter at trust Me Cult pod, or on TikTok at 951 00:50:56,680 --> 00:50:58,360 Speaker 1: trust Me Cult Podcast. 952 00:50:58,520 --> 00:51:01,879 Speaker 2: I'm Ula Lola on Instagram and Ola Lola on Twitter. 953 00:51:01,600 --> 00:51:05,160 Speaker 1: And I am Megan Elizabeth eleven on Instagram and Abraham 954 00:51:05,320 --> 00:51:06,400 Speaker 1: Hicks on Twitter. 955 00:51:06,560 --> 00:51:08,839 Speaker 2: Remember to rate and review and spread the word