Was I In A Cult? - A Theater Group: “Lights… Camera… Cult!”

Episode Date: September 9, 2024

They say when you dream, dream big. And teenage Alex did just that. With an accent to die fahhh, this East Bostonian shares his story of joining an acting class with the promise of stardom, only to eventually realize, he was in a manipulative cult.  Under the influence of a charismatic coach, Alex and his fellow students were pushed to the brink—endless rehearsals, emotional abuse, and mind games that blurred the line between ambition and exploitation. Alex exposes the dangerous allure of fame when you place the success of your future in the wrong hands... What happens when your dream become a nightmare?  _____ Follow us on Instagram/TikTok/FB: @wasiinacult  Have your own story? Email us: [e-mail]  Please support Was I In A Cult? Through Patreon (we appreciate the hell out of you guys)   Merch is here! www.wasiinacult.com  ______ Control Body Odor ANYWHERE with @lumedeodorant and get 15% off with promo code Inacult at LumeDeodorant.com! #lumepod ______ Try CBD at cbdistillery.com and use code CU LT for 20% off.

Hey everybody, welcome to Was I an occult? I'm Tyler Miesim, the co-host. And I'm Liz Ayakuzzi, also a co-host. And normally I am here to give you everything you want in life. Facts, random white male music, quote, sarcasm. But alas, today for this episode, I cannot be here because I am away. I am in the Toronto International Film Festival with a film of mine, actually two films of mine.. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. tho, tho, also, tho, also, also, also, also, also, also, also, also, tho, also, also, also, also, also, also, also, also, also, also, also, also, also, also, also, also, also, also, also, also, also, also, also, also, also, also, also, also, also, also, also, also, also, also, also, also, also, also, also, also, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. am away. I am in the Toronto International Film Festival with a film of mine, actually two films of mine. Oops, did I just just fall out of your mouth, Tyler? However, we do have a wonderful fill-in who is

going to pinch-hit for me today. Ironically, Tyler is with the world of actors and today's episode is about an acting cult. So you planned that perfectly, Tyler. Right, I figured I'm gonna get enough actors walking the red carpet in Toronto. All right, well on that note, get the hell out of here, because I've got a much better co-host to take your place today. His name is Josh Barron, if you don't know him, he's from season one. I don't know if he's better than you. We'll have to wait and see.

I've said a high bar. No one's better than you, Tyler. No one. Sorry, I can't be here for everyone, but I do appreciate you listening and have fun. Spend my life in the Christmas time. We're gonna miss you, Tyler, but I am very excited to welcome to the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show to to the show to the show to to to to the show to to the show to the show to to the show to the show to to to to going to miss you Tyler, but I am very excited to welcome to the show today. My temporary co-host, my sidepiece co-host, if you will, Mr. Josh Barron. Oh, Liz, thank you for having me.

Such an honor to be here. And Tyler, thank you for sharing your hosting duties with me today. Tyler, the band who I've never met. I have only heard, you know, romancing, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, the, to, the the the the to, the the the to romance, the the the the the thing duties with me today. Tyler, the band who I've never met. I have only heard, you know, romancing me with his simple tones over the airwaves. Seducing you with his dumb facts. Facts. Sorry, they're not dumb guys. They're just useless.

No, they're true facts that somebody knows, and that he'll tell you all about them. And then you'll act you the they'll act their they'll act they'll act their they'll their they'll thuuuuu. thu. thu. thu. thu. thu. thu. thu. thi thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thoomom an thoom an thoom an thoom an thoomom an thoan s. thoan. thoan. thoan. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. tel. tel. tel. tel. tel. te. te. t like you're going to try to know them, but you're not. He's like the calculator on your phone. Like, you don't need to know how to do that stuff because the calculator on your phone is there. No, but seriously, Tyler, I heard Juretti with a couple documentaries. I hope they're fantastic movies. He works his butt off on them and... Yes, he works so hard on them and if I know him, which I don't, there will be some facts in these films. And you get to meet him, so go. Go. Go to Tith and see some amazing docs. Thank you, Josh for pinch-hitting for us last minute. Well Tyler has successfully triggered my abandonment issues. Thank you, Tyler. But guess what? I. I th th th th th th I I I I I I I th I th I th I th I th I th I th I th I th I th I th I th I th I th th th th th th th th th th th thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho th. And if I th. And if I th. And if I th. And if I th. And if I th. And if I th. And if I th. And if I th. And if I th. And if I th. And if I th. th. th. th. th. th I th I th. th. th. th. th. thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi theee. thooooooooo. the. the. tho. tho. thi. tho. thi. thi successfully triggered my abandonment issues,

thank you, Tyler. But guess what? I got my sidepiece, so, bitch, don't need you. Now, some of you listening may be listening to Josh's voice and be like, where do I know that guy from? Where is that? What kind of voice do you have? I don't know, like slightly, I think he should probably take an allergy pill, slightly nasally.

But you may recognize his voice from the very first season of our show because Josh was in our Holly Weird episode and he was also, wait for it, wait for it, in the same cults as me guys, which is where we met 5,000 years ago. In the Paleolithic era of cults And since Josh and I met in an acting class cult? I thought it was only appropriate to Call him in for this episode which is also an acting class cult? Oh boy, and do I understand acting class? Colts? And if you guys want to hear Josh's full story, it's fantastic. I highly recommend going back to season one listening to Holly Weird Thief of Dreams, a

name he cleverly gave to our cult leader, The Thief of Dreams. And sadly there is some of that also going on in today's episode as well. Absolutely, a lot of that. I mean the amount of acting cults, Hollywood, aspirational things like that that that have have have have have have come come come come come to to to come to to the to the to the the the the to the the the their th. th. th. the th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. I thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. I. thi. I. I. I. thi. I. thi. the their. their. their. their. their. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I's, the the the the the the the thi. thi. thi. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. thea. thea. thea. the the the the the the the the the amount of acting colds, Hollywood, aspirational, things like that that have come to the surface recently is just tragic. But it's also not surprising. You know, once you understand the dynamic of the teacher, student, natural power imbalance and how easy it is to manipulate that, and how little we talk about that, whether it's anything, sports, acting, writing, just plain school, first jobs, just how are we

preparing people to deal with those kinds of power and balances. Yeah, it's funny, we recently had a couple people from Division I athletes reach out to want to be on the show. Wow. Yeah. Any one of those places where you're new and someone is telling you this is what you have to do to be great to get to where you want to go? to go.......... to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to, to, to to, to to, to to to to to to to to to to the their, their, their, their their, their, their, their their, just, just, just, just, just, just, their their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their to to to their to their toea, their their their their theyy.ea, their, their, their, their, their, and someone is telling you this is what you have to do to be great to get to where you want to go. How do you know what to do and who to trust? Because hard work is a real thing and you got to work hard to be good to anything but is your hard work helping you grow or helping someone else grow and how do you figure that out and that's horrible. And Josh, you're also an acting coach, right? I am. And you've been an acting coach for how many? I've been an acting coach now for probably close to

15 years. To be honest, I talked about this in that episode in season one, but it wasn't until I really started to realize how easy it would be to take advantage of people, to say things that could be really manipulative. And it was the experience I had really really really really really really really really really to really to really to th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi, it thi, it thi, it thi, it thi, it would thi, it would thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, that that that that that that that that that that that thi, thi, that that thi, that that that that that that that that that that that that that thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thin, thin, thin, thin, thi. I thin, thin, thi. I thin, thi. I thi. I thi. I thi. I thi. I thi, th to say things that could be really manipulative. And it was the experience I had of really realizing how many teachers I think are really really manipulating and taking advantage. Well, there's some really exciting updates on your life that I want to get to because it's been a couple years since you've been on our show. But for now we're going to just get in today's story about a young boy with big dreams. My name is Alex. I live in East Boston. As you can tell by my accent out here. We do not pronounce the air. The air is more of an H. It's silent. That's Boston vocabulary. Wicked

awesome watching sports at TD Gaden. I think that's it in a nutshell. All right Josh get ready to give us your best or worst Boston accent. Straight to you from Goodwill Hunting. Yeah, Pock you cow and Harvard Yard. She got my number. How you like them apples? Pack the car in the back, chauffeur. There's a guy they used to say that on my grandma's. What was the last word? Shopher. Pock the car in the back back in back back back back back in the back back back back back back back back back back the back th. th. they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they the the the the th. th. T th. T th. th. T th. th. th and my grandma's... What was the last word you said? Schofer. Shofor. Hock the car in the back, Shelfa. That's amazing. I'm originally from Western Massachusetts. My mother refers to it Redneck country of Massachusetts.

I have one birth sister and two step-siblings. My parents divorced when I was 16 years old. Truth be told, I actually saw it coming from miles and miles away. My father was an alcoholic throughout a majority of my youth, and he had this attitude. Nothing I ever did was good enough for him. Like, he actually favored my sister over me. She was the golden child, and his opinion of me was almost like I was a mistake. I shouldn't have been there.

I consider myself to be kind of like the family outcast. Like I was so different and still am very different. I'm the artistic one. I'm the one who's into theatrics and movies and screenwriting. I'd have to say I just watched way too many movies when I was young and it appealed to me so much I just loved it. How about you Josh I I've never asked you this but how did you get into acting? Well one answer is that I was always just a lover of stories and storytelling I was always so engaged but the real like truth of the matter is I didn't want to have anything to do with acting but but my father thought I might enjoy it and it'd be good for me socially because I was just playing

a lot of sports and he was like, yeah, you should maybe be well-rounded. The only parent ever to encourage acting and a child. He came to me, sat me down, he's like, I'd you want if you do this thing, just try it. And I was like, uh, three disc CD changer from my room. And he was like, fine. So that I tried it. I loved it. I made great friends.

And I got a brand new, Billed, thi. changer, I could put any three CDs that I had into it. It had Shuffle. That was where it was. Oh, Shuffle, yeah, and he would randomly pick us off the best. Once shuffle came out, you didn't know what was coming. The world got wild at spring. Tyler, we're missing you now for your random facts about CD-changers. Oh God, what would he know? When I was in junior high, that's when I started acting. Next thing I know I'm performing, I'm that, I'm that, I'm that, I'm that, I'm performing, I'm performing, I'm performing, I'm performing, I'm performing, I'm performing, I'm performing, I'm performing, I'm performing, I'm performing, I'm performing, I'm performing, I'm performing, I'm performing, I'm performing, I'm performing, I'm that's that's that's that's where, I'm that's where I was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, I'm that, I'm that, I'm that, I'm that, would he know? When I was in junior high, that's when I started acting. Next thing I know I'm performing, doing shows, I

mean doing these voice impersonations and the hallways. And what happened in high school is my mom had seen an advertisement in the town paper for this acting group. It said, looking for members to join the Acting Lab senior ensemble was a theater group. It was like heck yeah. It's always sounds innocent enough but what strikes me about all of this is that it's so hard when you're new it's something to know what's legitimate, what's not legitimate. Yeah my first acting class that I found was a train wreck of a place. It was a really seedy place and I felt like they were really trying to introduce young, fresh

off the boat, LA women to like B-level casting people for really seedy Harvey Weinstein-esque environment, like quote-unquote opportunities, and I got out of there. But why did that place have a revolving door of people? Because people people were sending people there and people don't know. And it took me years to find a decent acting class in LA. First day kind of felt more like an orientation, like meeting everyone, getting to know all these other young, aspiring actors and dancers and singers. And we all kind of really started to just mesh and get to know one another. It was, I'd have to say, about 20 of us. We had people from high school.

Some were a bit older, so it was definitely kind of a collage of people who were young high school, young adults, a whole melting pop. I was one of the youngest members of the group, so I was kind of naive. But what young person isn't naive? I mean naivete by definition means inexperienced, right? Absolutely. It would be really weird for a 15-year-old kid to not be inexperienced. So young Alex innocently joins an acting class because Josh, what do we say? No one joins a cult. The instructor, Tyrone, was tall, thin, fit, handsome, very charismatic, extrovert personality,

had this smile on his face that always said, hey, I'm the man. He definitely was believable in almost everything he said. That's for sure. That's the first red flag for sure. I always think about half-truths as being far more dangerous and tricky to navigate, especially for teenagers, let alone anybody. Yeah. And this guy's street cred, well, he started some MTV show years back. Maybe he was Bevis.

That could be right. Yeah. Or Daria. Right, don't hurry. In the beginning, I just saw somebody who had experience in the field and knew how to teach us. This is the go-to guy. He had been in a few movies. So we saw him as this great the the the the great the great the great theateateateateateateateateateateateatement the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. t. te. t. t. t. th so we saw him as this great mentor.

The creative world is a place where this is actually super hard to fact check and I think it's super important for people just to hear this kind of stuff where if this person was learning to play tennis and their coach was telling them to the greatest tennis player ever in the whole world and no one else could ever beat them and they have all this amazing talent. They could go play a tennis match and test that theory really easily. They could go to a tennis tournament, they could try to make their high school tennis team, and they would find out immediately how good they were at tennis. But when it comes to some of this creative stuff, it's really really really really really really really kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind, to kind, to kind, to kind, to kind, to kind, to kind, to kind, to kind, to kind, to kind, to kind of, to kind of, to kind of, to kind, to kind, to kind, to kind to kind to kind to kind to kind to kind to kind to kind, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their... their. their. their. their. their. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. to, to, to, to, to get people to believe something that they actually can't test so easily. When you're in an acting class, you don't really care if your classmates think you're good. You care about one person, the teacher, the coach.

Yes. And they're not even giving you jobs, but yet they're giving you the validation of your ability to eventually get a job. He tried tried tried tried tried tried tried try try try the try the the th the try th th th th th th th th th thi thi thi thi thi thi, thi, thi, thi, to to to thi, thi, to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, the. thea. tea. tea. tea. tea. tea. tea. tea. tea. tea, thea, get a job. He tried to use like his experience from being in these movies that nobody's ever heard of as the building block for how we should perform. He wanted us to perform as if we were Hollywood actors. I mean, truth be to told, my dream was to be like the next big staff in this acting group. That was all of us. We all had high dreams and aspirations of becoming astounding celebrities and stuff.

Who doesn't sign up for a Hollywood aspiring acting class to not become a star? We just have to be blunt about this. No one signs up to do local plumbing commercials. Like every- But I have been working on my ass crack just so I can nail that audition. Nail that. Just you've been getting a lot of low squats. No, just upper butt, just the upper. What is the upper butt focused exercise? Just like right where the jeans sort of hang a little lower.

Who, fire me. Yeah. But it wasn't just Tyrone at the helm, guys. And side note, Tyrone is not his real name, but a name Alex chose for him because he didn't feel comfortable calling him by his real name, which is Mark. I'm just kidding. His mother and his sister ran a dance studio, which was where we would rehearse at the dance studio. Class would be like we would start with doing some monologues or if we were in

the works of a play we would sit down and rehearse and then we would move into like the nitty-gritty of the stage work, the rehearsing for the play. Then we might take a bit of a hiatus and just focus on like our acting abilities and doing all this monologue stuff and some sort of theatrical exercises. Tyrone would communicate with us. He would watch and then stop and give us his feedback, his criticism, which sometimes could actually be pretty ferocious, very, very stern. He very much was commanding, controlling. He would always call us lightning in a bottle,

and he would just praise some of us for some sort of gift we had, boost our ego a little bit. I think he would use that as a way to push away the fact that he had just abused us or psychologically tormented us. And now we're approaching the biggest second red flag I see here. People on the outside, they don't have the talent you have. They aren't as gifted as you have. They're jealous of you. You've got skills and abilities that they don't, making us to think that we are so much better than everyone else

because we have this extraordinary acting and theatrical talent that they don't or wish they had. We were made to think that we were better than them, that maybe they're just wicked jealous of us. I think that's what was racing through our mind, that the outside world was jealous of our capabilities. Anybody telling you that you're doing this better than anyone else, everyone who's not in this environment is not as good at this as like the magic secret sauce.

Right. I don't care what acting class it is that you're in anywhere in the world, like Merrill Streep's not there. Right. And she's doing fine. And when people start talking about how everyone else who's not here isn't committed, they don't have this special secret ingredient that we have. There's no special secret ingredient. That's a complete manipulation. Right.

So Tyrone loved bomb them essentially, making them feel they were God's gift to acting. But, and there's always a but. Always. He used us as his gateway to get back into spotlight and get back into fame by convincing us that we could become famous. That with all of this experience and all of this instruction that he was teaching us, we could become very successful, very famous. My best friend, I had been my best friend of 14 years.

Jake, he drank the Kool-Aid. Everything that Tyrone forced-fed us, the ideologies that were meant to bolster our ego and make us really believe in ourselves and try and pump up up up up up up up up up up up the the the thup up thu up thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thi thi thi and thi and thi and thi and thi and thi and thi and thi and thi and thi and thi and thi and thi and th. th and th and th and th and th and th. th. th. th. th. thi and thi and th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th thi and thi and thi and thi and thi and thi and thi and thi and thi and thi and thi thi to to to theeeateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateat, thi thi. thi. thi. thi and thi and fed us, the ideologies that were meant to bolster our ego and make us really believe in ourselves and try and pump up our optimism and our confidence, it made him change drastically. It skyrocketed Jake's ego, which grew more and more and more. He started dressing as if he thought he was like some sort of 70s rock star. Hey guys, okay, it's time to talk about the stinky stuff. Lizzie Dioz. Tyler's body odor.

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You can read on their website to prevent Liz's B.O. from happening in the first place. I personally like their deodorant wipes and the whole body deodorant cream, which I literally used pretty much everywhere. I'm talking pits, underboobs, belly buttons, butt cracks, yeah I know you would. Volva, balls, feet and more. Anything else? Gooch's. Loomie's starter pack is perfect for new customers. It comes with a solid stick deodorant, cream tube deodorant, two free products of your choice and free

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Hey, Tyler, you ever look in your medicine cabinet and think, wow, none of this stuff actually works. Yeah, except for my toothbrush, nothing in there works. It's like a museum of failed remedies. I wasn't sleeping, my back hurt, the stress. Oh, the crippling stress, Liz. Well, Tyler, I have finally made this switch to CBD with an awesome company, CB Distillery. And I was so excited when they came on board as a

sponsor because, guys, this company is great. I personally have been taking their CBD sleep gummies and their tinture I switch on and off. It's called shh. Which is also what I say to Tyler, whatever he's talking. But I love it. I mean th. I th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. the the their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. I'm their. I'm their. I'm their. I'm their. I'm their. I'm their. I'm their. their. their. their their their their ti. ti. te. te. te. tre. tre. tre. tre. tre. tre. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. S. S. I. I which is also what I say to Tyler, whatever he's talking. But I love it. I mean, have you tried melatonin, Tyler? I don't care for it. Yeah, I hate it. It may work, but the next day I always feel crappy. But this stuff, it's just CBD and C time 90% of customers said they slept better with CBD 81% said they felt calmer and a whopping 80% said it helped with pain after physical activity and today we have a 20% discount to get you guys started so visit C.B. distillery.com and use code cult. C.B.Distillery.com for 20% off. That's CB distillery.com. C.B.D.D.C.D.Di.D.D.D.D.D.D.D.D.D.D.D.D.D.D.D.D.D.D.D.D.D.D.C.D.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.C.A.C.C.C.C.C.C.C's CB distillery.com code cult. CB Distillery.com. So what is going on in this theater group exactly? So we didn't do as

many shows as one might typically do. It was like maybe two, three a year. We did a midsummer night's dream. We did fame. We did rent the Crucible. We would rehearse. We would rehe year. We did a midsummer night's dream, we did fame, we did rent, the crucible, we would rehearse so much. It had to be a flawless performance. That's what he was looking for. He was looking for a flawless performance. And how much time commitment are we talking? It was like maybe once or twice a week, but we started doing more plays, it transfired into every single day of the week? it'll be talking. It was like maybe once or twice a week but we started doing more plays it transpired into every single day of the week, Monday to Sunday and all over again. Sometimes it was five hours, next time it was all day and weekends it

was pretty much all day. It was how we would spend our Saturdays and Sundays. We would go straight from school and be there sometimes till nine, sometimes till 10 o'clock at night. It became very much our life, our devotion, was to this group. Well, okay then, that's a lot. Confusing, of course, because hard work is a real key to success. But who's success? Are you growing or are you breaking down? Is your life getting bigger or is it getting smaller? Whose life is getting bigger?

If you're working hard, your life should be growing, not someone else's. I remember he would text us out of the blue and be like, oh, you got rehearsal to oh, change of plans, you got rehearsal all day today. It became basically our lifestyle. It was 20 of us, but as time progressed, it started to shrink because people started leaving. As Tyrone would have said, they can't commit. They just couldn't handle this immense commitment of needing to be there all the time. And like most cult leaders,

dude loved an audience. On Saturday mornings, we would be sitting on the floor and he would sit in a chair, sipping his Dunkin' Donuts iced coffee, acting in this natural suave kind of manner, and we would just sit down and look up to him. Because we were so enamored and so committed, we wouldn't speak. We'd let him do all the talking. And I feel now that he loved hearing himself talk. The sound of his voice was like ecstasy to

him. He preferred to hear himself talk versus any of us to maybe speak up and give a little bit feedback. And we believed it because we thought, hey, he's got experience, he knows what he's talking about. And like most cult leaders, dude didn't practice what he preached. Although it's funny because we did several musicals, and Tyrone was tone deaf. He couldn't sing. He had no musical talents. He couldn't dance. He had two right legs. Thinking about it now, you're teaching us and having us rehearse these musicals when you don't even have any musical chaps whatsoever. But he would still criticize us heavily on what he thought of our singing, what he thought of our dance moves, and this is a guy who doesn't even know how to do any of that. He just knows how to act.

I remember there were times where if we didn't get a dance move right, he would make us dance tirelessly until we couldn't anymore until we were exhausted, just judging us because we couldn't, I guess, please him per se. If he didn't contribute, he was peoed, and he made you look like everything was your fault. He were the centerpiece of things going wrong. It's a little blame shifting. Blame shifting. Blame shift that flame. I want to hear that over and over again. I put that in my CD changer tonight. It was also, Josh, it was also the actors' job to bring an audience to their shows.

He would charge like 20 bucks a pop for something that should have only been like costing like $5. And we were the ones who had to sell tickets and we would try and sell them in school. Some people had luck. I never had luck. So, whenever I did a show, like the only only members I had, was my family. Next to that, nobody was coming to see me, and he would criticize me for it. Anybody who couldn't sell tickets and couldn't help to rake in an audience was judged and criticized because of that,

almost like we weren't committed enough, we weren't trying hard enough to get this audience to come and show, hey, this is what we can do, this is what we're capable of. Did you ever have to do anything like that where you had to get people to buy tickets to come see you and something? Honestly, no. I mean, definitely people have asked that it would be good if you could get some people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people, but, but, but, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, their, to, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, the, the.e. thea, theat, toea, toea, toea, thea, thea, thea, their, their, their, their, their, that it would be good if you could get some people, but it was always just like me inviting my family and friends to come check out something that I did and apologizing for whatever it cost. Because it was never worth whatever people wanted them to pay because it was going to be

a bunch of terrible. Terrible amateur stuff, but how about you? Have you ever had to do that? No, I mean, the only thing that comes that comes that comes that comes that comes that comes that comes that comes that comes that comes that comes that comes that comes that comes that comes that comes that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that the that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, they. they. th. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. th. the had to do that? No, I mean the only thing that comes to mind is when I was first doing stand-up. And in the stand-up world they have these things called bringer shows. The only way, like in order to be able to do a set, you have to bring a certain amount of people to the show. Ah, bringer shows. Right. What drove me crazy and still drives me crazy to this day is that he would always give me roles of somebody who was way older in some sort of mundane role.

He would say things like, oh you don't have enough experience, you're not good enough, and he knew how to really degrade me. He made me cry on a few occasions. Because I was devastated, I worked so hard and tried so deeply to get that role for something that myself and I think others felt fit me. And then he'd be like, nope, he would choose one of his favorites, one of his golden boys. And me, I was left with playing their father. When reality, I was much younger than them. My favorite role I got, one was I played the husband in a play called The Wedding Play, which was a comedy. And even though of course I'm the father to another actress who's three

years older than me, I still felt like I kind of fit it, this kind of witty, humorous father. My least favorite role was where I played like a side character in a midsummer night's dream where I had like maybe I think two minutes of stage time at max. Yet I still had to rehearse every single fucking time and my mom I think about some of the stuff she said. It was like, you're only on stage for like two to five minutes. Like, why do you need to be there every single time for a rehearsal? If you're just going to sit back and watch everybody else who have the big roles rehearse, you sit on the sidelines. She was right. But another

thing that sticks with me about that is that there was cursing in the play. And we would mute it out. We would have somebody shout in the background because we did have children who came to these shows. I remember one night, it was I think our opening performance, accidentally said fuck, and he chastised me brutally for it. He said, oh, you're trying to impress your friends. I'm thinking myself, what fucking friends are you talking about? Everybody I tried to invite didn't want to come. They're not going to pay 20 bucks. And speaking of friends, there wasn't

much time for them outside of the group. We were all very much like family. We were very much like family. We were very close. When we did have spare time, we would hang out with each other. We were like the only people we knew. Nobody else, no real outsied is. It was started around my junior year of high school. People actually started calling us a cult. Because of our commitment to one another, our devotion, the fact that we were all we knew, all we hung out with, our life was centered around that. Even relationships were centered around that we were all we knew, all we hung out with, our life was centered around that. Even relationships were centered around that.

If you were going to date somebody, you were going to date somebody in that group because we were all we knew. But the carrot he dangled enticed everyone to believe that one day, they were going to make it under the bright lights. I honestly, I think that's part of the problem because you can't see shit when the lights are bright. The height was Disney World and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular that was the height of it. That's when we all felt like superstars. This was our chance at the big shot. This is our chance at fame. You see the leader he got the group to perform at Disney World and Radio City Music Hall,

which was a big deal. And then we found out about one of his old pals from MTV and they want to make a reality show about us and we're like, wow, this is even bigger. This is even better. Like, this is our golden ticket to fame. His justification was if you truly want this dream to come true to be on, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, they, to, to be, they, to be, to be, they, they, to be, they, thi, thi, thi, thi, to fame. His justification was if you truly want this dream to come true to be on MTV, you've got to be the most committed people on planet Earth. This has to be your life, this has to be your safe haven, more than anything else. It's like he was saying the outside world, your family, your friends, all of that is nothing. This is where you belong.

We'll be right back. Nicely done. I've always wanted to say that. Hey Liz, isn't this just the cat's meow of a day? I see you've caught the 1920s bug, Tyler. You've been playing June's journey, haven't you? I haven't. It's actually very fun. I dare you say it's the cat's pajamas. I dare you might say that. Guys, if you haven't heard of June's Journey, you're missing out on some crucial waiting in line, killing time fun. I love to play it while I'm waiting for prescriptions. Or when I'm waiting for my lazy ass co-host to show up. It's a hidden object scheme you guys can play on your phone, and you're solving a murder mystery along the way. And th. And th. And th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. I. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I' th. I'm th. I'm to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. I th. I th. I thu. I the. I the the. I the the the. the the the. the the theu. the theu. thea theu. thea. thea. the. I the. along the way. In detailed 1920s glam. It's a real gas, I tell you.

Whether you're searching for clues in New York or piecing together scandals in Paris, June's journey keeps you hooked. So join June Paca and help her solve the mystery. Can you crack the case? Download June's Journey for free today on iOS and Android. She's the real cheese, that gal. You just want to do that voice. Don't know if I have the 20s thing down. Down now, I don't know if I have it.

Nobody cares. What if I told you that I just walked away from a wonderful and very high-profile fitness brand to pursue bigger dreams? And I broke away from my own golden handcuffs a more artistic life. What's up? I'm Kendall Tool and I'm Gatley Alex and we are so excited to share our new podcast wholeheartedly with Kendall and Gatley. The two of us have taken the uncharted path and felt we were at a great place or at least at a pivot point in our lives to share our biggest tragedies and triumph. So that everyone here with us can learn from our battles, victories and our total F-ups and that that's th is th is th is th. th. th. th. thiii, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, to thi, to their to to to their to to to to their to their to to their to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to their their their their their their their their tote, their tote, their their theuuu-a their their theu-a theu-a theu-hea toteu-upeanlu-aull-upe, whole whole totally total F-ups, and that's from two people who have really been through it. Good Lord, yes. We're both still navigating life, and we want you to come along on the journey, so we can stay in the fight to overcome whatever BS is thrown our way.

It's not easy out here, but we'll be walking and talking with you through building careers, self-worth, relationships. Oh, and get some good laughs. the ties. th. th. th. th. th. there's tears. That's true, there's always tears. That's true. All with our hearts on the line. So if this sounds additive to your journey, we are here for you. Join us every week on Wholeheartedly with Kendo and Gaeli. Wholeheartedly will be available July 17. Listen and subscribe wherever you get to come back. And we're back. That's what is. If you go away, then you get to come back. How good is that feeling? And now we're back. All right, so Alex is now fully committed to this group and doing whatever he

thinks it will take for him to become a star. But... I think a certain level of depression started to consume me per se because of how he would degrade me if I did something wrong. I had this obedience to Tyrone. I looked up to him. We all did. He was a phenomenal mentor and I just wanted nothing more than to please him. I have been epileptic since I was eight years old. One thing I remember about that group is this is when my epilepsy was not well controlled at all. So I would have a seizure in the middle of class and the exhaustion, the stress is

what definitely made it tough on me. May have contributed to some of those seizures. I was definitely tired. It took a lot out of me. It was definitely draining all that commitment, all that time, all that energy. The highs were definitely high, but the lows were just so painful. Those low points where he would find ways to shame us, where he would jastise me. Like those low points, those are what stick with you the most. More than the heights and the glory, whether it be Radio City or Disney World or the chance to be

on MTV. So what happened with the reality TV show? They shot the pilot, they filmed some of us. I actually never had the chance to see the pilot. My parents pulled me out. After we did our final major performance, they pulled me out. They're older and wiser, so they saw the red flags that I was blind to, and were like enough is enough. Well, I guess that's the upside of being in a cult when you're still a minor, living under your parents' rule.

Always an upside. Unless, of course, your parents are the ones that get you into the cult, and then that's a... That's a whole another episode, guys. I left that chapter of my life. He called me a quitter almost like I wasn't committed enough. Crushed me, hurt me deeply. Really was a big stab in the throat. That was kind of the end of a chapter of my life and me finding how lost I was.

Because this acting group was all I knew. They were the only friends I had, the only people I was affiliated with. When I went off to college I had to start from scratch because I was so isolated from society that I didn't really know how to make friends, I didn't know how to have a relationship, I'd never dated in my life. I didn't know what dating was. It was challenging. That's where it all began. That isolation, that loneliness, that depression really just sank in. That level of loneliness really contributed and fueled the fire for the depression I went

through and pushed me to the brink of nearly ending my life. I had nobody and I was trying to find someone special and I ended up getting catfished. I lost all my money and felt worthless, felt destroyed, I hated myself and I guess I did add desperation. I nearly rammed Skull First into a snowplow. I sank that low. It was terrible and it still burns me so much to this day. It just haunts my mind to know that you almost sank that low. It was terrible and it still burns me so much to this day. It just haunts my mind to know that you almost sank that low. I'm like, why, man, why? I wanted meaning, I want belonging, and having to start your life over from scratch, having to learn how to really have a social life, how to make friends again is actually something that was so challenging

and tough. So when did the cult thoughts all connect for Alice? I had started reconnecting with a few former group members and I read an article that one of them had written, it disclosed information about what Tyrone was doing behind the scenes that I was unaware of. And when I heard that and read those articles, a Pandora's box open and exploded in front of my face because I had learned the terrible truth. It was then that I realized that those people in high school calling us a cult, they weren't lying. It was true.

And sadly, like many a cult leader before him. He started having relationships with his students, who were minors. He was like over 30 years old. I remember very clearly one of the plays we were doing. He kissed this girl very passionately as an example for us, like him trying to teach us, doing it with a sense of strong, emotional passion, a real full-throttle kiss. That was the one thing that burned me more than anything is that he barred me from being able to find love and having a relationship.

Yet he's being a pedophile behind the scenes. The hypocrisy surrounding it is just so disgusting. And we're back again. How good does that feel? Amazing. Yeah. And so what of the group today? Tyrone very much went off the grid. When you look for him on social media?

You can't connect with them? And so what of the group today? Tyrone very much went off the grid. When you look for him on social media, you can't connect with them. And I think because so many of us have spoken out, he's hiding. He's a coward. Because we know the truth.

We have started to let our voices be heard and expose him for what he is, who he is, what he did. He got married to a legal-aged human, yeah, yeah, who was one of his students, younger, but of age. And here's the interesting thing, it's become clear and apparent to me that she doesn't know what happened. She doesn't know any of this at all, because of how manipulative he is. He's a master manipulator. He keeps himself very locked up so that his wife doesn't learn the real truth behind it.

But one day she will learn the truth, we hope. So did he ever talk to this guy again, this leader of this class? The only way I'm gonna get absolute closure is if you get a confession a a a confession the confession the confession the confession the confession the confession the confession the confession the confession the confession the confession guy again, this leader of this class? The only way I'm going to get absolute closure is if you get a confession from Tyrone. And I looked them up online and I found the company he works for now. Got the contact information and I called them. Pretending to be an Australian who's here in America, I'm looking for information on how can I be successful in the world of film, how can I be successful in acting. I hear about this this this this this th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th the th th thu thu thi thu th. th. thi th. thi thi th. th. th. th. thi thi thi thi thi. I get thi. I get to get to get to get th. I get th. th. th. thiol-I th. I get thi. You th. You thi. th. thi. th. th. th. th. th. You th. You th. You th. You th. You th. You th. You th. You th. You th. You th. I get th. I get thi. I'm thi. I'm thi. I'm thi. I'm to thi. I'm to to to to to to to to to to toeeeeeeeeea. I'm thea. I thea. I thea. I the. I'm for information on how can I be successful in the world of film. How can I be successful in acting? I hear about this guy, Ty Brown.

Could you point me in his direction?" The head of his company passed on my information, and he calls. And when he hears my voice, it's like, oh my God. It was weird talking to him for the first time in more than 10 years. And I started grilling him in regards to everything I know. I was like, how could you do this? You dated her? Like, do you know what you put us through?

Like I nearly killed myself. He had a very callous attitude. For him, it meant nothing. No remorse, no regret towards what he had done. He acted like it was bullshit. I I I I I I I I I I I I think then th he had done. He acted like it was bullshit, like it was nothing. I learned that I was brainwashed by a monster. I was manipulated by a man who cares about nobody else but himself. He was trying to use this as his gateway back to success, but he learned that you cannot run away. Your past will follow, wherever you go. I no longer believed in Tyrone. I no longer owed him anything.

Had any reason to call him a mentor or friend. I got my closure. I officially was able to close that chapter of my life and focus a lot more entirely on this new chapter, this new pathway I've started. And what exactly does that new pathway entail? One of my biggest achievements is that I finally did find love. I tried meeting people when I was in college and stuff and didn't have any luck. I joined an international dating website, browsing through. And I saw this photo of beautiful stunning young woman and lightning struck me in the heart and I'm like, next thing I know we're texting each other,

we're video chatting until 2 a.m. stuff like that, and rest of his history. And you too recently had lightning strike the hat, am I right Josh? I have met a wonderful person. She is lovely. I didn't feel like a lightning strike the hat. Am I right Josh? I have met a wonderful person. She is lovely. I didn't feel like a lightning strike, which I've heard is dangerous. You could kill a man. But yes I have met someone. I fall in love. She's my person, she's my home. That's great. I'm very happy for you. Thank you. So what is Alex up to today? I currently work in health care at Brigham Women's Faulkner Hospital here in Boston. I recently finished training to become a certified nursing assistant.

My goal more than anything now is to provide us with a better quality of life. And finally I'm in a place where I can get happiness. I'm a lot healthier going on over eight years, seizure-free. it feels good. I feel like so much of that was stripped from me because of that group. I was degraded so much, I was depressed, I'm the one who nearly caved and nearly took his life, but I'm still breathing. For years when people were calling us a cult, I didn't want to believe it. I was very much in denial. I'm like, no, no, it's not.

It's just an acting group. And having studied cults for a couple of years now, I really just was able to put the pieces of puzzle together, and I feel I truly believe that I was an occult. Where all I knew was, where all I knew was this one group of people, where I had devote obedience to a manipulative narcissist who wanted to use people as a means to achieve a goal that would benefit himself, then would just throw us away in the trash. And there's a certain level of shame in having

to admit that it was basically a cult, but at the same time it feels good knowing that I have come to full terms acceptance and understanding of it because you have to have acceptance in life, you have to take ownership and accountability in life. And for all of you out to take ownership and accountability in life. And for all of you out there who are maybe lost and still trying to find your way, who may have been down the dark road that I went down, there is hope. Don't let it fester and eat at you. I did that, and it nearly pushed me to the edge of death.

Remember you are not alone. Hear me out, because to the edge of death. Remember, you are not alone. Hear me out, because there is hope you can heal, you can move forward in life. Thank you, Alex, for sharing your story, one I feel many can relate to, even if they were not in an acting class cult. Dreams are some of the most vital and powerful things in anybody's life, no matter what the dream. But like any strength, they can be turned into a weakness. You have to protect your dreams. The lesson, the takeaway is not, don't dream,

because dreams are risky. Dreams are vital and powerful. They change the course of your life. They change the course of the world for everybody. Protect them from yourself and from others. But dream. I'll follow your call Josh. Thank you Josh for being here today and doing this damn thing with me. You're awesome. This was super fun. Tyler, I hope you're crushing it with your films. Crushing it. And Josh, real quick before we get out of here, I want to do a quick catch-up on your life because you've had some exciting things in addition to finding love, you're

in grad school now. I am. Part of my journey from the cult that Liz and I were in, and the experiences that I had both creatively and athletically with good coaches and bad. It's got me to a place where I'm in grad school getting a degree in clinical psychology which is the degree you get to become a licensed therapist and wanting to be able to work with people their dreams, their stories, their lives in a healthy way and help people navigate all the trials and tribulations of life. So that is a huge honor to be getting that education and eventually hopefully working with

people in a way that is really healthy and ethical and safe and produces real results. And gross for these individuals. That's amazing. I'm so proud of you. Oh, man. I mean, we haven't caught up in far too long. No, we haven't seen each other in so long. And you are going to come back,

even though you don't want to. You will be back. Are you cheating me? Now that I get to stay? And we're back. That's going to go the best new things in my whole life. Do you want to take my next line then? Ooh. Because it does talk about being back next week. Yeah. Okay, here we go.

And we'll be back next week with the story from fellow podcaster of the Trust Me Podcasts who grew up in the two-by-twos. The only requirement is be solemn and sad and lowly. You have to give away all of your possessions. You have to take a vow of celibacy and you have to be completely submissive to your overseer, which is the head worker of each region and be willing to be sent anywhere from the Philippines to Minnesota to Ukraine with a person who's going to be your two-by-two partner for the year. Was I an a Cult is written hosted and produced by me Liz Iacuzzi. And me, Tyler Mesa. Special guest host today. Josh Barron.

And editing sound mix design today is by the lovely, lovely Chandler. We love you Chandler. Ooh, I get to read credits. Yeah, you've been writing credits. Oh, okay, that's what we're th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. Was. Was. Was I's I's I's I's I's I's I's I's I's I's I's I's I's I's I's I's I's I's I's I's I's I's I's I's I's I's I's. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. I's I's I's I's I's I's I's I's I's I's I's I's I'm th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. I'm thi. I'm thi. I'm thi. I'm thi. I'm thi. I'm thi. I'm thi. I'm you Chandler. Ooh, I get to read credits. Yeah, you've been rating credits. Oh, okay, that's what we're doing. All right, yeah. Social Media Rockstar is Shannie Ping. And our executive producer is Stephen Labram and thank you to a couple of our most recent Patri and Yassina Espinoza. We appreciate your support guys, we really, really do. And guys, come on, support this show. They work their asses off to create new episodes week to week. And you get something out of it. Like it's not just like a non-profit looking for donation. You get an amazing show.

You get information. You get facts from Tyler. And you get to help keep them making earballs Ear canal earholes. What is that part of your ear called? I think it's the wormhole to your soul I don't know. Worm hole to the soul. That is nice. I like that. Yeah. All right guys, that's a wrap. Thank you again Josh really appreciate you being here. This has been so much fun. My pleasure. Come back again. We love having you. We love seeing you and we'll see you. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. that. th. that. that that that that that that that that that's that's that's that's that's that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the the the the the the the the the the the. the. th. the. th Come back again. We love having you. We love seeing you. And we'll see you guys in a week. Have a great one. Don't spare my life.

Crucify.