Was I in a Cult?

A dear friend of the show, Hoyt Richards, who we had on the show back in 2023, has a new HBO docuseries "Bring Me the Beauties: A Model Cult" featuring his story. We caught up with Hoyt to discuss everything. But before we air that, we're going to re-releasing our original three-parter we did on his incredible story. 
Before the footage, before the headlines, before the world could see the jawline for themselves, Hoyt shared his story with us. 
Listen here, watch the doc, and come back next week for our brand-new interview with Hoyt about what it's like to have a hit documentary about your very personal life out there for the world to see.  
THIS IS PART 2 ... 


The now quasi-famous group takes it to the next level. They get a name, a book, a show, a hit song, and a distant star doomsday getaway. Hoyt, meanwhile, becomes his own star, modeling for millions but returning home to sleep on the floor. All is going well (or so they think) until the group puts a well-known phrase to the test. Is there really no such thing as bad press?

 
FIND HOYT:
Website (speaking, blog & cult-recovery resources): https://www.hoytrichards.com
Instagram: @hoytrichardsofficial
Watch his new HBO docuseries
"Bring Me the Beauties: A Model Cult" — directed by Chris Smith (Fyre, Bad Vegan, American Movie), streaming now on HBO Max.
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FOLLOW US  → For more culty content — follow us on Instagram & TikTok → @wasiinacult

SUPPORT THE SHOW
Join our Patreon! Get ad-free episodes, bonus content, and behind-the-scenes conversations. (And our forever gratitude)
 
HAVE A CULTY STORY?

Email us → info@wasiinacult.com

A dear friend of the show, Hoyt Richards, who we had on the show back in 2023, has a new HBO docuseries "Bring Me the Beauties: A Model Cult" featuring his story. We caught up with Hoyt to discuss everything. But before we air that, we're going to re-releasing our original three-parter we did on his incredible story. 
Before the footage, before the headlines, before the world could see the jawline for themselves, Hoyt shared his story with us. 
Listen here, watch the doc, and come back next week for our brand-new interview with Hoyt about what it's like to have a hit documentary about your very personal life out there for the world to see.  
THIS IS PART 1 ... 

It was 1978, and the effortlessly handsome Hoyt Richards was a 16-year-old football talent summering in Nantucket. Chasing girls and free beer was about all on this young boy's mind. So when he meets a man on the beach who was rumored to throw great parties, Hoyt thinks nothing of it. Little did Hoyt know & he had just come face-to-face with a budding cult leader that would take his life in a direction he never could've dreamed. 
 
FIND HOYT:
Website (speaking, blog & cult-recovery resources): https://www.hoytrichards.com
Instagram: @hoytrichardsofficial
Watch his new HBO docuseries
"Bring Me the Beauties: A Model Cult" — directed by Chris Smith (Fyre, Bad Vegan, American Movie), streaming now on HBO Max.
___________________________________

FOLLOW US  → For more culty content — follow us on Instagram & TikTok → @wasiinacult

SUPPORT THE SHOW
Join our Patreon! Get ad-free episodes, bonus content, and behind-the-scenes conversations. (And our forever gratitude)
 
HAVE A CULTY STORY?

Email us → info@wasiinacult.com

A dear friend of the show, Hoyt Richards, who we had on the show back in 2023, has a new HBO docuseries "Bring Me the Beauties: A Model Cult" featuring his story. We caught up with Hoyt to discuss everything. But before we air that, we're going to re-releasing our original three-parter we did on his incredible story. 
Before the footage, before the headlines, before the world could see the jawline for themselves, Hoyt shared his story with us. 
Listen here, watch the doc, and come back next week for our brand-new interview with Hoyt about what it's like to have a hit documentary about your very personal life out there for the world to see.  
 
THIS IS PART 3 ... 

 

 
The final part of Hoyt Richards' incredible journey into and out of a UFO doomsday cult. The damning Vanity Fair article throws Hoyt's family into chaos as they attempt to intervene. And right when you think he might finally be getting out, his fellow brothers go to extreme lengths to keep their financial backer from leaving. And it works. Until it finally doesn't. Thank you again, Hoyt. He is a brave and inspirational human, and we loved having him on the show.

 
FIND HOYT:
Website (speaking, blog & cult-recovery resources): https://www.hoytrichards.com
Instagram: @hoytrichardsofficial
Watch his new HBO docuseries
"Bring Me the Beauties: A Model Cult" — directed by Chris Smith (Fyre, Bad Vegan, American Movie), streaming now on HBO Max.
___________________________________

FOLLOW US  → For more culty content — follow us on Instagram & TikTok → @wasiinacult


SUPPORT THE SHOW

Join our Patreon! Get ad-free episodes, bonus content, and behind-the-scenes conversations. (And our forever gratitude)


HAVE A CULTY STORY?

Email us → info@wasiinacult.com

As Cassie on Skins and Gilly on "Game of Thrones," Hannah Murray spent years stepping into other people's pain, other people's stories, other people's worlds. But after shooting a brutal scene for a film that left her body wrecked, Hannah went looking for relief.
A trainer suggested a healer. And that healer became the doorway into a world that promised magic, ancient wisdom, secret knowledge, and above all, a way to finally heal the pain Hannah had been carrying around for years. 
And as these things so often go, at first it worked.
Until it really, really didn't.
Hannah is a dream guest. Thoughtful, funny, self-aware, and deeply honest. Her memoir, "The Make-Believe: A Memoir of Magic and Madness," tells the full story, and it is as gripping as it is beautifully written.
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Hannah's Memoir:
"The Make-Believe: A Memoir of Magic and Madness," is out June 23 in the U.S. and available now in the UK.
FOLLOW US  → For more culty content — follow us on Instagram & TikTok → @wasiinacult

SUPPORT THE SHOW
Join our Patreon! Tyler's documentary "An Honest Liar" available now for all members! And get ad-free episodes, bonus content, and behind-the-scenes conversations. (And our forever gratitude)
 
HAVE A CULTY STORY?

Email us → info@wasiinacult.com

*CONTENT WARNING: *This episode contains discussions of child marriage, sexual assault, domestic abuse, homelessness, parental abandonment, and religious trauma. Please take care while listening.*
Married off by her mother at thirteen. Abandoned in India. Sent back to America at sixteen with a one-way ticket and a hundred dollars.
Part 2 picks up where the unthinkable left off, and follows Vilas through what comes after, which turns out to be harder, stranger, and more devastating than anyone could prepare for. But also braver, more defiant, and darkly funny.  
 
This is a story about what happens when no one is coming to save you. About strangers who showed more decency than your own family. About becoming a mother while still needing one. About breaking every cycle you were raised inside. And about why, in 2026, child marriage is still legal in most of the United States.
Today, Vilas uses her experience to advocate for children and raise awareness about the lasting impact of child marriage and childhood trauma.
This is the final chapter to her remarkable story of resilience and reclamation. A true badass, she is.
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FIND VILAS:
Website: vilaswright.com
Instagram: @vilaswright / Facebook: @vilas.wright
END CHILD MARRIAGE — GET INVOLVED:
Unchained at Last — Advocacy and direct services to end forced and child marriage
Tahirih Justice Center — Legal services protecting those fleeing gender-based violence
Equality Now — Global action to end legal inequality for women and girls
AHA Foundation — Protecting women and girls from forced marriage and honor violence
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FOLLOW US  → For more culty content — follow us on Instagram & TikTok → @wasiinacult

SUPPORT THE SHOW
Join our Patreon! Get ad-free episodes, bonus content, and behind-the-scenes conversations. (And our forever gratitude)
 
HAVE A CULTY STORY?

Email us → info@wasiinacult.com