Was I In A Cult? - Eternal Values - Part 1: "The Man From Nantucket"

Episode Date: March 6, 2023

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. Support us: Patreon.com/wasiinacult Follow Hoyt: Instagram.com/hoytrich Follow us: Instagram.com/wasiinacult Have your own cult story and want to be on the show? Reach out at [e-mail].

So at the Cracketone I had called the cab and had to meet me at like 4 a.m. and I had to, as I'm escaping, I'm literally like scavenging it, trying to keep minimum sound. And then I, uh, I get to the precipice and I, and I had to, you know, I go down the mountain. It's about a mile and a half down the road to get to the place where the cap's going to meet me...... the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the ca. the the the ca. the the ca. the the the ca. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. I've the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the tap. I I I I ca. I ca. I ca. I ca. I tap. tap. tap. tap. tap. tap. tap. tap. tap. tap. tap. tap. tap. tap. tap. tap. ta. ta. ta. ta. ta. ta. to go down the mountain. It's about a mile and a half down the road to get to the place where the cab's going to meet me. But it's a decent drop and it's dark as hell. And then I just started to run. And you know, it's like when you're running, you think someone's maybe, you know, you start hearing things. I bolted. It's like a prison break. Holy today. Holy mother, Coltlena. We're back. Tyler, we're back. Can you even believe it? I actually cannot, Liz. It has been a solid year.

You guys, we have missed you. It has been a journey to get here, but we did it. Season 2 of Was I in a Cult. Yes, we took a year off. Hardly anything to pat ourselves on the back over, Liz. But we are back. Now, before we get into the show, we want to thank you our fans for your undying support. It's truly because of you that this show

will go on. And on. No? That's quite enough of that, Liz. Do you even know the song I'm referencing? I believe it's some sort of fluffy song that is way ahead of my generation. Selene Dion, Tyler, get your shit together. Selene Dion.

Yes, I hear that in elevators. Why don't you tell people who haven't listened to our show what we're all about? What is this show, Tyler? Sure thing. Well, the title obviously is pretty self-explanatory. It is, was I in a cult? But this feature first-hand stories of individuals who were thiiis. The tone of this show is maybe atypical for a cult show

because we do add levity and we do that with the full support of our guests. Absolutely because let's be honest, if you know cults, sometimes they can be flat-out absurd. Like a UFO Doomsday cult, perhaps? Perhaps. So let's kick this thing off right. Welcome again to Was Ina Cult. I'm your host, Liz Aikuzzi. And I'm Liz's Ball Boy. Tyler Miesom. And now for today's guest, our dear friend and inspirational human, Mr. Hoyt Richards. We had Hoyt in the studio where all three of us sat down and chatted.

And he took us on a journey. From being a world-class model in the 80s, to his life spent in a Doomsday UFO cult. Van Halen, Aliens, Fabio. Studio 54, Cindy Crawford, daring escapes. This story has it all. Like we often say on this show, you can't make this shit up. And that should be our new tagline. Merch coming soon. And Hoyt Story is so fantastic that we couldn't fit it

into one episode so folks this is a three-parter. I can't believe you're here. I know. I still think your story is one of the best cold stories I've ever heard. Well, I'll never be boring at cocktail boardies. I know that. You know that too. You can always drop the cult bomb at any moment. Personally, the only reason my story has gotten the attention has gotten thus far is just because my willingness and almost compulsion to tell it. Well that and he's a supermodel but sure Hoyt we can call it your willingness. He actually is a supermodel and he actually is very handsome. Ridiculously good-looking. And he can turn left but sadly this is a podcast so you can't see how super good-looking this super model is. Well then Hoyt let's just hope your

story is strong enough to stand on its own then, without the eye candy. And the group that I was in, and now I'm 20 years out from, you know, escaping, for you to have to go back to that initial moment when you either encountered the group or the cult leader and start re-evaluating your life with that new lens of, oh my god, I think I was being influenced and this was a cult. That is a terrifying scenario. Even though that is clearly the root to heal, most people will avoid it.

Now Hoyt is a special guest because he is a trailblazer in cultic abuse awareness. Since he's been out, not only has he been telling his story, but he has dedicated a large portion of his life to giving back and helping others in their healing journey. Oh, so he's good-looking and a good person. Save some for the rest of us, Hoyt. When I think back on how it all began for me, a lot of it was because you could say that

I was dealt a pretty winning hand in life. I was 16. I was good at school, I was good at making friends, I was good at sports. And... You're really unattractive. Well, I just inherited the jeans. I wear the costume. My parents did all the work, you know, I just wear the costume. There's that damn humility, Tyler. You are killing me, Hoyt.

Well, and my point in raising that was, by being dealt a winning hand from that perspective, I actually held a lot of insecurity around it because certain things seem to come easier for me than the average person. So within that insecurity was this wonderment of like, well, what am I supposed to do with this, so to speak. I didn't have any sort of a thing that I was really reaching for. I mean, I was just about like scoring touchdowns, drinking beer and chasing girls. I mean, that was my life at that point, right?

And in a way, it was a very kind of incubated, wonderful life. For frame of reference, this was about 1978. So I met Freddie when, on the beach, when my family would summer, Nantucket's a very special, nostalgic place for us and certainly not the place I thought was going to meet a cult leader. There once was a cult leader from Nantucket, whose ego was as big as a bucket. Liz is of course referring to the famous Nantucket limerick, which if you don't know... Oh gosh, no, no, no, no.

Do not tell me you know some random knowledge on the origination of the Limric, Tyler. As a matter of fact, Liz, the non-ribbled version of the Nantucket-Di-Di-Di-Di-Di, dates back to 1902 when it was first published in the Princeton Tiger. Tyler, Tyler, we're going to lose listeners on our first episode, Heckman, their daughter named Nann-Tuckie-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-S-S-S-S-S-S-S. th. th. th. thian-S. thi-n-n'-n'-n'-n'-n'-n'-n'er. thne'n'n'n'n'n'n'n'n'n'n'n'n'n'n'n'n'n'n'n'n'n'-n'-n'n'-n'n'n'n'n'n'n'-n'-n't, th.. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. took-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-li-li-li-li-li-li-li-li-li-li-li-li-li-li-li-li-n'-n'-n'-n'-n'-n'-n'-n'-Tle There once was a man from Nantucket who kept all his cash in a bucket, but his daughter named Nan ran away with a man and as for the bucket, Nantucket. It's a good one, but there are more Nantucket limerks out there, which I am not going to repeat on air. Because they're dirty and about big dicks. So at 16 in Nantucket, I was painting houses

for the summer job. And generally, the protocol was we would only paint the side of the house that was, the sun was shining so we could get suntan while we're doing it. And then we would take a break at lunch and go to the beach and see all the crew of friends and the girls. And then this one day when I'm at the beach, this tall slender, you know, gentlemen comes in to put this towel down next to me. I'd say he's probably in his mid-thirties at that point. So he was a brown-haired light-eye, about six-foot-tall, slender, kind of like a yoga type body, and these, yeah,

these piercing kind of blue eyes. And they had actually told me about this guy, Freddie, he was on the island, and he was kind of presented as someone who was a flashback of the 60s. It's in the kind of far-out things and mysticism and that sort of thing. Oh, so perhaps he's the man from Nantuckkettuck, who's who's who's th. th. thra-in, thra-o, thra-o, thra-f, thra-f, thia, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, th, th, th, th, th, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi. thi. thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thing. Oh, so perhaps he's the man from Nantucket, whose dick was so big. Frederick von Mears is how I met him. His real name was Freddy Miles from Brooklyn, but when I met Frederick, I now call him Freddy just because I know he would hate that. And he put this towel on Nick's mind, it just immediately starts to engage me in the conversation. And I appreciated the fact that he didn't talked tho and I look looking back on it now he would preface certain things by saying

well I can tell you're very smart so you understand this and and you don't realize how subtle the manipulation that is and you know it makes you not question anything because someone's already giving you a compliment on how smart you are you can't go well wait I wait, I don't know. I have any idea what you're talking about. Great, now I'm going to question every compliment I've ever received. You have beautiful eyes, Tyler. Liar! And he started going into this kind of philosophy and pitchy head about, for every reaction there would be an equal and opposite reaction, and there would

be an accountability to everything that you did in your life. And the idea of reincarnation was really appealing to me. And at 16, these are not ideas or concepts I would really talk to my peers about. So I'm from a suburban family from outside of Philadelphia. I'm one of six children. You know, number four, they say the middle children always have a bit of a challenge. So, is that really a thing, middle child syndrome? I personally wouldn't know.

I'm the oldest. I just knew how to boss my siblings around. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So, OK, so in my research, I did find that middle child syndrome is a belief that middle child syndrome is a the belief that middle children are excluded, ignored, or even outright neglected. And they're often left with the feeling of being overshadowed, coming to believe that their parents don't care about them. And as adults, this can often leave middle children with an inferiority complex and a constant

need to grab attention from those around them. Is this still information you gleaned from your research, Tyler? I have three older siblings. thi the that. research, Tyler. I have three older siblings and I have three younger siblings. Doesn't get much more middle than that. I think when you're in a family of six you're always kind of fighting for your voice to be heard and and you know that was part of it. My father was an engineer. We were kind of on that cusp of being comfortable but never never feeling wealthy.

My mother is an extraordinary woman, kind-hearted, very, very giving, but also very strict. So she had a very strong idea for what all her kids were going to be. I quickly learned that if I wanted to get the love that I wanted from my mother, I had to try to become what she said she expected me to be, and it kind of built this people-pleasing personality that I developed. That was definitely a prerequisite to kind of set me up for this type of experience that I had coming down the road. And so that was Hoyt, handsome, athletic, smart and social. A middle child with a developing urge to please. And when he met Freddy, you mean Frederick

von Meuse. He went on this kind of hour and a half, maybe two hours of dissertation. It was a very non-plus experience other than, oh, I finally had a chance to meet this guy Friday, he's on the island. And then because the island's so small, he didn't even drive. He had a bicycle. I would just see him to time to time. And the the the th the th the the island. And the island. And the island. And the island. And the island. And the island. And the island. And the island. And the island. And the island, the island, the island, the island, the island, the island, the island, the island, the island, the island, th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi, the the thi, the th. the the th. th. th. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He's the th th th th th the t t t t t t t t t t t t toda. t te. t te. t te. te. te. t t to time. And he was kind of known for throwing parties on the island. So he invited me and he even asked like what kind of beer do you like. And I'm just thinking, opportunity for free beer. This is awesome. I don't blame him. I mean, I'm sure I ended up in a lot of precarious situations in my youth in the name of free of free free free free free free free free free free free free free free free free free free free free free free free free of free the of free of of of three, the the th name of free beer. Little reminder, nothing is ever truly free. And so ended up at one of his parties and it was a very eclectic group

anywhere from 16-year-olds like myself all the way up to like 70-80-year-olds, you know people from New York and so it was it was an interesting crowd but I was just there for the beer and then he would kind of whip out his ephemerous, it's kind of his party trick. And no, that's not an innuendo, ladies and gentlemen. Not everything is a sexual inuendo, Liz. An ephemerous is a table. It's a chart of sorts. It's used in astronomy and celestial navigation. Which is also not an innuendo, unfortunately.

Geez, Liz. No, it is not. The same chart is used an astrology to read your horoscope. Now Freddie had done these readings for a number of people, including Hoyt's friends. But he hadn't yet offered it up to Hoyt. I remember being feeling a bit jilted that I hadn't done the, and when he finally did do it, it was kind of a big deal. And that was a pattern that I watched him implement a few times of doing something that seemed to be fun and then withholding it from you until the time that he thought it was most important to kind of give you that opportunity to have that experience. Freddie would often charge people a meagraphy to read their horoscope, but how he's

survived was something of a mystery. I don't know how Freddie was making money. He was sustaining himself for years and years, but I have no idea how he's doing it. The way Freddie operated, he would stay at this house on India Street, which is a nice street just off the center of town, so it's a nice area. And he would invite all these friends and make them pay, and through what they paid him, he was able to stay there for free. But he ran it like a ship, where he would have to have a party almost every night, but then they would have to be up early, clean the whole place up, you know, restock the bar, we get ready for the next night. And he actually had cards printed up, which would have the address of the place on India

Street. And he would instruct his friends, find the beauties and only the beauties and invite them back, the friend who's not just tell them only them. Naturally, Hoyt made the cut. And for the next three years, Hoyt would go back to Nantucket for the summer. And Freddy was there. It was basically a good time. Freddy threw a great party and that was kind of it. But then Hoyt graduated high school and was heading off to college. Freddy was someone I associated with the summer. Once he found out that I was I was I was I was I was I was th. I was th. I was th. I was th. I was th. I was th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the. the. th. th. to to to th. th. themed. themed. the. the. the. 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. the the the the the the the. the the the. te. te. te. te. tell. to. tell, to. to. to. to. to. tell, to. to. tell. tell. tell. tell. toda. t I was going to Princeton, which was in New Jersey, he said, oh, you should come to New York.

You know, come with me and my friends, we go to Studio 54 and you have a great time. So I'm 18 at that point, or 19. And at this point, my perception is, I'm working him. Because here's this guy who's clearly a socialite and all these sort of things, but I can use this to kind kind kindtake my friends who could go and go to Studio 54. Who hasn't heard of Studio 54? For those who don't know, the famous Studio 54 was a nightclub that opened in the late 70s in Midtown Manhattan and was known for their very exclusive VIP guest list, many and A-Lister party there. It was the best of Baudy, New York in the early 80s. And where else could share go to rip a line off Andy Warhol's Nantucket?

But the bottom line is this. Hoyt is 19 and he had prime access to perhaps the hottest club ever. There isn't a listener here that wouldn't have jumped at that opportunity. So we would go to Studio 54 and there would be the massive crowd outside, just like you've seen in the movies, trying to get through the door, but because he knew the doorman and he kind of waved and it would be sometimes 10, 20 people in our posse, and we would just go right in. And my first experience going in the Studio 54 was like Alice in Wonderland walking through the looking glass like this girl was greeting us wearing nothing but like a scotch tape

bikini. I mean you walk into this realm and it's like it has a heartbeat. I mean I can't even describe the way the base would play and it was very theatrical and literally as the night would go on you would see people fucking on the dance floor. There were drugs around eventually when I got to go there many more times. I got invited down to the VIP section which is like this underground kind of garage and you know there were like all the celebrities like a pile of cocaine on a table and why is Manilly giving some guy a BJ and you know just like it was surreal I met I met Truman Capote and and and Andy Warhol I went to dinner with the they were probably half a dozen times so it was this whole opening into a world that I never imagined and every good party has an after party but

but this one was maybe not what you'd expect. What ended up happening is we would usually add to our posse, and then at the end of the night, like six in the morning, we'd go back to the apartment and we'd have tea and talk about spiritual ideas. And we'd talk to like, literally, the light would come up. And it was strange, but I was like, where else I'm going to have that experience? So that was my initial being drawn into his life in New York and making trips when I could. Right now, I don't, I don't see a cult. I just see a groovy man. Totally.

Who's an astrology reader and throw some cool parties? I think one of the things it's interesting about my story is it very much like getting in on the ground floor of a startup of a start of a start of a start....... theeterterterterterterm. th. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. It, th. I, th. I, th. I, th. I, th. I, thease. I'm, thii, I'm, thi, thi. thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, th.. th. th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, thi. And, I, thi. And, thi. And, thin. And, thin. And, thin, thin. And, thin, thin, thin. And, thin. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, thin. And, thin, of a startup. Like I watched it become a cult. It was not a cult when I first met him, but I watched it all go down. So this was the stage where he was just a narcissist with an entourage. Hey Liz, did you know that the average human sheds over a million dead skin cells every hour? I think I just shed over 1 million brain cells this past minute, Tyler.

Also the brain makes up just 2% of our body but uses 20% of our energy, about 400 calories per day. I'm glad I had that second for Tata. I could go on, Liz. Look guys, just because someone knows random facts about the body doesn't mean you should take their medical advice. Nor should you go down the Tick-Tock wormhole of questionable medical advice from the so-called experts. The care you deserve should come from trusted professionals and not Randos on the

internet or a podcast. And the best way to find these professionals is with ZocDoc. Zocdocs helps you find expert doctors and medical professionals that specialize in the care that you need. And deliver the type of experience you want. Zocdoc is the only free app that lets you find and book doctors who are patient-reviewed, take your insurance, are available when you need them, and treat almost every condition under the sun. With ZocDoc, there are no alarms and no surprises. Choose from thousands of patient-reviewed doctors and specialists. Browse doctor profiles upload and verify your insurance information. And get the care you need.

Go to ZocDoc.com slash in a cult and download the Zoc app for free. Then find and book a top rated doctor today. Many are available within 24 hours. That's ZOC-D-O-C.com. S.A.A.C.A.C.C.Doc.com.S.A.C.A.C. Hey, listeners, we did have a long hiatus, about a year, to be exact. And we just want to let you know that if you did email us to share your cult story, we to assure you that every single one of those emails is read by us If we haven't replied to you yet it doesn't mean we won't or that we don't want you on the show So please keep reaching out guys So why haven't you replied Liz have you been busy pray tell something to share? I had a baby? I had a baby? I? I'm? to try. to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the to to the the to to the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the they to to to to they 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 the the the the they they they they they they tell. they. the the the the tell. the the the the the the the the tell. the the the tell. the to tell. to to to to to baby, Tyler. Congratulations, Liz. Had a child.

Thank you. I appreciate it. How's he doing? He's so sweet. He's the best thing in the whole entire world. And I'm so tired. Keep the receipt, because when he gets a little older, you might want to return him.

So congratulations and good luck. Congratulations and good luck. What have you've to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the the to the the to the the the to the the the the the the the the the the thoom. the the thoom. the the the thoom. thoom. thoom. thoe. tho. tho. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. th. th. th. th. th. th. that. the. the. teat. teat. teat. teat. teat. teat. tea. toda. tea. today. today. the our hiatus, Tyler? I've been making movies. I have a kickass documentary, a music-based documentary series, that comes out in June. Not gonna plug it, Tyler. Nope, not gonna plug it again, are you? But it's really good, guys. You should go watch it.

Yeah, but they don't know what the title is, Liz. Richards. He graduated high school with honors. Of course he did. Then went off to Princeton. Oh Princeton, of course Hoyt went to Princeton. Was on the football team. You know, Ken Dahl doesn't hold a candle to Hoyt. But, unlike plastic figurines, Hoyt was a real person, and real people go through real shit sometimes. When I got to Princeton, I played football and then by junior year I started really having the problems with my shoulders. I went to see the doctor in New York and he said, well I can operate, but I can't guarantee

you full mobility. I was going to have maybe not be able to play anymore. That's when I kind of went through an identity crisis. And in swooped, Freddie, happy to help. And he said, well, you should should to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the to they and I to they and I they and I to they and I they and I to to to to the the the the they and I they and I'm theyn't the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the they. I. I, I, I. I, I. I, I. I, I, I they. I they. I they. I they. I they. I th. I the. I the. I was, I was, I was th. I was tr. I was tr. I c. I c. I c. I c. I c. I c. I c. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was th. I'm th. And, th. And, th. And in swooped, Freddie happy to help. And he said, well, you should come up to New York. I go to Nantucket, the summer, but you can use my apartment. The idea of spending the summer New York was exciting. And that did not go over with my family at all, you know, because I was always up with them in the summer. And that was where the rift started. But at the time I was just singing it as an opportunity. I had a bicycle because I couldn't afford subways. I mean, I had no money.

But Freddie was giving him a free apartment. There's that quote free word again. So Hoyt moves in. And it was beautiful. I mean it was mirrored and all these lacquered walls and crazy colors, new-age music playing. I mean, coming out of crazy New York and walked through that door, it really felt like you had been transported to another realm. The place was spotless, and one of the prerequisites to staying there is you had to clean constantly. I mean, just, he was almost anal about it. Like, you had to literally get the vacuum cleaner out every morning to do a whole once over the whole place and didn't ask for rent. It was a very kind of smart play on his side, you know, because it kind of built this indebtedness

to him. Now, Hoyt's shoulder may have been messed up, but he didn't destroy that perfectly symmetrical face. And leave it to Frederick von Mears, who was always there to offer suggestions. That was when Freddie basically said, I know the head of the Ford Models Men's Division, I'll introduce you, and that's kind of how it all kind of started. Now mind you, Hoyt was still in college, just finishing his sophomore year. Had you ever had interest in acting slash modeling at all? You know, no. I'd done a couple of school plays,

so I'd always liked acting, but I didn't take it seriously. But I had had one experience, some catalog was shooting a catalog at Princeton. They were by the practice field, and they saw me running out. And they said, oh, we should bring, let's have a football player in this picture. It was like a tailgate shot. There was two male models there, and I just thought they were such prima donna dicks. I was like, Jesus, who are these guys thinking their God's gift to the world? I'm like, no, and so that was my only experience thinking like, I would never want to be

one of those guys. But when faced with the life crisis of I I'll just try to be a star. So he went to Ford Modeling and surprise surprise they took me on and three weeks later I got introduced to Bruce Weber and Bruce Weber was the star maker. Bruce Weber is the American fashion photographer who rose to promine Liz. Liz do you remember the black and white photos of Markey Mark in his underwear? Can't forget that Tyler. Well that's Bruce Weber. He also shot a lot of images for Abercrombie and Fitch and GQ. Most of his work was in black and

white and much of it was sexual in nature. You just said sexual in nature. Also can't forget that. Bruce shot me in some, you know, some good jobs. And then I went back to college for my junior year. And that's when I started getting calls. Like, can you, you know, can you go to Milan on Tuesday? I'm like, I got a test on Tuesday. I did go to Milan, you know, but it was this whole thing. And so when I went back the following the following the following the following the following the following the following the following the following the following the following the following the following the following the following the following the following the following the following the following the following the following the following the following the following the back the following summer, I started to work fairly consistently, and then again I had to come back for a senior year. But that whole stage of being available for a short time and then not being available,

the fashion business loves stuff like that. You know, I seemed harder to get, and so they wanted you more. And so by the time I graduated college, I literally just had work stacked up for the next six months. So my entry into to to to to the the the business thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. the thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. 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 their their their their their their their their. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. the. the. the. theauuuu. theauuuu. theauuu. theau. theauu. theau. thea. thea. th for the next six months. So my entry into the business was incredibly privileged and I was always really uncomfortable about that because from my point of view I didn't see that I brought anything that different to the table other than the fact that I was blonde and I could actually wear a suit. Was it sexual in nature, Tyler? Sure. It was the most sexual in nature suit you've ever seen.

And I was very professional. And coming from my background, I was like, I'm going to show up on time, I'm going to be polite, I'm going to try to be funny. I quickly assessed that if they like you, they'll bring you back. The big first campaign with Jeffrey Banks. Then I started doing from that all the Italian campaigns for Saatchi and Foree. Eventually I got to do Ralph Lauren and Donna Karen. I mean I was very lucky because that like I said

I not only entered on it with a lot of ease that other models are good to do but but then it just didn't stop. Hey, welcome back. I'm Veronica Webb and this is E's 60-minute look at the sexy sensational world of male models. Hoyt Richards is the highest paid male model in the world. I mean, reality, there's nothing like Hoyt in the industry. I mean, you know, his track record is perfection in this industry. Cut-in-edge, classic, trends, no matter what happens. Hoyt is here. In my eyes, he's the king of the male models. Indeed, if there is a reigning king of the fashion jungle, it's Hoyt Richards.

While classic good looks are his bread and butter, it's his personality that helped him achieve supermodel status. In this business, the more that you can market yourself three-dimensional, the better off you are, because if you market yourself in a two-dimensional sense as the best-looking one, the best body, or whatever, you immediately put yourself in a genre where you're going to be replaceable. You were, you were coined, you've been touted as the first male supermodel. Am I correct here? I there there there there there. You there. You thi I thi I thi I thi I thi I th thi I th th thi thi. You th thi thi. You th thi. You thi. You thi. You're thi. You're thi. You're thi. You're thi. You're correct here? I think there's probably a two or three that could fight for that title,

but I won't fight for it, but yeah, that has been said. And what makes you go from model to supermodel? A cape. Well, I tell you, I mean, more than anything, it was, if you think of it, like, a class, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, the the the the the the the the the to, to, to, to, to, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the the, the, the, 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, to, to, to, to, the the the like a class at college, my class that I entered into the business was the same time Cindy, Claudia, Naomi, Christie, all those girls entered at that same. I met Christy Turley in my first Ford Christmas party and so I entered in at that era where that term supermodels became coined. Who were your male contemporary supermodels?

Well there was a Mark, what's Mark's the last name, Mark, he's Dutch. It's funny how you don't know any of the men. But when you say Cindy, we all know exactly what he's talking about. Well and then one of my best friends who reached bigger status than all of us, you know, supermodels, was Fabio. Ah, Fabio. He is of course referring to the famous Italian-American model, Fabio Lanzoni.

Born in Milan, Italy, Fabio is the son of a conveyor belt company owner and was discovered by a photographer while working out. He soon came to America and became a widely known supermodel in the 80s and 90s. With his square jaw, long flowing locks, and ripped tan body. I feel like you should say that line in slow motion, Tyler. Ripped tanned body. Fabio was featured as the model on nearly 500 romance books with titles such as

Warriors Woman, Scoundrels, Captive, Captive Rose and my personal favorite, Savage Thunder. We should start a Fabio Cover's Only book club cult. You can be the leader, Tyler. Yes, I will work on my abs. But titles with Fabio on the cover had a sales increase of over 60%. And maybe that's why. At the peak of his cover model days, he was doing 16 covers a day, and over 55 million books were sold with his image before 1992.

Maybe he should be the cover model for our show's logo. Write in and tell us your thoughts. He was making $3,000 per hour in 1993, which is about $6,200 in today's currency. Also, he released an album, a musical album in 1994 called Fabio After Dark, which has 17 tracks of magic, Liz. Pure, pure magic. The subtitle, Music speaks for me when I cannot put my feelings into words. And is it? Sexual and nature, Liz, it is. Oh yeah, you know we have to play a song not right?

We do. Which one? Which one are you going to play? This is perhaps my favorite. This is the song when somebody love somebody. Everything seems so unreal, there is no looking back. Once again, a love attack. Once somebody, love, that's somebody, best flowing. Everything comes out so naturally.

That is pure sexual energy in my ears, Tyler. No wonder Fabio is who he is. Mmm, yeah. More recently, you might recognize Fabio as a spokesperson for, You won't believe this. I can't believe it's not butter. She wanted to remember the love they shared for butter, but cholesterol took away their passion until... I can't believe it's no butter. I can't believe it's not butter. The taste you love without the cholesterol. What a work of art. I told you you wouldn't believe it. Now 63 years old, Fabio is retired and owns over 300 dirt bikes and 16 dogs.

And yes, dear listeners, you definitely want to stick around because Fabio makes a cameo in our third episode, Flowing Locks and All. And now back to Hoyt, who has been slightly overshadowed here by his more famous friend, a common theme perhaps in his youth. Fabio was one of the first models I met at Ford and he was really into working out so I'd work out with Fabio, we'd go to the clubbing together. I mean Fabio's like

walking into a club with Thor. You know it's like you know I used to think I had it going on but I would literally go out with Fabio and feel invisible. Okay, so are you hearing me? It's coming through what I said. Okay, so at this point in the story, Hoyt Richards had graduated from Princeton. Now Hoyt, bring us up to a timeline. What year are we in? This is 85, 86, so I'm like 25. They didn't really have a game plan, I hadn't discovered a passion yet.

So after college, Hoyt moves to New York City. And where does he live? Well, he never made a pass on you. No he didn't. And luckily, he had he had he had he had he had he had he had he had he had he had he had he had he had he had he had he had he had he had he had he had he had he had he had he had he had he had he had he had he had he had he had he had he had he had he had he had he had he had heedededededed heed heed heed heed heed heeded heed heed heed heed heed heed heed heed heed heed heed heed heed heed heeded heededed the the the the the their their their their their theiredededededededededededededededed. Heeded. Heeded. Heed. Heed. Heed. Heed. Heed. Heed. Heed. Heed. Heed. Heed. Heed. Heed. Hea. Hea. Hea. Hea. Hea. Hea. Hea. Hea. Hea. Hea. Hea. Hea. Hea. Hea. Hea. Hea. Hea. Hea. Hea. Hea. Hea. Hea. Hea. Hea. He had t course. He never made a pass on you. No, he didn't. And luckily, he had teed off on the idea of presenting himself as as asexual. That he was clearly, had been a gay man, but he claimed he had this spiritual awakening. It was now no longer interested. I mean, he would be attracted to people and you'd make a comment, but he would never make a pass at them. I never saw that.

Freddy Freddy Freddy Freddy Freddy Freddy Freddy Freddy Freddy Freddy Freddy Freddy Freddy Freddy Freddy Freddy Freddy Freddy Freddy Freddy this way this way this way this way this way this way this way this. I never saw that. Freddie had this way of just engaging any and everyone it seemed like, like this whirlpool of energy that you just got sucked up in. So okay we need more about this Freddie guy. Like right now he's just this astrology dude who had access to a certain group of very important people and a lot of free shit to offer our guy Hoyt. But what's his deal deal? He was born Fred Meyer and I believe that was spelled M-E-Y-E-R and then he changed his name to Frederick von Mears which is M-I-E-R-E-R-E-R-S. He is someone who tried so hard to move away from his roots and upbringing. There is quite a bit of mystery around Mr. Mears and where he is actually from, but according

to him he was born a socialite. So Freddie had been a model himself. I don't think he was a very successful model, but he definitely modeled and he eventually found the way to scam himself into the social register. When I met him, and he would even reference those things, but he'd like, oh, I met the Duke of this, or Prince so-and-so, or the Duchess of this, the Duchess of this. As we got involved with the group, and a lot of us were Ivy Lakers, you know, even though he'd never gone to go the their their their their.... their. their. He's their. He's their. He's their. He's their. He's th. He's th. He's thi. He's thi. He's even even even even even even even even even even even even even even even even even even even even even. He's their. He'd they-a. He'd their their their their their their their their their their the their their. Hea. Hea. Hea. Hea. Hea. Hea. Hea. Hea. He's. He's. He's. He's. He's. He's. He's. He's. He's. He's. He's. He's. He's. He's. He's. He's. He's the the the the the th. He's total. He's too. He's too. t t tooe. t tooe. tooe. He's t the the the the the the the Princeton, or this one Yale, this one to Harvard, or Columbia. He would throw that out, but it would also shine away from what his past was. And he was rebuilding this kind of image of who he wanted to be by who he surrounded himself with.

A lot of the entourage, they were a lot of kids my age. Like it was definitely, he was in his 30s and we were all in our late team's early 20s. This is another coutlater favorite tactic. They will often recruit people who possess traits that they do not have themselves but wish that they did. When I came to New York and met his entourage, the sidekick guy was this guy, John John Underiatis. John was a very sincere seeker in that sense. It was quite this this this this this this this, I thiiii, it was th. th. thi, it was, it was, I was thi, it was, I was thi, I was thi, I was thi, I was a thi, I was thi, I was a thi, I was thi, I was a thi, I was a thi, I was a thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I was, I was, I was, I was a thi, I was a thi, I was a thi, I was a thi, this guy, John Andriottis. John was a very sincere seeker in that sense, you know, who was quite extraordinary.

And John also had this, I guess you call, photographic memory. I mean, he could recite scripture, like I've never seen anyone ever. We would have these kind of tea meetings after a night to Studio 54, John would just go on for hours just reciting scripture. I mean, it was incredible and and Fredic basically said that John was going to become an avatar in this life and he was here to prepare him for that and an avatar being the reincarnation of God which is a very clever technique to say I'm actually smarter than the avatar you know because you're saying if I'm the one here to train him.

Like Hoyt said John was Freddie's right-hand man. He came from wealth, but apparently gave it all up to serve a life for God. But John needed someone to help him on this path, and he found it in Freddy, who would... He would present himself as the guy that was here to train the next incarnation of God. So you have Freddie with his entourage and the question becomes, well when did it really become a cult, right? Because there has to be some sort of catalyst. So what's the catalyst? Well, John, you know, who's the sidekick, has been reaching out to all these other metaphysical writers and he finds this woman, Ruth Montgomery was an accomplished political journalist. In fact, she was the first female in the Washington Bureau of the New York Daily News in

1934. She was also the press attache for Richard Nixon and was the president of the Women's National Press Club. But in the late 60s, she meets and befriends this Florida-born psychic. Arthur Ford, that's his name. And Arthur was quite a celebrity in the 1920s when traveling mentalism shows were all the rage. He claimed to have duplicated all of Jesus' miracles, apart from the raising of the dead. Turning water into wine is a pretty great party trick, especially for broke young boys, I would imagine.

Arthur was, however, very controversial, and many magicians claimed what he was doing was simply magic tricks, posed as supernatural powers. You don't say. Regardless, Ruth Mongamery meets him and starts a friendship with him, and in 1971, Arthur passes away. But his abilities apparently don't, because now Ruth's caught the bug. She starts having these encounters where she would go in front of her typewriter and she'd like going to trance and she would start typing.

They called it, she called it automatic writing. And so it was Arthur and her guides where the people operating from the other side, giving her information to this automatic typing. And the pattern was she would get typed or she would to to the the other side giving her information to this automatic typing and the pattern was she would be she would get typed or she would send a question to them and they would answer it. And this process she had written eight or nine metaphysical books that were bestsellers so John seeks her out and says you've got to meet my fearless leader Frederick he's incredible so she asks the guides about Frederick and totally validates everything about it and and goes as far as as as as as as as as as as as as as as as as as as as as as as as as to to to to to the the the to the the the the the the the to the the the the to the to to them them them them the to to to to to to to to them them them them them them them them them and them them them them them them them them them them them them them them them them them them them them them them them them them them them them them them the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the other the the the the the the tho tho tho to to to to to the to the the the thoo the other the other tho o' the other tho o' the the other Frederick and totally validates everything about it.

And goes as far as in the new book that she's writing called Aliens Among Us, she puts four chapters on Frederick. To be fair, Freddie definitely looks like an alien. And yes, I'm saying that with all the judgment in the world. Okay, so, look, so I actually found a copy of the book, Aliens Among Us. It was published in 1985. Yeah, I ordered it online from a book dealer in Arkansas.

It was like four bucks or something. I mean, it is a tattered copy, and whoever owned this had marked it up like it was Holy Scripture. I mean, they highlighted all kinds of passages in it. It's it's then then then then then then then then then then thi thi tho thi. thi. tho. tho. tho. thi. thi. tho. tho. thi. thi. thi. thoen, tho. tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho. tho. tho. tho. tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. tho, tho, tho, the, the. thea. thea. thea. thea. theauuu. theauiiiiiau. thooooooooooooooooooo. tho.. I mean, they highlighted all kinds of passages in it. It's incredible. It's just kind of amazing to read. We will put some pictures of this book on our Instagram so you guys can check it out. On the cover, it says, dazzling true testimony that extraterrestrials are on earth

about to usher in the new age. It's so funny that that that was was was was that was that was that that was 1985 because I feel like a lot of people would agree with that same sentiment in 2023. Mm-hmm. Okay, so in the book Ruth describes her first meeting with Freddy, or Frederick. I was prepared to welcome a small, dark complexion to man who would probably be wearing swammy robes. Instead, I beheld the most beautiful specimen of manhood imaginable, with perfect features, sparkling blue eyes, blonde hair, and a light physique garbed in prepped

denims. And from the lips of this 37-year-old aristocrat poured a steady stream of loving philosophy that if heated by all humanity could revolutionize the vibrations of planet Earth. Holy mother, mother of holy fuck. Yeah, that is fantastic. Crazy. Yeah, and the book goes on to describe the life of Frederick who that according to him, of course, he was in a previous life a high priest in ancient India and he had helped plan and build the Temple of Giza. In this existence, however, he claimed to be born of high society on Christmas Day in 1946.

His parents died when he was four years old and he spent most of his time with his godmother, who helped him travel through Europe where he met kings and queens. But the most essential part of his life occurred in January of 1978, when, after a period of deep depression, almost to the point of suicide, he was alone in his New York City apartment, and in vivid flashes he saw past lives, and over the course of a week, he was visited by three beings who revealed deep secrets to him. And this is a direct quote from him. Overnight I became adept in the science of Hindu astrology.

I knew that I had come from Octoris, where I had lived in a hydrogen light body. These crazy cold leaders, how many times have we heard that they were born gifted or became an expert in just three days? You guys, expertise isn't just randomly bestowed on you overnight from a visit from a goddm-fairy godmother. I call bullshit. There's more, Liz. He also said in a series of visions he saw, quote, the coming wars, the destruction of New York

City, my own mission and the future of Earth. Ruth in the book, the book, the book, the book, the book, the book, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th,, my own mission, and the future of Earth. Ruth, in the book, then says, at this point I asked the guides whether the above summary was factual, and they wrote, the account by Frederick is basically correct. Oh, my girl, Ruth, you are not helping us, Ruth. The book then lays out a bit about Freddie's whole belief system, but will let Hoyt fill you in on that? Part of the belief system was that we are not limited as souls to Earth, that there's other realms and planets and stars where you have existence. So he eventually came to the conclusion that the place in the universe that he considered to be his hometo the conclusion that the place in the universe that he considered to be his home was the star Octoris. Naturally. And Octoris just

happened to be the spiritual center of the universe by chance. Cool coincidence. And because that was home and that's where he had this group of friends. They in essence looked down on Earth and said, my God, Earth's really going through some rough times. We should send out a team to go help out. And he and his friends agreed to do that. Sorry, you lost me for a sec. What friends? Okay, well, this is a tough one to explain. I did read a lot of this book, Liz, but the simplest way to put it is that basically a bunch of souls were living on this star.

They were hydrogen bodies and they came down to earth to take over other people's real bodies. But look, worry not, we explain more of this in episode two. The catch was, and this is where the story gets fun, only he would remember this, the other friends would not, so he would have to go find the other Octurans and realign the team so that we could fulfill the duty that we had pledged to do when we were back in Octurus. Okay, so Octurus is a real star. In fact, it is one of the brightest stars in the galaxy. The sun, of course, being the brightest star. Because, of course, the sun is a star.

There are literal people driving in their cars right now going, the sun is a star? Oh, shit. I guess I was high that day in science glass. So Octoris has a surface temperature is about 5,700 Kelvin. Which means that Arcturus is not as hot as the sun, but is slightly hotter than Tucson. But what Freddy said is that the Arcturians were actually hydrogen light bodies and they were able to live in the heat of Octoris. He was a very effective storyteller, and he couched it with this absolute belief behind it. And you're just like, okay, yeah, just taking it all in, yeah, that's clearly what we are. Frederick claimed that once he found all the Arcturians on Earth, they would go back and live

in that star until summoned again to Earth for another life. And as ridiculous as that all may sound, when you're hanging out with the group of friends and the group leader tells everyone they're part of the Cool Club, but you? Well, you feel left out. Who does it want to be to be told I was Outdooring? I was out-of-turning. I was dying to be that I was outturning. Coat leaders basically invented FOMO.

All of the stuff is a bit crazy and all of it is laid out in great detail in Aliens among us, including one chapter. One chapter being Frederick and his friends, which I get to be in. That particular chapter is actually called Frederick's Arturial Friends, and in it, Ruth describes each of the entourage, including our man Hoyt, whom she quotes, my professional name is Hoyt Richards and my success has been fortunate, he says. But the true success story has been my increased spiritual awakening since I have been working with Frederick.

He has taught me to make my own decisions in life, but always to be aware of the repercussions. We must remember our original purpose on this planet, to see God and love him. Frederick is devoting his life to this service, and I am honored to be able to serve and help. I wish I could live that one down, but yeah, so we're all in in that book. You know, I always tell people I will never beat myself up for what I signed up for. Because it was a wonderful idea, and it was very much about seeking enlightenment, becoming the best version of yourself, becoming less, you know, selfish, more service-oriented.

But yeah, I mean, that was really, wasn't anything groundbreaking as far as, you know, and as far as providing context, everybody was into something back then. I mean, the 80s in New York, certainly was, you know, yoga was just kind of emerging. All these kind of, you know, Est was around, there was all this kind of self-improvement type stuff that was happening. We hear that a lot. You know, it was the 60s, it was the 80s, it was the 90s. I think the takeaway is that no matter what the era, there is always some kind of self-improvement thing going around. And there will always be a cult leader ready and available to take advantage of that. Anything else in that book, Tyler? No, there's a ton in the book. Too much to go into, but there is a chapter of writings from

John and Frederick. It is heavily highlighted. So let me open the book here. Your attention is your divine director. Let it be freeing our attention from limitation, we are able to attune to any thought, to any to any to any to any to any to any thought, to any thought, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, their, thi, their, thi, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, to, to, to, the, the, the, their, their, thi, thi, throwne, throwne, te, te, te, te, trueuuuuuuuu., tooeuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu. too, tooe able to attune to any thought vibration that we desire, and that will become our outer reality. Thus we are dealing with a universe of vibratory action. Everything is energy. It just goes on and on. And then, later on, on page 167, it says, this is from John who says, It is true that our space brothers and sisters have arrived, and we are they.

And the beautiful, smart, athletic and humble Hoy Richards, he was a space brother. I moved into Fredder's apartment right after college. I moved into Freder's apartment right after college, and then two months later, the book hits, and that's when everything starts changing. From, you know, just being in Manhattan, kind of going to parties and being fabulous, we're now out to 50 plus countries. We're getting letters from all over the world, people wanting help.

People who have read this book and are now seeking out Freddy's guidance and wisdom. And so it was time that this group of aliens on earth stepped it up a notch. I mean they didn't even have a good name for Christ's sake. What kind of cult are they? And that's when we created the name, eternal values, and the whole game changed to that point. And now it's like, oh my God, it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's really it's really it's really it's really it's really it's really it's really it's really it's really it's really it's really that it's really that's really that's really that's really thi thi that point. And now it's like, oh my God, it's really happening. We are going to be leaders of the new agent. And that is the end of part one of Hoyt Richard's story. Join us next week for the...

Actually, we dropped two episodes today, so... Oh, that's right you can just start listening to part two right now you don't even have to wait but just in case here's a taste of what's to come. I literally got to the point where I would step on a plane and I would think to myself I wish I could just announce that everyone here and they don't have to worry because I've got such important work I'm going to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do the to do to do the to do the the the to do the the to the the to the the the the to the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th I the. theck. I'm theck. I'm theck. I'm theck. I thean. I thean. I thean. I tea. I tea. I thea. I theeean. I's theeean. I'm the. I've got such important work I'm going to do on this lifetime. Everyone in the plane is safe. You're all safe.

And that's how I used to think. Thank you all for listening. Again, it feels so good to be back. That was very sexual in nature, Tyler, the way you just said that. I'm Tyler Missom. And I'm Liz I Kuzzi and it does you guys. It feels really good to be back. For those who want to see pictures of Hoyt's modeling days, we have some picks on our Instagram. For those who want, you mean everybody? Come on. But guys, if you do, check out the Instagram, share it with your fans, share it with your followers.

Keep this word spreading so we can keep making sexual in nature content for you. You have to let it go, Liz. Never, never letting that go. We know you want to see those photos of super tan hoite. I know I do. Well, Tyler, they're up on our Instagram at was I an occult. You're welcome. And for more bonus content and video from today's episode, check out our Patreon, Patreon.com, slash, was I an occult. Or click the link in our show notes. Trust us. It's worth it.

Was I an occult is written, produced, and hosted by the new mommy, Liz Aykuzzi. And the old daddy, Tyler Mason. The show is also produced and edited by the dog mommy, Kristen Vermilia. Was I an occult is proud to support the hashtag I got out project, which empowers occultic abuse to share their stories online as a catalyst for education, prevention, and healing. Learn more at I got out.org.