Was I In A Cult? - Millionaire’s Club: “The World Was Gonna Open Up”

Episode Date: February 10, 2022

Arianna was a recent college graduate with dreams of one day opening her own marketing company. So when a LinkedIn opportunity for a social media marketing assistant fell into her lap, it felt too good to be true.    Soon, she would be brushing shoulders with millionaires, in hopes that some of their mojo would rub off. After all, she had big plans for her future and a self-made father to prove herself to.    But, you know what they say about things being too good to be true...   They usually are.    This brave, inspiring woman is here to share her very important story of what exactly happened when she got involved with this Nashville "Millionaire's Club."   ____   Arianna on Instagram: @ariannasprabary   Arianna on TikTok: Aristrawberry0   Follow us on Instagram @wasiinacult   Have your own story? Email us: [e-mail]   Please support Was I In A Cult? Through Patreon  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Please note this episode deals with very serious sexual scenarios that may be triggering for some listeners. This is not new, but nobody's talking about it. Because how do you explain this? How do you go into an interview? Why are you looking for a new position? My boss was a cult leader who paid me and I quit. This sounds crazy.

There's a lot of shit that people put up with from employers. That's unacceptable. Welcome to Was Iina Colt, I'm Tyler Miesom. And I'm Liz Ayakusy. And welcome to the end of our very first season of this show. That's a good title for a show. Welcome to the End. But the great news is you guys, we are not at the end. We will be back with the season two.

Yep, and we do want to thank you, our loyal listeners who got in before it was cool. What trendsetters you guys are. But seriously, sincere thanks, it's because of you that we are able to return with many more wild, inspiring tales of the power of the human spirit. So thank you, we love you. And now, on to the title of our show Was A and a cult is meant to inspire that very question. And today's brave guest came to us to share a particularly intense scenario in which she found herself.

Intuitively when she wrote in, I just, I knew I needed to talk to her. Her experience isn't your typical cults. But as she recounted her experience, the cultic elements lit up like headlights on a dark dirt road. You're quite the poet. Her experience might normally be chalked up to shitty boss or bad work environment. But today we give her a platform to explore and see it for what it really was. And now, on to the show. You know, I already said that.

Well, let's just dive in, shall we? Okay. My name is Arianna Sprayberry. I'm 24 years old, and I lived just outside of Nashville, Tennessee. I was always raised to be confident, independent, and outspoken. My dad hustles like nobody else on this planet. He was born into poverty and was raised by a single Hispanic mother. It was really hard for them growing up.

They actually lived out of somebody's garage. My dad finished high school, served in the military, busted his ass through college. He has a business degree and he has a law degree, and he's decided not to pursue law because when he met my mom, she didn't want to marry a lawyer. Right, because you would lose every argument. You don't have to marry a lawyer to lose every argument. Losing arguments is how marriages stay alive, Liz. In fact, the key is to lose on purpose. Take notes, Adam. You're a good boy. Thank you. Good boy. That's why you have a nice golden retriever hair. He's just petted it. That's why. My dad started his company out of

their garage and within the first year he had completely paid back his loan and was profiting and from that point on he had a million dollar business. That's some irony with where your story goes. Yes, I'm fully aware of the irony. So you know when you walk into Costco and you see those big shelving things? Yeah. That's what he sells. Oh Tyler knows those shelves. Costco is where he buys all of his snacks. Dried mangoes in bulk, corn chips in bulk, pretzels in bulk? Come on. Costco's the adult Disneyland. That's the one thing that my dad always taught me is that that if you want something and

you work hard enough, you can achieve really amazing things. And my mom, she's been a stay-at-home mom, really heavily involved in like philanthropy and doing a lot of animal, you know, horse and dog rescuing. So she's just an absolute saint. I was one of those people who was in high school and I was ready to be done. Because I always felt like I could be doing so much more with my life, outside of the four walls of school. To give you a picture of Ariana, she's a wholesome girl with good morals and values. And during her sophomore year in college, I met my husband. We were in a sociology class together and then we started talking about philosophy, like was me cheat good or bad

innately because he published the book that Hitler based so much of what he did off of, you know, those kinds of light-hearted conversations. He asked for my number and then we got coffee the next day. I spilled coffee on my husband on our first date, ladies, if you want a man to marry you, you make sure you spill coffee on him on the first date. We met in February. We were married in August. We were so head over heels in love.

We started working for my dad together. I loved working for my dad. I had so much fun figuring out logarithms, figuring out marketing, figuring out different ways to use different systems to target people and at some point my husband and I realized that me working for my dad was not the best work-life balance for us. So we left my dad's company and I got a job working in an office being an executive assistant and I hated it. According to a recent Gallup poll only 48 percent of Americans are complete. in office being an executive assistant. And I hated it.

According to a recent Gallup poll, only 48% of Americans are completely satisfied with their jobs. That's down from 56% a year ago. So I started looking on LinkedIn. And when I saw the job listing for a social media marketing assistant, my eyes lit up. I was like, finally I can get back to doing what I want. It's in the pay range that I want.

In that same poll, only 38% of Americans are satisfied with the amount of money they earn at their jobs. Tyler, with the uplifting stats, everyone. So Ariana inquired about this particular position, and the owner of the company said he'd like to meet for an interview. But right from, the the the the the the the the the th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th th thi, thi, to to to to to to to be, to be, to be to be to be to be to be to be a to be a to be to be to be a to be a to be a to be a to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be th. I I I I, th. th. th. th. the th. the, the the, the, the, the, the, the. the. theate. theate. theate. the. theate. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. to position and the owner of the company said he'd like to meet for an interview. But right from the jump something felt a bit off. He sent me the address and I'm a vigilant woman so I decided to go ahead and check out the address before I agreed to meet him and it went to a house and I messaged him back and was like hey so that address leads to a house question mark what is this job he said oh no that is my house and that's an old recording studio in the back and I turned it into the office. Please keep in mind that

Arianna asked we not reveal the name of this individual nor the company itself. To be fair, she really wanted to, but our legal system is still not set up well enough to protect the Arianas of this world, which is a huge problem. I started researching this company because obviously I was going to an interview, I'm going to do my prep work and it's essentially a company where you pay a certain amount of money every month to get expert business advice with the whole goal of getting your company to a million dollars.

Yes, we know it sounds confusing but hang on, we got you, we think. Sure, okay, so what the company claims to be selling is a mentorship program from a self-professed business expert who helps you get your business to a million dollars a year in sales. We'll explain more as we go. But for Ariana, she's a young, hopeful, 22-year-old excited at this opportunity. To think that I was going to get to be rubbing elbows on a daily basis with people who were millionaires or almost millionaires. I want to have my own marketing firm someday.

I want to have my own business someday. These are the perfect people to learn from. This was presented to me very much as a startup. In the beginning, we were going to have a to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be the the the the the their their their their to be to be to be to be to be to be 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 theck. theck. theck. Weeck. Wea. Wea. Wea. Wea. Wea. Wea. Wea. I. I. I was going going going the. Wea. I was going going the. I was going the. I was going the very much as a startup. In the beginning, we were going to have a total of three office employees and our boss. That was going to be it. And when she arrived for the interview, I'm nervous. I mean, I definitely called my mom and my husband before and was like, hey, I'm going to an interview and it's actually at this guy's house.

So if I don't text you in like 45 minutes, I'm going to an interview and it's actually this guy's house. So if I don't text you in like 45 minutes, I'm murdered. You know, one of those situations. But I think that's pretty common for most women. If you're a man, you probably don't know what that feels like. She's right. It is quite rare, actually, for me to feel a tau. th sexes. And let me ask you this, Liz. Do you feel unsafe with the windows open at night? First floor, yes.

Okay. You're not alone. Because according to a recent poll of over thousand individuals of both sexes, 19% of women felt unsafe, the windows open. But only 11% of men did. Do you feel unsafe? Writing in an elevator? How about that, Liz? Scared? Unsafe? Yeah, elevators are where all the serial killers hide, Tyler. 53% of women felt unsafe, but only 17% of men. There is a big difference.

How about walking alone at night? Oh, you do not want to know the fantasies I have, walking alone at night? I don't. You know those swell bottles and hydroflas bottles I carry around, Tyler? That big heavy one you've got right now? Correctamundo. You think I'd carry this around for hydration? That's what I assumed. Yeah, no. This is a weapon. I have a whole bag full of weapons. Car keys, weapon, purse, weapon, keychain alarms, kick to the nuts. Not a weapon, but I do fantasize about it. What do you Sarah Sarah Connor? What are you, Ellen Ripley? That's a dated reference. Terminator.

I'm the bride. From Kill Bill. Yes. No, actually I'm just a woman, Tyler. Well, regardless of what badass you are, 23% of women feel unsafe walking at night, and that's compared to only 11% of men. And the only occasion in which men felt more unsafe than women was talking about their feelings. Nope, it's actually oddly enough going to the gym. 4% of men felt unsafe compared to only 2% of women. The gym, now that's an entirely new cash of weaponry right there. You've got dumbbells,

medial bells, medicine balls, ropes. Yeah, let me tell you what I can do with a rope. We get it, your Laura Croft. But in general, it is not common for men to feel unsafe while... Women, it's something we live with virtually every day. Back to Ariana. She had just arrived to the house. I walk in, the graphic designer is there. I get to meet him. Super nice guy. And I th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, we, th, we th, we th, we th, we th, we th, we th, we th, we th, we th, we get th, we get th, we get th, we get th is th is th is thi, we get th is th is th is th is th is th is th is the, we get the, we get the, we get the, we get the, we get the, we get th is th is th is th is th is th, we get th, we get th, we get th, we get th, we get th, we get th, we get th, we get th, we get th, we get th, we get th, we get th. We're th. We're thi, we get the theat that theat that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that th. I walk in the graphic designers there I get to meet him super nice guy and I sit down for my interview with shit. My first impression of him was that he was incredibly confident and what I loved about the interview was that I wasn't selling him on me he was selling me on the position. Side note red flag. I crushed

the interview, of course. I get offered the position and he lets me know that the other girl also accepted her position and we would be starting on the same day. I was like, okay, I would love to meet her before we start working together. And then the Friday before we started. I get a text from her that says, hey, I just wanted to let you know. I'm not going to be working at... If she wants you to know, he'll tell you, but you need to ask him. A bit wary, she asks her new boss, who tells her that it was about the other woman's salary and that... She probably didn't tell me just because she

didn't want to seem greedy. I was literally working my last day at my job and was starting with this company on Monday. So I didn't question it that hard and I swept it under the rug is just a weird thing. Plus I was so excited for this job the world was going to open up.... 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 ask to ask to ask to ask to ask to ask to ask to ask him to ask 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 ask to ask to ask to ask to ask to ask. I to ask. I to ask to ask to ask 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 the the the the the the the the the to to the to to to the to to to to it under the rug is just a weird thing. Plus, I was so excited for this job. The world was going to open up. But some people in her life were less enthused. When I first told my husband about the job, he was pretty nervous. I had really great health care at my current job, even though I hated it. When I came home from my interview and told him that this guy had a TED Talk,

which is a TEDx, by the way, it is not a real TED Talk. I know this now, lesson learned. My husband's reaction was, who the hell does this guy think that he is? Founded in 1984, the TED organization was created by architect and designer Richard Saul Wormann and his colleague broadcast designer Harry Marks. That's his name, Harry Marks. Harry Marks.

I prefer the word, her suit. It's another word for Harry. Her suit. Nonetheless, TED organization was created by architect and designer Richard Saul Worman and his colleague, Broadcast Designer Harry Marks. They invited a small group. God, Harry Marks. It's because I'm giving birth to a son one day and so I have little boy humor. That's his reign. It's not mine.

For years. Broadcast designer Harry Marks. These two invited a small group to California for a series of talks on subjects of technology, entertainment and design, TED, hence TED. I always figured it was some nerdy dude named Ted. The TED Talks is world experts who are carefully selected to take the stage and present, quote, ideas worth spreading at the annual TED conference. These online talks are viewed over 3 billion times annually. Now TEDx, you guys, is far different. It is a series of smaller, more local conferences

where local organizers select speakers from those who have applied and lobbied to be selected. In TED Talks, you are invited formally to give a talk. TEDx? Think of it as like a minor league, TEDx talk. But the job it had another allure, which Ariana pointed out to her husband. I was like, we are going to be making way more money every month. We would be idiots if I did not take this job. And he said, OK, this is what you really want to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do. I to do. I. I. I to do. I to do it. I to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to th. 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. I. I. I th. I th. I th. I t. I t. tod tod today. today. today. today. today. today. today. today. today. today. today. today. tod making way more money every month. We would be idiots if I did not take this job." And he said, okay, this is what you really want to do.

I trust you, and I love you. So when I started this job, it was expected of me to look nice. My hair should be done, my makeup should be done, because I never knew when he would put me on one of his lives. He is an Instagram account with 1.2 million followers. Lives for the non-tech savvy is when you do a live video on social media. You have to be on. And part of that is portraying such a happy, positive thing.

People who see pretty people who look like they have their shit together. They want to be like them. So that. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. that. that. that. that. that is that is that is that is that is that is that is that is that is that is that is th. th. thi is thi is thi is thi is thi is thi is thi is thi is thi is thi is thi is thi is thi is thi is thi is thi is thi is thi is thi is thi is thi is th. He is is is th. He is is is is th. He is is th. He is th. He is th. He is th. He is th. He is thi is thi is thi. thi. thi is thi. th see pretty people who look like they have their shit together, they want to be like them. So that was the whole pitch. Having to look the part isn't a new concept, especially when you're working with someone who is selling the ideal life. Okay, but what exactly is this trademark that she's working for all about? By the way, you guys, this dude loves a trademark. So their goal is to provide real entrepreneurs with real answers. He offers a service, and he is the service.

It's so hard to help people understand this. They would give him money every month for his guidance to help them get to that $1 million point. The way it's presented is this guy, a self-made millionaire will help you, a struggling, a struggling, a struggling to to to to to to to to to to work work work work work work to to to work to work to work to work to work them get to that $1 million point. The way it's presented is this guy, a self-made millionaire, will help you, a struggling entrepreneur, to also become a millionaire. For the very low price of $99 a month, you get to join an online community of other entrepreneurs ready to do what it takes to reach their potential. But this guy was clearly qualified to be doling out millionaire expertise, right? So his qualifications, he invested in a company in a startup early on.

He worked for them and it really took off. They sold it, and he became a millionaire. But when he was younger, he was also a performer. He played in a boy band that toured with the circus. So he has this massive music career. He claims that he had in his younger days before he became a millionaire. I never once saw an instrument or saw him play guitar or thing. And on his site, he claimed that they performed at huge venues like Madison Square Garden. But when I googled his band's name, the first thing to come up with some...

some Nebraska company. Shout out to our Nebraska fans. There was nothing, and I'm talking, the first thing to come up with some Nebraska company. Shout out to our Nebraska fans. There was nothing and I'm talking page 10 of Google, nothing about this supposed boy band. What was on page 10 of Google, Liz? I'll link to comfortable men's shoes by the same name. Man, you just teased the shit out of our audience. If they can find this guy by a Nebraska company and comfortable men shoes, they deserve it. They should work for us. He got lucky and made a couple million dollars

off that one business. So he knows everything about business. That's the true success story is to get lucky. Duh. One of his like mantra logo things was fuck failure. It said fuck failure. but instead of there being a you, it was a fist emoji. Yeah, his name is trademarked, and so is fuck failure. I'm telling you, this guy loves a trademark. So every day, Ariana was expected to look nice, drive to his house and go into the office. We had two desks on a little raised area. expected to look nice, drive to his house, and go into the office. We had two desks on a little raised area, and that was where me and the graphic designer sat. We sat next to each other, and we sat facing all day.

Just three of us just staring at each other all day on our phones and laptops. My job title was social liaison. It means that I ran his Instagram account. I would schedule the post, engage in comments, talk to people, but the main thing that I did was DM fishing. And here's where the recruitment kicks in. Her boss would hop on a Instagram live to answer questions that people had about how he became a millionaire and they would last an hour long. I would reach out to people on that live and say, hey, I can see that you were super interested. We think that you would be a great candidate to

be a part of... and then they would message me back. In order to be a part of this you have to join, which means that you go through a two-part interview process, one with me over DM where I screen you and decide if you're worthy enough to talk to the boss. You made it through me the gatekeeper. You may now talk to Great Oz, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the thi thi thi thi thi thi ti tiny tiny tiny tiny tiny tiny tiny tiny tiny tiny tiny tiny tiny tiny tiny thi, tiny tiny thi-a thi-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-s, thinininininin thin thin thinthinthin. tie-s, todde-s. today-se-se-s. toda-se-se-s. toda-sea-s. tha-sea-s. tha-s to talk to the boss. You made it through me, it's a gatekeeper. You may now talk to Great Oz, the tiny man behind the curtain, and then he'll talk to you for 15 minutes, and he will decide if you are good enough to be in it. He would say, like, for more professional people,

that he wants to be their mentor. If you were just like running a small business, you run an air conditioning company or whatever, he's going to say I want to be your coach because that's definitely going to appeal to that audience way more. Feels very exclusive and you are selected, you are pre-selected, you are invited. Special, chosen, exclusive. These are all buzzword, cult leader tactics that prey on the human psyche. But the truth is, he would basically take anyone with a credit card. What's a hundred dollars a month if I can get your business to a million dollars? And these business owners, well, they ran the gamut of classes and professions.

People who own small businesses, like mom and pop shops are a part of this. People who own like mobile pet wash shops. People who own air conditioning companies. People who install flooring. Like such a wide variety of people. People who were virtual yoga instructors, e-commerce sales. You name it, it was in there. There was tons of financial incentive for me to recruit.

Because there's always an incentive with recruiting. If I could get a certain amount of people to sign up, in three months, I would get a cash bonus. And for those who did sign up, they were invited to hear, well, more talking. Every Wednesday he would do these lives. He would be on for like two to three hours, talking to the members of the Facebook group. Like many cult leaders, he created an illusion of a safe space. And people would open up. And sometimes people would talk about personal things, maybe problems in their marriage or their health not being so great. He wouldn't talk to them their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their, like their, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, thoen, thiwoes. thioomoomoomoomoomoom. thiiououou. thii. thi. thii. thii. thiiiiii. thiiii. thiiii. thiiii. thii. thi. thi. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe, toe, toe, toe, to, to, tooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. te. ts, maybe problems in their marriage or their health not being so great. He wouldn't talk to them like on the phone, he would talk about them to them on the lives.

And people would literally watch this while they were eating dinner. They would watch this while they were working. You had to be at those lives. This is your time every week that you are dedicating towaaauiiiiiiiiiiii, 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, thiicating towards your success. To be fair, the energy of you can have it all this guy was creating was intoxicating. I was so entranced by this entire thing. I mean, we had wine on the patios after work, and I was getting to rub shoulders with people who were millionaires. It was amazing. I truly believed this was it. This was my peak.

And I didn't question anything. And we all know by now what happens when you question. I knew that I was willing to do whatever it took to get where I needed to be like my dad and become this successful person and enjoy this wonderful life. So while I'm doing this job, I was watching interviews with other mentors. I was listening to podcasts. We were watching the stock market. I was reading books that were assigned to me. And my favorite is stock market. I was reading books that were assigned to me. And my favorite is that I was watching his TED Talk.

Voluntarily? Oh no, guys, that was part of her job. To watch his TEDx talk at infinitum. I have seen that TED Talk probably 50 times. He also started to mold her into what he wanted her to be. It first started with her dress, her hair, her makeup. Also known as Behavioral Control. He gave me a book called How to Get a Point Across in 10 seconds or less. Because he always hated the way that I spoke. I would say, hey hey I've got this really sweet lady in Michigan who wants to chat with you. I think you're really

going to like her. No no no that is too many words say lady Michigan needs to chat now. Like a caveman. I needed to be a robot. Liz read line now. Job do hard now. Eat food in belly yummy. Job, do hard now. Eat food, eat, belly, yummy, oh, chips, chips, eat, chips. It took over my whole life. Every weekend, every waking hour, I was on my phone. According to that same Gallup poll, in which I referenced earlier, there we go. 25% of Americans claimed to work between 45%up poll in which I referenced earlier, 25% of Americans claim

to work between 45 and 60 hours a week, and 63% of workers claim to frequently or occasionally check their work emails outside of the normal working hours. And this type of behavior is almost expected in the American working society, and it's exacerbated by the pandemic where the American working society and it's exacerbated by the pandemic where the lines of home and work are becoming even more blurred. That's why I'm moving back to the old country. I'm not a bad idea because Italy as well as France, they enacted a labor law that gives employees the right to disconnect from email smartphones and other electronic leashes

once their working day has ended without fear of termination. Brilliant. Liz, French, quote, read now. Oh, oh yes, yes, yes. To quote the French Ministry of Labor, quote, these measures are designed to ensure respect for rest periods and balance between work and family and personal life. Take a note America. But for Ariana, being consumed by her new job felt justified.

My lines were really blurred because I felt like I was on the path to greatness, and I didn't care. My marriage at this time was really honestly struggling because I was focusing so much on my job. I was constantly on my phone. And I knew that if I did not do this over the weekend, he was going to be so disappointed with me on Monday. He, being her boss, he would say things like, I thought you were like me, I thought you got it, I thought you were intelligent.

Hearing that made me think maybe I just wasn't cut out for this. Maybe I wasn't smart enough or pretty enough or witty enough or all of those things to have what it took to be a millionaire. Demaning you, cutting you down, making you feel small, this is also known as emotional control, which, 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, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, 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, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th,eaning you, cutting you down, making you feel small, this is also known as emotional control, which is another narcissist slash cult leader tactic. For the first time in my life, my internal voice was telling me that I wasn't good enough if I didn't work harder,

that I wasn't going to be successful, that I wasn't going to be happy. Because the whole the whole whole whole whole whole whole whole whole whole whole whole whole whole goal goal goal goal goal goal goal goal goal goal goal goal goal goal goal goal goal goal the whole the whole the whole thuuui w w w woooooe, to to to to to to to to to to be to to be to be to be to be to to to to be to be tooing tooing tooing tooing tooing tooing tooing to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be toe. toe. toe. toeananeaneaneaneaneaneaneaneaneaneaneaneaneanean. tooingean. tooingean. tooingean. tooing. toean. that I wasn't going to be happy. Because the whole goal, and he knew at this point, was I would be a part of the millionaires club. I was going to prove my dad right that I could build my own successful business, that I didn't have to take over his, and that I could do it, and that I would make him proud. Fuck Failure is a register trademark of Dushbag Corporation and is used under a license agreement. Dushbag Corp has not endorsed nor sponsored was I in a cult in any manner nor license any intellectual property for use in this podcast.

It was really hard to know where you stood with. Depending on the day. Some days you were treated really well. Other days, he was angry with you. He actually had a really volatile relationship with our graphic designer. And I suspect part of the reason he treated our graphic designer so absolutely atrociously

was because he was a member, is a member of the LGBTQ Plus community. Would just really talk down to him and criticize him and criticize his work. It was just really horrible to watch. I didn't even know what to say because I knew that if I said something to him, he would be incredibly angry at me because it would be like me hurting on him and not backing him up. More fear tactics. I knew what emotional abuse traditionally looked like,

but I didn't know what it looked like in a work environment. You don't think about your boss being emotionally abusive towards you. That's crazy. Never question the leader. Okay, so I understand what this company is, but I actually don't understand what this company is. What is this company? Well, it's trademarked, so it must be legitimate. So a membership is $99 a month, such a steel, I will tell you all the things that you

can get. Connection Manager. It's just the home web page for the site. You can set little goals and like message people. Online training. And the other mentors record themselves on their cameras or on a live in the Facebook group. It's available on the site and we get the pleasure of watching that. Next, you get accountability group. Then you get peer exchange, which to me is the same thing as an accountability group,

but who am I to question? Then we have asked a question. You can submit a question, and they will answer it via video, and it will be uploaded through the site. There were were the the the the th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, thoe thoe, thoe, thoe, thoe, thoe, thoe, thi. thoe, tho, tho, tho, tho, thi. thi. tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, thi. tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, to, to, to, to, to, tho, tho, tho, the, thi. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. thean. thean. thean. tooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. the. th through the site. There were 2,500 active members in this community. In doing the math, that's about 3 million real dollars every year. But his real motivation and master plan is to find companies on the verge of success and put money into them.

Like his own little shark tank. It gives him an opportunity to invest in companies that are going to be successful because he's had an opportunity to organically feel them out and that is where all of his profit really comes from. But by the time you are at that point where he wants to invest in you, you're so obsessed, you're not going to question how much he wants of your company or or the legality behind it.

So all of these members pay their fees, watch his videos, and strive for the main goal of being labeled a mentor. You become a mentor by making a million dollars a year in sales from your own company. Of which there had to be thousands, right? Or at least hundreds. He says that he has 10 or 15. But really only only only only only, 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 th, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like the 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, th.a, th.a, th.a.a.a.a. th. th.a.a.a. th. th. th. th. th. the. their, their, their, their, their, to be thousands, right? Or at least hundreds? He says that he has 10 or 15, but really only like three people were actually active, mentors. Three total? I mean, even if it was 10 or 15, that's 0.6% success rate.

Even MLM's got him beat. So some of the people who are mentors or became mentors. One was, I believe he ran like a marketing firm, successful. Another person owned a winery, another person sold in design luxury handbags. These are all businesses that make sense to sell a million dollars a year. I think that those people were business savvy and intelligent enough on their own to do that without the program. Another big source of financial abuse or income for this dude was, can you guess it, Tyler? Fuck failure, trademarked, hooded sweatshirts. Yes, and...

And t-shirts and probably golf teas. Yes, monogrammed, fuck failure golf balls and teas. Yes, all of it. And? Um, conferences? Conferences. Because cults love a conference. These events are like $5,000. Which was also held at the house. The five grand was just the price of the weekend.

You still had to pay for travel and lodging. Give us $5,000, please and thank you to come sit in my office and listen to me rent and then drink wine on my patio. Thank you. And during these weekends, he has what's like an award ceremony where the new millionaires get a plaque with the organization's logo on it and people clap for them and they're brought on stage in front of everybody in the group and they're asked to give a little speech and of course they say it's because that's he's so amazing. That's it that's your conference you're basically sitting in our office space at

tables classroom style listening to a rich white man. He makes sure there's lots of food, lots of booze, lots of booze, and lots of booze. And it's very much an opportunity for him to show off his opulent lifestyle. His house is massive. It's got I think like three floors. There's a movie theater, there's like a whole room for wine. He has a garage with four different cars. There's like a Lamborghini, Range Rover, I think, Rolls Royce. He's not married. Nope.

In the words of Paul McCartney, money can't buy me love. But it can buy you adoration. He had a ton of people in this community. They were all gun-home. They really felt like this was it. th. This the the th. This was the success the success the success the success thuuuuuuu.. T, th. T, th. T, thui. T, thui. T, the, thui. T, 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, the, the, the, the, thi. There, the, the, thi. I I thi. I thi. I thi. I the, the. I theean, thean, thean, thean, thean, thean, thean, thean, than, than, than, than, thean, th of people in this community. They were all gung home. They really felt like this was it, this was the success story, and that's how I felt too. He was the guy who invented becoming a millionaire, basically. He was everything to these people. They genuinely believed that they will not be successful in this life.

And so when they do have some sort of success, they attribute it all completely to him. Well, they genuinely believed it because of his manipulative tactics using thought and emotion control. They believed it because he instilled deep fears of failure. People were so afraid that their lives would crumble without him. So you don't leave, and you don't ask questions. But not every member of this wannabe millionaire community was completely sold on his tactics. Some saw the little man behind the curtain. And they would make their frustrations

publicly known. When people would get mad or frustrated or upset or expressed any type of contempt, we would immediately remove them from the Facebook group. We would block them on Instagram. We would write in the group. We had a major issue with this person. Please disregard what they are saying. It is not the truth. Speaking out was near impossible for the members, but it was even more difficult for

Ariana. I can't question it, because if I do, I'm instantly wrong or shut down, even for something very small. It's where that micro-control begins on such a small level, and it progresses to things like taking over your weekends, taking over your personal time, taking over your life, and then, boom, access to your decision-making. And so Ariana went from being entranced to entrenched.

I have always been someone who is extremely family-oriented. And for the first time in my life, I was pegged with a situation where I felt like I had to choose between my career or my family. We were having a wine on the patio night. And he asked me if I was going to stay because some people would be coming, that would be good for me to network with. And I told him no, because my husband was getting off from work early that night, and I told him that I was going to go home and make dinner.

He said, "[. Has ended two marriages. Because either your spouse supports you completely or they don't. I didn't know how to argue with him because I didn't want to make him angry and so I did not make my husband dinner that night we did not have a dinner date at home and instead I was drinking wine on a patio with white men who did not care about me. So, here in the South, it's not uncommon for men to be a little bit more touchy feeling.

Sometimes, there may be something that like makes you slightly uncomfortable, where someone puts their hand on your lower back and it's just, it's a little low. You're like, okay, but it's also my also my friends pop pop I can't say anything. That night when we were saying goodnight when we were all leaving he went to hug me and I'm like okay good he's not mad at me one two great he's one of these people. He hugs me and he put his hand on my lower back right above my butt. I didn't really know what to say because it was so awkward and I And he put his hand on my lower back right above my butt. I didn't really know what to say because it was so awkward.

And I convinced myself that he'd probably just had maybe one too many glasses of wine that night and just didn't realize what he was doing. By the time I got home, I had already justified in my mind what had happened. I look back at it now and I just want to like yell at myself. If something makes you uncomfortable, open your fucking mouth and say police don't do that and you don't even have to be that nice. You can say, what the fuck? It doesn't matter if your friend's pop pop or if it's your boss or if it's your uncle. But at the time, I didn't want to make him angry and I didn't want to be rude and embarrassed him.

I did not use my voice. Our show often features stories of individuals who, after years of abuse and manipulation, finally wake up and work their way out of a cult. And usually it is a long and exhausting deprogramming process. But for Ariana, it was quite different. Me leaving was not something that I really decided. It wasn't like I put thought into this and I questioned this and I decided that I didn't want to be a part of this anymore.

One day I was working in the studio by myself, the shoff called me at about one o'clock and told me that we had closed a pretty big business deal. And he was really excited about it. And he was working at his house, which is just a quick walk down, some stairs past the pool. And he said, I opened a bottle of 97. So it was a 1997 collector's bottle of wine. I said, isn't it a little bit early to be drinking? And he said, not when you're a millionaire, you can do whatever the fuck you want. And then he invited me to come down and share that wine with him. I had no idea how to say no.

So I get down to the house, I bring my laptop because he says we're going to work from the house while drinking wine and staring at the pool because how luxurious and how amazing is this live? I'm like, okay, cool. He goes around the corner to the bar and he gets the glasses of wine and he brings it to me. The next thing I remember was him telling me that I needed to leave my shirt there because it had a wine stain on it and gave me one of the company t-shirts and sent me home. I started driving around because I didn't, I couldn't think, and I pulled into the mall and sat in the Dillard's parking lot and I just

remember like shaking, shaking. It took me a few hours to process what had happened to me that day. I sat my husband down that night and I explained it as I did pretty much just now with the I don't understand this. And my husband looked at me and he said he raped you. And I looked at him and I just started falling because he was right. I didn't have words for what had happened to me because I had never, ever experienced something like that before. I didn't leave the couch for probably a day and a half. We made the decision that we were going to go to the police.

We were going to go to the authorities and report this incident. I was terrified to go to the police beyond scared, because I didn't know what kind of backlash there would be for something like this. We drove to the Sheriff's Department, which is about 10 miles from the house. They asked me a lot of questions. Questions that I didn't really know the answer to. I really don't remember that much. When he brought the wine over, I remember taking a couple of sips and starting to feel really tired and just feeling

like I'd had a lot more wine than I had. And I couldn't think straight and I couldn't move straight, like I was completely on another planet how could I how could I leave and I know now it's not my fault for not leaving but at the time I was so ashamed at myself for not walking out of there this is all I remember and they said do you remember telling him no do you remember telling him stop and I said yes yes I do. The sheriff, and he looked at me and he said that he had been drug like that, given a date-rape drug. And he doesn't remember a single thing from when he got that date-rape drug

given to him. And she ended up sending me a text saying, I know you went to the police. I was tipped off. And the detective saw it. And I thua. thine, th. th. the thine, the thine, th. the thine, thine, thine, th. thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, th, th, thin, th, th, the, the, the, the, and I the, and I th, and I the, and I the, he said, he said, he said, he said, he said, he said, he th, he the, he the, he the, he the, he the, he the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, te, te, te an tean, tean, tean, tean, tellean, tell, thean, thean, thean, thean, theee an the an police. I was tipped off. And the detective saw it and I looked at the detective and I was like, are you fucking kidding me? How does he know this? He said he knows somebody in the police department. How are you supposed to investigate this now? And he assured me that it was not a security issue associated with the police or sheriff's department. And then we went and did my rape kit, which was the most traumatic experience. It was horrible. I had to go by myself with this male detective to be escorted to this room, to be examined by this nurse. A few days later, my husband, my detective, and then another detective who was a female.

We were going to call and try and get some answers from him, try and get him to say something incriminating. I called him and the female detective was sitting on my left and she was writing with a pencil and paper. She was coaching me on what to say. We all had little earbuds so everyone could hear him, but only I could speak. He said, did you go to the authorities the authorities the authorities the authorities to the authorities to the authorities the authorities to the authorities the authorities to the authorities the authorities the authorities the authorities to the authorities the authorities the authorities the authorities to the authorities the authorities the a the a to to to to to to to to to 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 get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get. I. I. I, and I, and I, and I, and I, and I, I, I, I, I, I their. I their. I the the the the the the the the a the a the a the a the a the a te.e.e. try. try. try. try. try. try. try. try. te. te. t say. We all had little earbuds so everyone could hear him but only I could speak. He said, did you go to the authorities? And I said, no, I didn't, what are you talking about? I was coached to say that. And he said, are you sure? Are you sure you're not sitting with the police

right now? I was like, no. And he said, really because I can hear the pencil scratching on the paper next to you. I know you're being the the the the the the the the the the the the th, th, the th, th, th, th, th, th. th. th. th. th. thi all all thi all thi all thi all thi all thi all to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to say, to to say, to say, to go, to say, to say, to say, to say, to say, to say, to say, to say, to say, to say, to say, to say, to say, to say, to say, to say, to say, to say, to say, to say, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, thin, they. tho, they. thoooooooooooo. their their thoooooooo. thoooo. too. too, toe on the paper next to you. I know you're being coached." And hung up. That's the day that everyone in the organization unfriended me, blocked me, removed me from social media, blocked my phone number, all of it. And that was it, and we were done with that. Four weeks after that, I got a call from my detective and he said the district attorney did not feel that there was enough evidence to proceed with trial because it was my word against his. But the sickening part is that there are two other women in this experience. The girl that I was supposed to start with, I gave the detective her contact information

because I just knew after that happened to me that there was more to with. I gave the detective her contact information because I just knew after that happened to me that there was more to that story. And what she told the detective was that they were having a meeting at his house to discuss her salary. She had a few glasses of wine. He started feeling her up, made her extremely uncomfortable and she waited until she got sober and then drove home and quit. There was another girl who I know of that was cornered upstairs in his bedroom. He invited her to meet his cat and cornered her and made her very uncomfortable and she quit. How many more women are going to be taken advantage of, emotionally, physically, financially?

How many more people is he going to do this too? And why did it end up being just to be taken advantage of emotionally, physically, financially. How many more people is he going to do this too? And why did it end up being just his voice against yours, the rape kit? You don't obviously have to go into details because I know it's traumatizing, but I don't understand how those things work? When you get a rape kit done, they really want you to do them within 12 hours. No one ever told me what I needed to do. I was always taught how to present rape. Nobody ever told me what to do if it did happen and the different ways it can look like. And the same thing with being in this organization, which I believe was a

colt. No one ever taught me the red flags of that. I knew what Scientology looked like. I've got that down. I'm not going to fall for a cold. I know what an MLM is. I'm not going to fall for an MLM, but this? This was different. It's creative. It's intelligent. And it's really fucked up. So this entire experience happened over a three-month period, which sounds like no time at all,

and yet it completely altered my entire life and everything that I knew. We had to move out of our apartment because I was afraid that he would send somebody there to intimidate me to be quiet. I was terrified to drive my car. I couldn't be alone and was unemployed for the first time in my life. My entire career, which was so much of my identity, was gone. I spent so much time questioning how someone like me would be so willing to throw away so many things

that were important to me for something or someone for an idea for a hope for a dream that he completely prayed on and took advantage of not just to me either to everyone in that group. Oh but Ariana it's beautiful to dream, it's healthy to hope. Without the dreamers of this world, we would live a colorless, banal existence. And now what? How does one even begin to process this horrific experience? How do I explain an internet organization with all this aura and mystery that totally

controlled my life and controls other people's lives. There's no meeting space, there's no gathering hall, there's no rituals really, not what you would expect. But I knew what had happened. And when I found your podcast several months ago, and I started listening to other people's stories, I felt so validated for the first time that I could actually put a name to what this monster was because it was more than just emotional financial manipulation it was more than just rape it was more than just those things it was like this overarching umbrella of control and I guess

that's how everyone who's been in a cult ends up in a cult, is they don't ever look the way that you expect them to, until it's too late. And you're like, oh shit. I think, genuinely, when I went to the police, I think it was shocked, because I don't think that anyone had done that before. And honestly, if it hadn't been for my husband, I think I'd still be working for him.

Because I would have talked myself out of it. There's a lot of shit that people put up with from employers. That's unacceptable. We accept some of those little things, and over time we start to think they're normal. And so when we're approached with a situation like this, we're like, okay, well, but I can't lose my job, I can't question my boss. Question the authority, question power if it's wrong, say something. But what do we do about this?

Because even in your story, we're not going to mention his name. So there's this perpetuating victim silencing happening perpetuated by threats, financial threats mostly, right? Right. Because that's their biggest thing is I'll sue you. Financial freedom of being sued is massive. It could ruin my life and I won't let him do that again and I hope that enough people will start to step forward and speak up and use their voices. Keep speaking up when you're scared. Keep using your voice. Keep sharing. Keep talking.

Keep being loud. There's a reason that people like this do this and it's because we say nothing. And if we use our voices, eventually they're going to get scared. Or caught. And then hopefully one day phrases like, when you're a millionaire you can do whatever the fuck you want. Will no longer be true. And it might feel scary and it might feel like you're not doing enough,

but even just doing the bare minimum and sharing with one other person, it's going to be okay and it's going to help so much. There's not a single woman I don't know in my life who has ever been approached or touched or spoken to or forced by a man. And there are so many people I know who have been in M-Alms, who have been in Colth and yet nobody cares until somebody starts using a platform and speaking out. I have nightmares still about going to the police department. I have nightmares about being in that hospital by myself getting a rape kiss.

I have nightmares that someone's following my car. But at the end of the day, I still have my voice. If I can help one person not have to go through something like that, not even that exact organization, but any organization like that, if I can help them not go through that by using my voice, then that takes power away from people like that. That's my goal. Despite having gone through such a terrible experience,

Ariana has worked to overcome the trauma. I am sitting here today thanks to my wonderful therapist. Thank God for good therapists. And no, she's not in the millionaire club, but that doesn't matter. Today I am actually incredibly happy. I have a normal job. My husband and I have two dogs.

Everything's great. I have so much time to focus on all the people in my life and how much I love them and getting to pursue the things that I enjoy most, that I no longer feel that if I know the right people and the most powerful people in the room, that I'm successful. Now I care about knowing the good people in the room. People who stick up for others, who love genuinely, those are the people that matter.

Those are the true millionaires. We as human beings are worth more than what we financially can contribute. And following your moral compass and using your voice are going to make you far more wealthy than a company ever can. And that's something that he can't take away from me. And I don't think anyone should let someone take away from them. Your voice is your magic. And I felt like Ithink anyone should let someone take away from them. Your voice is your magic. And I felt like I lost it for so long. But it's not gone.

It's not gone. What an inspiring and amazing tale from a strong woman with a strong voice. Ariana believes there are several other victims of this individual out there who haven't yet used their own voice. So she asks that if you're out there, reach out to her directly on Instagram at Ariana Sprayberry. That's A-R-I-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-Sk, the, so, so, so she asks that if you're out there, reach out to her directly on Instagram at Ariana Sprayberry. That's A-R-I-A-N-N-A-S-P-R-A-B-A-R-Y. And she said to just DM her. We'll have a link in our show notes. Did you know that every 68 seconds an American is sexually assaulted? If you're looking for support, information, advice, or a referral, please contact Rain, that's

RIN, the nation's largest anti-sexual assault organization. They operate the National Sexual Assault Hotline, 1-800-6-56, Hope. And they also carry out programs to prevent sexual assault, help survivors, and ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice. Find out more and support them at RAINN. An update. After this episode initially aired, we were contacted privately by the man in question who quote, denied all claims and quote, not here to change anyone's mind, but to at least

go on record that I deny it. He also stated that he simply didn't invest in a company but quote actually started a company and sold it 11 years later and that's how I became a millionaire. He also claimed that there aren't 2,500 members in the organization but quote there are only 250 at this time. He also apparently stated that he never owned a Lamborghini or a Rolls Royce as Arianna claimed. And as we close out our first season, we want to thank all of the guests

who have used their voice to share their remarkable stories on our show. But we're not done telling stories. No, we're not, and we will be back soon, guys, where we'll tackle, well, our own personal cult stories. You know, we've been promising that to our listeners for quite a while now, Liz.. th. th. th. th. I. I. I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, th. th. thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, th to th to to thank, thank, thank, thank, thank, thank, thank, th th th th th th th th th th th th th th than, than, than, than, than, than, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, than, than, than, than, than, than, to than, to than, to than, to to than, than, than, than, than, than, than tackle, well, our own personal cult stories. You know, we've been promising that to our listeners for quite a while now, Liz. I know, it's like our version of Doomsday. It's coming, people.

And it's your fault, it hasn't dropped yet. You're not righteous enough. Lie at our feet and repent. Just kidding, it is coming. We'll also cover some cult stories that will blow your mind. We'll hear stories of people who left. Scientology, the troubled teen industry, Islamic cults. Christian cults, spiritual enlightenment cults, one-on-one cults and many, many, many more.

And the crazy story of the world's first male supermodel who spent 20 years in a cult only to be rescued by Fabio. You made that up. I didn't Liz. So many cults, so many great stories. But there is always room for more. So if you have a story to share please reach out to us at info at was I an occult.com. And guys don't forget to follow us on Instagram for updates and occasional nonsense. And just to balance the horrible stats we gave you during the show, here's a few fun ones.

There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar. The average human eats 1,500 pounds of food a year. 13 of those are ice cream. And Australia is wider than the moon. And visit us at Wasa and Occult.com to learn how you can support our show. Was I and occult is a story produced. th. th. to. to to to to the to to to to the to to the to to to the to to to the to t. the t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. tie. tie. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. 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 show. the the the show. the tie. tie. tie. tie. tie. tie. tie. tie. ti. ti.s.s.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.s. tiecom to learn how you can support our show. Was I an occult is story produced and written by Tyler Miesom. And by my friend and partner who I'm so proud and honored to work with. Ah, thanks Tyler. You too.

Executive producer is Maya Cole Howard. Supervising producer is Ari Bessiel. Audio editor and engineer is Chandler Mays. Publicist is Lauren Dutton Vreen. And our studio engineer is Clay Hillenburg. And our fan of the week is, it's you. All of you that are listening. You are all chosen. And to end the season, we'd like to give a special thanks to our loved ones who support us while we do this show. My wonderful and caring partner Diana, my son Gabriel and my remarkable daughter Ruby, who was brave enough, see I'm getting a teary,

who was brave enough to come out as gay and trans while living in Utah. Her mother, Amelia Merritt, is also so helpful and supportive and a fan of the show. And to my love and biggest supporter Adam, and Frankie and soon to bethe show. And to my love and biggest supporter Adam and Frankie and soon to be baby boy, and to my parents for being fans from day one. And a special thanks to Lauren aka Lolo for all your love and support and to my Tuesday Yodal Colty's. Thanks to Sarah, Vivie, Aunt and Ash. Love you all. Thanks, everyone. Kiss me goodbye. Take out your life. Take out your life. Purify me.

Don't spare my life. Crucifale. Liz, end season one now. A tipy cow! Season one, over.