Cult Media Content Endorsement 1: Bring Me The Beauties: A Model Cult
- Esther Ruth Friedman
- Jun 29
- 4 min read
“You don’t join a cult… it’s a bait and switch maneuver,”
Hoyt Richards
This docu-series has all the bells and whistles:
The recruitment: bad luck in a vulnerable moment (credit to Daniel Shaw for this succinct formula). Sixteen-year old John Hoyt Richards meets Nantucket socialite, Frederick von Mierers.
The bait: the “enlightened being” dangling THE exclusive secret sauce. von Mierers peddled astrology readings and “healing” gemstones (quite expensive).
The grooming & love bombing: You’re special! Thank God that we found you!! Aren't you lucky? von Mierers lures Hoyt into his NYC super model lair.
The exclusive access: elite beings on THE humanity-saving mission. Hoyt’s access to said super models catapults his career, alongside his beautiful, educated and sophisticated comrades. While navigating the superficial glossy media world, they were seeking something deeper. The group became family.
The inevitable switch: the family morphs into an echo chamber of feeding frenzies, demanding self sacrifice “for the greater good”, von Mierers’ enrichment. No spoilers, the switch gets crazy. In cults, crazy is the norm. So crazy, though compelling, doesn’t meet my criteria for watching and recommending: is it helping? Am I learning something new? Am I deepening my understanding?
These aspects do meet the criteria:
The series humanizes larger than life celebrities: our pop culture props beauty, wealth and fame up on shaky pedestals. Perfect people, with perfect lives. When they fall, they fall hard. Really, celebs are perfectly, imperfect, like everyone else. These former members confess…
“The modeling industry is full of insecure people.”
“You gaslight your own god damn self.”
“I left thinking that I was a failure.”
“I was saying things that people didn’t want to hear.”
“It’s time you just can’t get back.”
Hoyt, the central protagonist, is honest, transparent, authentic and relatable. I worked with Hoyt, on Living Cult Free’s Board of Directors. He is the kind, compassionate and emotionally courageous man presented on film. There's no pretension, no b.s., no arrogance. We were colleagues with parallel cautionary tales, sharing the mission with fellow Board members: educate and help others. Elevate survivor voices. Honestly, I forgot that I once saw him on billboards. His fame hit me as I watched the docu-series. It broke my heart. The double life - glamorous super model out in the world, behind the scenes, without cameras, young man hijacked by a narcissist.
It demonstrates how cults shred our social fabric without blaming victims. Friends and family, hurt, scared and befuddled, desperate to save Hoyt, said the understandable things: “This group is a cult” or “This person is abusive…” Their gut reactions pushed him further away. It’s painful to watch natural, honest, responses strengthen a cult’s sway. It’s frightening to face a loved one disappearing into a vapid, cold and distant version of himself. When best efforts hurt, rather then help, we feel helpless. As a society, we need to understand how this happens, what is happening, and how to strategize responses. Enter Fabio…
My favorite parts (too few and fleeting, imho) were when fellow super model, Fabio, (handsome, swashbuckling, romance-novel cover viking) GETTING IT SO RIGHT! (I’m not yelling, just emphatic): Unconditional support, I’ve got your back; a safe place to land; wise counsel, it’s painful and hard. Cut your losses and move forward. HOW did he knew what to say? I hear there is more Fabio’s getting it right footage that did not make the final version. Air THAT, PLEASE! We need to know! I have too much to say about GETTING IT RIGHT — another post for another day.
The series ends on former members sharing conclusions that range from whistle blowers, to those saying, “I’m not sure it was a cult”, to the continual believers. It was hard for me to watch. I wanted to shake the uncertain and continual believers and scream: “Wake up! von Mierer aggrandized and enriched himself at your expense! He intentionally hurt you. That truth is THE way to your authentic life. Your only life!”
Wrong answer. If nothing else, I'm confident of this: Reclaiming self is personal, by design. I can’t dictate another person's inside job: building trust in yourself. Authentic reclamation bubbles up from your soul. External sources can only facilitate (critical for sure, but another topic for another day) It's damaging to insist when someone isn’t ready. This delicate dance requires patience, time and acceptance. At the same time, human nature has a template, so there’s a template for taking advantage. Reclaiming self is a practice in reverse engineering to reconnecting to authentic self and some days are harder than others.
In the series, Hoyt says, “I haven’t met someone who hasn’t had some kind of coercive or manipulative relationship … Our most primal fears are being used.”
Yep. We’re all vulnerable. So, Gentle Souls, protect, protect, protect, YOUR. PRECIOUS. LIFE. Sane people accept that we don’t live forever. Face that and every sunrise is a gift, each day one more to embrace and guard, fiercely. What more do we have?
For me, Bring Me The Beauties, drives this home: “It’s time you just can’t get back.” It does so with empathy. It demonstrates that reclamation, reconciliation while embracing humanity is possible. That is what we need!
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