A Little Bit Culty14 Nov 2022

Toxic All-Around: Melanie Hunt & Kim Shore on Abuse in Canadian Gymnastics

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Our guests today want you to know that culty shit is rampant in high performance gymnastics, and it didn’t all magically go away with Larry Nassar’s prison sentence. How are these abusive creeps still slipping through the system and continuing to get access to young athletes? How do you protect your kid from harm if they develop a passion for the sport? Kim Shore is the founder of Gymnasts for Change Canada, a collective that emerged on the heels of the #metoo movement in 2017 after several former elite athletes publicly shared their experiences of abuse. She’s joined by fellow advocate and former Canadian national team gymnast Melanie Hunt, who is sharing her own grisly account of psychological, physical, and sexual abuse at the hands of her coaches during her fifteen-year career. The duo chats with us about their stories and their shared mission of eradicating abuse from the sport that they love. Because the scariest thing about gymnastics should be the balance beam. This episode is a must-hear for parents who are raising student athletes in any sport, but be warned: It’s not easy listening. Audience discretion advised.

Show Notes:

Documentary: Broken: Inside the Toxic Culture of Canadian Gymnastics

Melanie’s story is included in this new documentary, now out on TSN.

CBC Article:

“Canadian gymnasts slam inaction by federal sports minister after toxic culture reports”

Hear Ye, Hear Ye:

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody’s mad at you, just don’t be a culty fuckwad.

Avsnitt(341)

Corey Jentry on Selling Sanity: Inside the Troubled Teen Industry Cult (Part 2)

In Part 2 of our conversation with Corey Jentry, we pick up where we left off and follow the long, winding path out of the troubled teen industry and the program founded by Bob Meehan. Corey shares ho...

25 Juni 58min

Corey Jentry on Selling Sanity: Inside the Troubled Teen Industry Cult (Part 1)

In Part 1 of our conversation with Dr. Corey Jentry, we dive into a side of the troubled teen industry that doesn’t get talked about nearly enough: the programs that didn’t need to kidnap kids in the ...

22 Juni 49min

Bring Me the Beauties: Hoyt Richards, and a Double Life in Eternal Values (Part 2)

Hoyt Richards is back for Part 2 with the escape story nobody knew they needed: love, coercion, a shaved head, and the unlikely guardian angel who turned out to be Fabio. After Frederick's death, the ...

18 Juni 39min

Bring Me the Beauties: Hoyt Richards, and a Double Life in Eternal Values (Part 1)

This episode is sponsored by Betterhelp.Hoyt Richards joins the pod to talk about the double life behind his modeling fame and his nearly 20 years in Eternal Values, the high-control group also featur...

15 Juni 52min

Where are they now? Mark Vicente on the Narcissist’s Playbook (Part 2)

In Part 2 of our “Where are they now” chat with Mark Vicente, he talks about Narcissist’s Playbook and the emotional toll of spending five years documenting narcissistic abuse and expanding that work ...

11 Juni 42min

Where are they now? Mark Vicente on the Narcissist’s Playbook (Part 1)

Mark Vicente returns for a new “Where are they now?” conversation and opens up about the five-year journey behind his upcoming film, Narcissist’s Playbook, which he describes as a way to better unders...

8 Juni 49min

REPLAY: Dr. Ramani Durvasula on Post-Narc Healing

Sharp, compassionate, and clarifying as ever, this replay episode from our second convo with Dr. Ramani finds her fresh off the release of her book It’s Not You: Identifying and Healing from Narcissis...

4 Juni 1h 15min

REPLAY: Dr. Ramani Durvasula on Navigating Narcissism

To prep for next week’s “Where are they now?” chat with Mark Vicente, we’re replaying our first convo with licensed clinical psychologist Dr. Ramani Durvasula from Season 5. Are malignant narcissists ...

1 Juni 1h 14min