meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Locked In with Ian Bick

Inside a Cult: Ex NXIVM Member Reveals How He Escaped & Took Down the Leader | Anthony “Nippy” Ames

Locked In with Ian Bick

Ian Bick

Society & Culture

4.8743 Ratings

🗓️ 10 February 2025

⏱️ 92 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Anthony "Nippy" Ames, a former college athlete and aspiring actor, became involved with NXIVM, an organization that presented itself as a self-improvement group. Over 12 years, he advanced within NXIVM, becoming a teacher and establishing centers in New York and Vancouver. He met his wife, Sarah Edmondson, through the organization. Upon discovering NXIVM's illicit activities, Ames took decisive action to expose the group's misconduct. He played a pivotal role in dismantling NXIVM, contributing to the arrest and conviction of its leader, Keith Raniere, who received a 120-year prison sentence. Ames and Edmondson co-host the podcast "A Little Bit Culty," where they discuss their experiences and engage with fellow survivors and experts. #NXIVMCult #InsideACult #KeithRaniere #CultSurvivor #TrueCrime #MindControl #EscapingACult #JusticeServed Thank you to ROCKET MONEY for sponsoring today’s episode!: Cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. Go to https://rocketmoney.com/lockedin today. Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick: https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en https://ianbick.com/ Connect with Anthony “Nippy” Ames: Podcast: https://alittlebitculty.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anthonyames11/ Book: https://checkout.square.site/merchant/MLR16M1R576DP/checkout/25UI2OVABMV3RD4YF55WQ755 Sarah’s Book: https://www.amazon.com/Scarred-Story-Escaped-NXIVM-Memoir/dp/1452184267?crid=3VKO3ATEWIZW5&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.LGohkNM1Vz3domFxEXQrtGeRdu1IqScyhq8Wc8MVd-mtYnC6efnh64SWUduYU3lzcZ8UluANFQUZISC98JnZPr6ubRrIscdIcgjS6XqHvgXFqECKYx5MLaa0Qp-Qm9lz.s6r-1UYF5MSxKJHB0JdLz58RvIq_gqoUaVRzsHSQB0U&dib_tag=se&keywords=scarred+sarah+edmondson&qid=1731523277&sprefix=scarred+sarah+edmondson,aps,130&sr=8-1&linkCode=sl1&tag=sarahjedmonds-20&linkId=89fd660197d38e393dc847948da8908a&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl Presented by Tyson 2.0 & Wooooo Energy: https://tyson20.com/ https://woooooenergy.com/ Buy Merch: https://www.ianbick.com/shop Use code lockedin at checkout to get 20% off your order Timestamps: 00:00:00 Meeting Travis at CrimeCon and Spotify Connection 00:05:23 Understanding Coercive Tactics in Cults 00:11:15 Uncover Hidden Subscription Scams with Rocket Money 00:16:27 The Impact of Puberty on Young Athletes 00:21:52 The Struggle with Losing Direction 00:27:44 Introduction to Nexium and Personal Reflections 00:33:11 Joining the Organization and Moving to LA 00:38:40 Understanding Growth Through Rules and Rituals 00:44:12 The Psychology of Cults: Us vs. Them Dynamics 00:49:52 Understanding Gaslighting and Its Impact 00:55:20 The Cult Perception 01:00:39 The Exploitation and Indoctrination of Women 01:06:21 Personal Reflections and Seeking Justice 01:12:19 Achieving Personal Success Through Self-Discipline 01:18:02 Moral Responsibility and Consequences 01:23:22 Turning Negatives into Positives: Michael Jordan's Family Motto 01:28:54 Final Thoughts and Farewell Powered by: Just Media House : https://www.justmediahouse.com/ Creative direction, design, assets, support by FWRD: https://www.fwrd.co Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

This episode is presented by eBay.

0:03.8

Rob, everyone loves a deal and a bargain from time to time, don't they? Absolutely, mate. And do you know where you can grab a great deal? Talk to me. Where? The eBay app. Yes, you are correct. You didn't need to talk to me. I already knew it. I love eBay. When you're buying, you can discover loads of hidden gems. there's so many items where you think I would have never found that anywhere else.

0:23.7

Then when you're buying, you can discover loads of hidden gems. There's so many items where you think I would have never found that anywhere else. Then when you're selling, it's so simple and most

0:25.9

importantly, free. It's free, Rob. When it's this easy to sell for free and there's great deals

0:31.6

on things you love. You can't help but say when it's eBay. It excludes vehicles and business

0:35.9

sellers. Nippy, welcome to Lockton. How

0:39.6

you doing today? Good, man. Ian, great to be here. Yeah, thanks so much to Spotify for connecting

0:43.8

us, Travis Morningstar. Travis is great. We met him at CrimeCon last spring. We were just looking

0:51.2

for an area to get outside and get some air and people were out there smoking. We got away from the smoke and he came over and started talking to us and here we are. Wow. So that's when you guys signed up with the Spotify program. Yeah. He knew who we had heard of our podcast. Sierra and him started trading emails and that's how we got here. That's so cool. Yeah. And told me about it and I was like, I know that name because I look at the Apple charts a lot and you guys are always in the top ones on like society and culture. Society and culture, isn't that funny? Yeah, we're talking about culture. Well, that's what actually they told me to put mine in. Our rep was like, hey, put it in society and culture because it'll stand out and there's less competition in a way than the true crime world.

1:30.7

Yeah, because true crime, I mean, you're dealing with an enterprise.

1:34.1

Like they've been around since, you know, I was single digits, you know, unsolved mysteries and all that stuff.

1:39.7

So, yeah, I imagine.

1:40.9

Also, if you're not going into the true kind of space to dominate it, like in your peripheral, society and culture would be appropriate, I guess. Yeah. Well, it's really cool. They connected us. Likewise. And your wife is also the author of this book right here that you guys sent me, too. Yes. It's called, I call it scared, you know, a teaser. It's called Scred. Okay. Oh, I didn't even realize it was the same

2:02.1

it's just two hours for the scarred. So I always misread it. Actually, I think I thought it was

2:08.0

scared too. That's funny. And our son has seen it. I was like, it's scared, scared. You know,

2:15.0

I tease her about it. Yeah, well, hopefully we'll have her on the show too.

2:18.2

Yeah, absolutely.

2:18.7

I'll come out to Atlanta.

2:19.9

And she sends her regards, and she's, sorry, she can't make it, but it just worked out. I was going to be in New York. And Matt said, why don't she do that? Come up to Connecticut. And I was like, let's do it. and you guys are a part of the vow, too, which we'll get into later in the app. But, yeah, that's the other thing he mentioned that I remembered because I remember seeing bits and pieces of it. Just a couple pieces of it. It's a big commitment. I got to watch the whole thing. But it's fascinating. I watched the other cult documentary that came out this year about the TikTokers. Yes, we haven't seen that yet. That's really good. I mean, we get inundated with like, you should watch this, you should watch this, and we have like a rolodex of docs we need to get to, but we have not seen that yet, but that's on our list. Yeah, that was my first ever, like, real cult documentary that I actually sat through because it was common with like TikTok.

3:07.7

Yeah, you have crossover. Yeah, so I was interested with that. Well, yeah, I mean, look,

3:12.0

there's, there's going to be crossovers and anything that kind of can capture people and has a

3:17.7

coercive aspect to it. So ultimately those things come on our radar and we get a lot of emails about

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Ian Bick, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Ian Bick and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.