What do we know about the spiritual "End of the World" cult that attracted youth and beauties in the 1980s?

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Author, Nick LevineRole, BBC

Published 1 hour ago

Reading time: 9 minutes

A man from New York's elite, in the United States, founded a spiritual group called "Eternal Values" in the 1980s. He was a mysterious man who claimed to be an alien in human form. The spiritual group prided itself on including elite and prestigious figures. Today, one of the former prominent followers, former world-renowned model Hoyt Richards, tells the details of his experience with it.

Richards lived a double life experienced by few. In the 1980s, this handsome Princeton graduate fronted ad campaigns for luxury brands like Ralph Lauren, Dunhill, and Donna Karan. Although he later moved into acting, filmmaking, and public speaking, he is still widely referred to as "the first male supermodel in the world."

Richards was the epitome of composed masculinity. When not traveling to distant destinations, he spent his time as a loyal member of a mysterious spiritual group known as "Eternal Values."

What are the roots of the idea of the end of the world? And how do different beliefs view it?

Although journalist Marie Brenner revealed the secrets of this group in an investigative piece published in Vanity Fair in 1990, the group largely faded from memory afterward. However, its intriguing origins in the mid-1980s and gradual decline throughout the 1990s are receiving renewed attention following a gripping documentary series that premiered on HBO last month, titled "Bring Me the Beauties: A Spiritual Cult in the Fashion World."

It is a true story that defies imagination. The spiritual group "Eternal Values" was founded by a man named Friedrich von Mererz, a member of Manhattan's elite known for his extensive social network, which surrounded him with an aura of mystery.

Von Mererz claimed to be an "alien in human form," an extraterrestrial from the planet Arcturus who took human shape as a means to spread an enlightenment message on Earth. His constant message was to recruit new leaders from among humans for Arcturus, before the planet would be destroyed in 1999 by what is known as "polar shift."

Image caption, Hoyt Richards became the highest-paid male model in the world in the late 1980s

This group in fact held beliefs centered on the approaching end of the world, and surrounded itself with great glamour. Von Mererz was adept at reinventing his image and was known for his constant drive to climb the social ladder. He therefore made sure to surround himself with brilliant young models and ambitious professionals. Specifically, he sought not only beautiful people but anyone who could enhance his fame and financial status.

Von Mererz was born in Brooklyn into a working-class environment. Although his true identity was unknown to most people at the time, he built his follower base and his spiritual group's wealth by selling "personal psychic readings predicting life" recorded on cassette tapes, along with custom subscriptions for selling gemstones.

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The prices were exorbitant; however, Von Mererz claimed that his precious stones had healing properties. Jackie Adams, a prominent model in the 1980s and one of the individuals recruited by "Eternal Values," told journalist Brenner that she gave the cult leader over $100,000 for gemstones and renovation work on her apartment that he helped her with.

Alternative cinema: experimental films imagining the 'end of the world'

Von Mererz had first recruited Richards in 1978, about ten years before Adams joined "Eternal Values" in 1987. Richards was unable to break free from the group definitively until 1999, nine full years after the death of its founder Freddy, as Richards called him, from complications related to AIDS.

Richards told the BBC: "I think when Freddy died, the group died with him. However, we continued our lives under his umbrella as this dysfunctional and toxic family."

When Richards left "Eternal Values" in 1999, with the help of his former male modeling colleague Fabio Lanzoni, the membership had dwindled to just a few loyalists clinging to the group despite lacking a leader or clear vision. Nevertheless, many of Von Mererz's former followers refuse to this day to admit they were ever part of the group.

Richards, now 64, admits he was "brainwashed" by the charismatic leader of "Eternal Values." He says: "I lived a 25-year journey during which I wanted to become more open about what happened, because I believe there is real value in telling this story."

How was Richards deceived?

Image caption, Friedrich von Mererz claimed to be an alien from the planet Arcturus in human form

A major part of the significance of this story is that Richards was an entirely unexpected victim. He grew up in a stable, loving childhood in a suburb of Pennsylvania. Yet his relationship with "Eternal Values," which he describes as a "cultish relationship," led him to cut off his family for 12 years. He was not only physically held but insists he remained under Von Mererz's influence even while traveling between Manhattan and Milan for modeling shoots.

The director of the documentary series, Chris Smith, who previously made a documentary about the failed Fyre Festival and one about controversial anti-aging expert Bryan Johnson, uses Richards' story as a cautionary tale highlighting Von Mererz's charisma and ability to deceive.

The model Richards, who would later become one of the most famous male models, was only 16 years old when Von Mererz approached him on a beach in Nantucket, a luxurious coastal resort in Massachusetts where his family spent summer. Since Von Mererz wanted to project a refined image of belonging to the wealthy class, that particular location was among the places he also liked to frequent.