WTF is on my Mind?! cover art

WTF is on my Mind?!

WTF is on my Mind?!

By: Mark Vicente
Listen for free

Author, Speaker, Whistleblower and award-winning Director Mark Vicente was behind the sleeper hit “What The Bleep Do We Know?!” Several books have been written about the film’s remarkable grassroots marketing campaign, which led to its unprecedented success.

Mark was born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1965. Taking his first photograph at age four, he quickly discovered his passion for being behind the camera. After attending film and drama school in South Africa, he began working his way up the ranks of the camera department, from Assistant to Operator to Cinematographer. His first big break came as Director of Photography on the musical “SARAFINA,” starring Whoopi Goldberg. In 1992, he set his sights on Hollywood and relocated to Los Angeles to shoot his first studio picture for Disney; “FATHERHOOD,” starring Patrick Swayze and Halle Berry. At the age of 26, he became one of the youngest cinematographers to shoot a big-budget studio picture.

Over the next few decades, he went on to shoot an additional 14 feature films and numerous documentaries, music videos and commercials. Mark soon found there were in him, untold stories he desperately wanted to express as a Director. He was driven by the conviction that tales of greatness, nobility and introspection could be exciting and financially successful.

Perhaps because of the very obvious race and class iniquities in South Africa, he found himself propelled to question certain fundamental assumptions at a very young age. Beliefs about human behavior, cosmology, religion, existentialism and mysticism. Along the way, he stumbled into a few situations where leaders with malignant pathologies (masquerading as saintly philosophers) spoke the talk of self-improvement but did untold damage to their followers... and him.

Looking back, he can now say he has been in at least two cults. His last foray into personal growth and his defection from NXIVM was chronicled in the HBO series “The Vow”. Mark and a few plucky whistleblowers exposed the criminal activities of the organization, resulting in multiple arrests and indictments. He doesn’t consider himself a cult expert, but by his own admission, “I’m an expert in being screwed over, waking up, and knowing how to spot them.” He’s got a pretty salty approach to most things and is fascinated by the myriad patterns in the human psychodynamic that create the best and the worst in civilization.

Join Mark as he unpacks a whole range of topics to do with: Psychology, Consciousness, Morality, Narcissistic Abuse, Spirituality, Cults, Propaganda, Science, Filmmaking, and Philosophy.You never quite know what you’re going to get, as it really does depend on… WTF is on his mind?!

© 2026 WTF is on my Mind?!
Art Social Sciences True Crime
Episodes
  • Inst@Guru: Bentinho Massaro Ep 11 - Silvana
    Jun 21 2026

    Silvana was working at Gaia, deep in a healing process, surrounded by a spiritual community, when she was introduced to Bentinho Massaro through what looked like an ordinary birthday dinner. Within days, there was a yoga class, tacos, a hot tub, truth or dare, and a text message she describes as the most manipulative thing she has ever read in her life.

    She didn't fall for it. But in this episode, she explains exactly how close she came, and why.

    Silvana's story is different from the ones you've heard so far in this series. She's not a survivor of what Bentinho did to Jacqueline, or Jade, or Keilan. She saw it coming, named it, and walked out. What she has to say about how it works, and who it targets, and what actually protects people, is one of the most clear-eyed accounts we've heard in this entire investigation.

    Also in this episode: Bentinho's infamous "spiritual" text message, read aloud and taken apart line by line. An NDA requested the morning after a party. And Silvana's final thoughts on rage, responsibility, and why women in spiritual spaces deserve so much better than what they're being sold.

    This is part of the ongoing Inst@Guru investigation into Bentinho Massaro, a Dutch spiritual influencer covered by Rolling Stone, The Guardian, Vice, and De Volkskrant.

    Bentinho Massaro: you are welcome to sit down with me any time. The invitation remains open.

    Support the show

    The views and opinions expressed on WTF is on my Mind?! do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast or Mark Vicente. Any content provided by guests are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything.

    Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/MarkVicente
    Website: www.markvicente.com
    Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@markvicente7
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markvicente/
    X: https://x.com/markvicente
    TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mark_vicente
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markvicente/

    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 12 mins
  • Inst@Guru: Bentinho Massaro Ep 10 - The Toxic Text Messages Part 2
    Jun 14 2026

    This is episode 10 of Inst@Guru: Bentinho Massaro, an ongoing deep dive investigation into the world of Dutch spiritual influencer Bentinho Massaro and the people inside it.

    The damning text messages continue.

    This episode is Keilan McNeil's. He reads through two text threads that show a side of Bentinho Massaro that his followers rarely, if ever, see. The first is a group chat in which Bentinho systematically dismantles his then-girlfriend Alison in front of the inner circle, including telling her to "go fuck yourself" while simultaneously complaining that her "negative energy" is ruining his dinner plans with a Playboy journalist. The second is the day Keilan and Jade leave the compound in Mexico. What starts as a loving farewell message turns, within minutes, into Keilan being called a pussy, a demon, and a liability in front of the entire group. His crime: asking about a drone he was owed as payment for months of unpaid work.

    What you're going to see is the same playbook Jacqueline described in episode 9. The warmth, then the detonation, then the softening, then the demand for total submission. Over and over. Different person, same architecture.

    You'll also see Cory's role up close. She isn't just a bystander. She's an enforcer, and she believes every word of it.

    And if you're in the inner circle watching this, thinking you've never seen anything like it, you may not have. Because even the inner circle was compartmentalized. That's not a coincidence. That's the design.

    The invitation to Bentinho, to Cory, to Kars, to anyone in leadership who wants to make the case with me publicly and on the record, remains open.

    Inst@Guru is part of the podcast WTF Is On My Mind, available on YouTube and all podcast platforms.

    Support the show

    The views and opinions expressed on WTF is on my Mind?! do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast or Mark Vicente. Any content provided by guests are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything.

    Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/MarkVicente
    Website: www.markvicente.com
    Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@markvicente7
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markvicente/
    X: https://x.com/markvicente
    TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mark_vicente
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markvicente/

    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 2 mins
  • Inst@Guru: Bentinho Massaro Ep 9 - The Text Messages Part 1
    Jun 7 2026

    For the next few episodes, our three defectors, Jacqueline Graham, Keilan McNeil, and Jade Alectra, are going to read out their private text messages with Bentinho and the group. What you're going to see is the side of him that his community never sees, the version that exists behind closed doors.

    This episode belongs mostly to Jacqueline. She reads through a cascade of messages sent to her at an airport, after she told him one simple thing: that she was afraid of him. What follows is a prolonged, methodical dismantling. He questions her honesty, assigns her evil, recruits the inner circle as witnesses, demands public confession of her darkest thoughts, and positions himself as the one having a heart attack.

    Before we get into it, I address something that comes up constantly in the comments. People ask, "These are such huge red flags, why didn't she see them?" This is a question I keep on answering in different ways, and apparently I will keep on doing it until the day I die. I try a different metaphor in this one.

    We also check in with all three defectors on what it's been like since the series started. The volume of people reaching out, the toll it's taking, and what keeps them going.

    This is a tiny fraction of what exists. More will surface in the TV series. But what's here is more than enough to show you the pattern.

    Next episode is Keilan. Then Jade.

    Inst@Guru is part of the podcast WTF Is On My Mind, available on YouTube and all podcast platforms.

    Support the show

    The views and opinions expressed on WTF is on my Mind?! do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast or Mark Vicente. Any content provided by guests are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything.

    Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/MarkVicente
    Website: www.markvicente.com
    Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@markvicente7
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markvicente/
    X: https://x.com/markvicente
    TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mark_vicente
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markvicente/

    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 27 mins
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
All stars
Most relevant
Watching The Vow led me to this podcast and have to say it's one of my favourite podcasts, some very compelling episodes, interesting takes, and great guests. Extremely well put together! Love it!

Compelling, must-listen to podcast

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.