Uploaded September 2019 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Artists escaping a cult. Healing from a high demand religious sect - Pilot documentary episodes of the EXJW Coming Out series of religious cult interviews, Ross Wilkins describes his path out of a high control group, better understood as a cult. This interview started my journey which evolved into our feature rockumentary Witness Underground. [links to watch below...]
XJW Coming Out of the Jehovah's Witness Religion: A Journey of Healing and Freedom
In this powerful pilot episode, we sit down with Ross Wilkins, owner of Queer Plants Cafe, an LGBT-inclusive business. Ross shares his compelling story of leaving the Jehovah's Witnesses and the path to healing he's discovered since breaking free from this high-control group.
Join us as we explore the challenges and triumphs of artists escaping a cult, and witness Ross's inspiring journey of awakening from indoctrination. This episode offers a raw and honest look at the process of healing from a religious sect and finding freedom from a cult.
Ross's experience as an artist escaping a high demand group provides unique insights into the struggles faced by those leaving restrictive religious environments. His story is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the power of personal growth.
Themes explored in this episode include:
- Artists escaping cults and high control groups
- Healing from a cult and religious trauma
- The journey to becoming free from indoctrination
- Challenges faced by ex-Jehovah's Witnesses
This interview is part of our ongoing series featuring ex-Jehovah's Witnesses stories, offering a platform for those who have left to share their experiences. Whether you're interested in religious cult interviews or seeking understanding about religious cults today, this episode provides valuable insights and hope for those on their own journey to cult freedom.
Don't miss this compelling account of one person's leaving a cult story and the path to healing and self-discovery that followed. Subscribe to our channel for more inspiring stories of individuals finding freedom from high-control groups and rebuilding their lives.
Ross and I took a two week journey down with west coast with an ex-cult member friend, as the mesmerizing tunes, of ExJW artists, HighTV, fills the air. Ross opens up about his past.
Check out the Ross Wilkins Playlist.
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSh1p2dV3s8d8ttZyHcx2idWFZpNX4o8n
Watch the XJW Coming Out playlist:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSh1p2dV3s8fMX1Nj8niJdMng56owoBKk
Learn More:
WitnessUnderground.com
Support by watching our feature Rockumentary WITNESS UNDERGROUND::
Vimeo.com/ondemand/witnessunderground
Patreon.com/WitnessUnderground
He's also featured in our Miami Episode, "Repulsive Colonialism - Queer Plants Cafe" for the Witness Underground Podcast. If you enjoy this series the podcast is a big catch up with him and a celebration of his next chapter highlighting running his own business with his partner.
__________________________
Note from the director:
This was original attempt at creating something impressive for XJW Coming Out of the Jehovah's Witness Religion, a full year before releasing any content. I filmed this and then returned home to Hanoi, Vietnam to edit it. I spent five months putting this together with loads of help from my international friends there with feedback on story arc, flow, soundtrack and overall the concept of the series.
It was a gigantic project. I still like what I created originally and decided to share it with you. Enjoy this teaser and the full episodes in the playlist. I feel like this was my baby, my thesis at the time and in a way has a lot of my craft tied up in it. I'd love to hear what you think of it.
When we first conceived of this idea to capture coming out stories of people who've left the Jehovah's Witnesses, Ross was at the top of our list of people to work with. He helped us to develop our style. We hope we've captured his personality, his perspective and we've done his story justice.
We had a Christmas break coming up and called Ross to see if he'd like to join us in this project. He excitedly agreed and we ended up spending two weeks on the west coast: traveling, filming, recording audio, celebrating the holidays in a big way and partying with his friends and family. It was a grand experiment to capture this as well as exciting to now put out into the world.
The entire soundtrack was created by HighTV, a band made up of members who also came out of the Jehovah's Witnesses.
-~-~~-~~~-~~-~-
Watch Next: "Cult members speak out Rock the Watchtower Cult Awareness Conference - WITNESS UNDERGROUND highlight"
youtube.com/watch?v=s2tYsA9nIXY
-~-~~-~~~-~~-~-
Artists escaping a cult. Healing from a high demand religious sect - Pilot documentary episodes of the EXJW Coming Out series of religious cult interviews, Ross Wilkins describes his path out of a high control group, better understood as a cult. This interview started my journey which evolved into our feature rockumentary Witness Underground. [links to watch below...]
XJW Coming Out of the Jehovah's Witness Religion: A Journey of Healing and Freedom
In this powerful pilot episode, we sit down with Ross Wilkins, owner of Queer Plants Cafe, an LGBT-inclusive business. Ross shares his compelling story of leaving the Jehovah's Witnesses and the path to healing he's discovered since breaking free from this high-control group.
Join us as we explore the challenges and triumphs of artists escaping a cult, and witness Ross's inspiring journey of awakening from indoctrination. This episode offers a raw and honest look at the process of healing from a religious sect and finding freedom from a cult.
Ross's experience as an artist escaping a high demand group provides unique insights into the struggles faced by those leaving restrictive religious environments. His story is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the power of personal growth.
Themes explored in this episode include:
- Artists escaping cults and high control groups
- Healing from a cult and religious trauma
- The journey to becoming free from indoctrination
- Challenges faced by ex-Jehovah's Witnesses
This interview is part of our ongoing series featuring ex-Jehovah's Witnesses stories, offering a platform for those who have left to share their experiences. Whether you're interested in religious cult interviews or seeking understanding about religious cults today, this episode provides valuable insights and hope for those on their own journey to cult freedom.
Don't miss this compelling account of one person's leaving a cult story and the path to healing and self-discovery that followed. Subscribe to our channel for more inspiring stories of individuals finding freedom from high-control groups and rebuilding their lives.
Ross and I took a two week journey down with west coast with an ex-cult member friend, as the mesmerizing tunes, of ExJW artists, HighTV, fills the air. Ross opens up about his past.
Check out the Ross Wilkins Playlist.
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSh1p2dV3s8d8ttZyHcx2idWFZpNX4o8n
Watch the XJW Coming Out playlist:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSh1p2dV3s8fMX1Nj8niJdMng56owoBKk
Learn More:
WitnessUnderground.com
Support by watching our feature Rockumentary WITNESS UNDERGROUND::
Vimeo.com/ondemand/witnessunderground
Patreon.com/WitnessUnderground
He's also featured in our Miami Episode, "Repulsive Colonialism - Queer Plants Cafe" for the Witness Underground Podcast. If you enjoy this series the podcast is a big catch up with him and a celebration of his next chapter highlighting running his own business with his partner.
__________________________
Note from the director:
This was original attempt at creating something impressive for XJW Coming Out of the Jehovah's Witness Religion, a full year before releasing any content. I filmed this and then returned home to Hanoi, Vietnam to edit it. I spent five months putting this together with loads of help from my international friends there with feedback on story arc, flow, soundtrack and overall the concept of the series.
It was a gigantic project. I still like what I created originally and decided to share it with you. Enjoy this teaser and the full episodes in the playlist. I feel like this was my baby, my thesis at the time and in a way has a lot of my craft tied up in it. I'd love to hear what you think of it.
When we first conceived of this idea to capture coming out stories of people who've left the Jehovah's Witnesses, Ross was at the top of our list of people to work with. He helped us to develop our style. We hope we've captured his personality, his perspective and we've done his story justice.
We had a Christmas break coming up and called Ross to see if he'd like to join us in this project. He excitedly agreed and we ended up spending two weeks on the west coast: traveling, filming, recording audio, celebrating the holidays in a big way and partying with his friends and family. It was a grand experiment to capture this as well as exciting to now put out into the world.
The entire soundtrack was created by HighTV, a band made up of members who also came out of the Jehovah's Witnesses.
-~-~~-~~~-~~-~-
Watch Next: "Cult members speak out Rock the Watchtower Cult Awareness Conference - WITNESS UNDERGROUND highlight"
youtube.com/watch?v=s2tYsA9nIXY
-~-~~-~~~-~~-~-
