Memories of Mike Rinder from people who knew and admired him
We asked readers to send us their memories of Mike Rinder, and the response has been overwhelming. Here are just some of the messages we received. — Tony Ortega
Alex Gibney, director of Going Clear. It’s rare when people can change. It’s even more rare when someone can reckon with their own misdeeds, admit them and then find a way to make amends.
Mike Rinder was such a man.
As the onetime spokesperson for Scientology, he was a fierce defender of the cult, who was an expert at employing “fair game,” the church’s form of psychological warfare. Over time, he was able to understand and reckon with the noble cause, corruption that afflicts people who feel that, because they are on a mission, they are entitled to be ruthless and cruel.
To leave a cult, you have to admit, down deep, that you have been fooled, that you have been wrong, and, at the same time, have enough faith in yourself to know that redemption is not only possible but necessary.
Mike found redemption and also a generosity which allowed him to work with others who had been fooled and to work to expose the human rights abuses of Scientology, some of which he had enabled.
I remember sitting with Mike in Florida and shooting an interview for the film that became “Going Clear.” I think the camera rolled for five hours that day and I felt like we had just scratched the surface. Mike was patient with me as I tried to dig deeper into the history of the church and his role in it. He smiled, as someone who has been to hell and back can do, and said, “I’m willing to take you as deep as you want to go.”
I remember him saying that in his funny declarative way of speaking in which he was careful, in his faded Australian accent, to enunciate every syllable — likely a bit of spokesman training — but also to make sure that he was being clear in the very best sense of the word.
Mike was brave, kind and fair. I will miss him.
Spanky Taylor. Tony, thank you so much for asking me to share my feelings with you about the passing of our dear and cherished friend Mike Rinder.
Mike has touched a part of my heart that few have. He was courageous and unwavering in his commitment of battling Scientology along with his strong, noble, and tenacious partner, Leah. Their valiant and effective exposure gave a voice to so many whose stories needed to be told, and in doing so prevented many more from falling victim a ruthless organization. For that I owe him infinite thanks. Mike, you are a much loved father, husband, and friend. I am honored to have shared with you the time we had together. I will always hold you in high esteem. You are and will remain a HERO of mine. I am holding Christy and the boys in my heart.
Tracey McManus, Dallas Morning News reporter. As journalists, we need to always question the motives of sources who provide us information and inform our reporting. While I covered the Clearwater/Scientology beat for the Tampa Bay Times from 2015-2024, Mike Rinder became an encyclopedic source as I tried to understand Scientology and its inner workings.
But I did wonder why he dedicated essentially all of his days to alerting the world to Scientology’s alleged abuses, which made him the target of truly dark smear campaigns. Wouldn't he rather try to leave it all behind? In one of our phone calls, I asked Mike if he ever got fatigued talking about this subject — answering reporters' questions, explaining the same topics over and over, and sharing details about a world from which he had to escape. He admitted that yes, it got tiring. But he said he felt an obligation to keep at his activism — in part because of the role he played in perpetuating Scientology for so many years.
That made Mike an invaluable resource for journalists. He respected the role of the free press and understood the job we have to do. He always answered the phone and was patient and kind in explaining complex Scientology policies. He didn't get offended at critical questions.
When I first got to know Mike, I said if he ever wanted to talk about something off the record, that I value those conversations and they would always be confidential. He told me that nothing he ever said would ever be off the record. He wanted as much information out as possible. With Mike’s death, the world lost institutional knowledge about a secretive organization that continues to impact people's lives. But he leaves a legacy that will continue to play a role in the understanding of Scientology for decades to come.
Steve Cannane, journalist. I was so sad to hear that Mike had died. He was a remarkable man, and my thoughts are with Christie, Jack and Shane and all his friends and loved ones.
I can’t think of a Scientology whistle-blower who had more impact exposing the abuse, enslavement, corruption and coercion shamelessly perpetrated within Hubbard’s and Miscavige’s perverted cult.
Think of all Mike’s powerful contributions in the media. The Aftermath programs and the Fair Game podcasts with Leah Remini, the Going Clear documentary, his book and his blog, his interviews in the St Pete Times, his work with John Sweeney on the BBC’s Panorama program and the impact he had in the country of his birth where he continued to help Australian journalists to get the truth out.
It was appropriate that in his final message to friends Mike urged everyone to “never give up” when it came to fighting Scientology abuses. He sure never did.
When I first met him in Florida in 2016, he was being tailed by six private investigators at a time. His rubbish was being rifled through, there were cameras fixed in a neighbouring bird house so they could spy into his home. The partner of a private eye, Heather McAdoo, had moved into a nearby home and ingratiated herself into Mike and Christie’s lives so she could gather intelligence on them. Even his family members who remained in the cult were harassing him in public.
Yet Mike did not take the easy path and disappear like others did. He continued to speak out, no matter the cost, using all his knowledge and charm and good humour. He was one of the most courageous people I have known.
Before I met Mike, we had spoken on the phone a number of times when I was working on stories for the ABC, and I found him an extraordinary source of information. He was always incredibly generous with his time. He pointed out to me a range of fascinating connections between Scientology, Hubbard, and Australia which inspired me to write my book Fair Game.
Mike had a front row seat to so many moments in Scientology history. He had served as a deckhand and messenger on the Apollo with Hubbard, survived the infamous “rock concert” in Madeira, worked in external communications when Hubbard decided to move the Sea Org ashore to Clearwater in 1975, and was later tasked with reforming Scientology’s intelligence and legal affairs wing after the disaster of the Snow White Program and the jailing of Mary Sue Hubbard.
Eventually he became the head of the new Office of Special Affairs (OSA) which replaced the Guardian’s Office. The kind of surveillance operations he used to approve were eventually used on him when he left the cult and became a whistle-blower.
At his home in Florida in 2016 I asked him about how he felt about this. He said:
I guess it’s poetic justice in some ways, and in others it sort of motivates me to keep doing what I’m doing, to put an end to it. It’s really just like water off a duck’s back to me. I really don’t care. I’ll turn around and figure out how to fuck with them more than they are ever able to fuck with me. It just doesn’t have any effect on me, but it bothers me that they do it to other people.
Mike knew it was right to speak out. In doing so he helped many people. He didn’t want others to suffer from the kind of abuses that saw him disconnected from his children from his first marriage who remained indoctrinated inside the cult.
Mike was great company, and I will never forget the day we spent driving around Florida. We had a lot of laughs and it was quite an adventure (it included him asking me to look in Heather McAdoo’s letterbox after I revealed to him she had been spying on him and his family).
Mike was warm, generous and clear-thinking. His views on certain things about Scientology and Hubbard changed as he de-programmed himself and opened himself to other ideas and ways of thinking. He will be deeply missed by many friends around the world and by all who appreciate him as a man who never gave up.
Phil & Willie Jones. Mike and Christie were generous and kind hosts who invited us over at times when we visited our grandkids in Florida during the winter. In 2022 Mike showed his skills at cooking a mean steak on the BBQ when they invited us for dinner. And we spent New Year’s Eve last year at the Rinders with some awesome people. It was some fun times in between working to expose the abuses of Scientology.
When doing the billboard for The Aftermath in LA, after I'd been attacked on the street, Mike along with Leah and other Aftermath members were on the phone making sure I was OK. Mike was a caring and kind individual in my experience.
I was also happy to be included in Mike's and Leah’s podcast and was thankful for the platform to share my experiences in dealing with Scientology over the past decade.
Mike will be sorely missed. He was a warrior in the battle against the wealthy, abusive cult of Scientology. We were fortunate to fight alongside him at times.
Love and respect to a good friend.
Ray Jeffrey. The world feels dimmer this morning. Mike gave off a warm light. He was so good to so many people. Life is hard and it passes too quickly. Mike was a survivor, and his life had meaning, integrity, and love. I believe he is in a better place, waiting to welcome his loved ones. God bless him and his family.
Chris Shelton. Mike was a friend to me, not just someone else who made videos or podcasts in this space. I am going to miss him over and over again before my brain is going to accept that he is no longer with us.
The truth of Mike's goodness and the positive outcomes of his work are reflected in the eyes of every ex-Scientologist he helped get out of the Church, every mind he helped free from the bondage of its prison of belief. I am among that group, since Mike was the first “suppressive person” that I contacted back in 2013. When I needed a helping hand, he was there for me, immediately and with care. That is what Mike dedicated his post-Scientology life to, all the way until the very end. He lived his truth with honor and integrity and compassion and everything that I think we all strive to be or achieve.
Mike very much deserves his resting place among the stars. However we want to think about that, we can agree today that Mike Rinder did his part in the here and now and he earned his retirement from this fight.
Mary Kahn. He was there for me in my darkest hour when there truly was no one else. He didn’t know me, and in fact, we didn’t meet until about a year later. I lost my son and at the time, I thought my husband, to this horror story of a religion. There was no Aftermath Foundation, there was no one but Mike Rinder to help me navigate out of the dark recesses of my mind and claw my way out. It’s been 12 years since then and I am out of the church of Scientology and standing in the light. It all started with help from Mike Rinder. A true hero.
Bryan Seymour, journalist. Mike Rinder and his wife Christie were still Scientologists when I met them in 2010. They were also honest, polite, caring and intelligent; qualities that have informed their actions over the years since.
The work Mike has done with you, Tony, and with Leah Remini is the most important yet done in exposing abuses in Scientology and will outlive us all.
I am just one of many people who can say Mike Rinder made their lives better. His escape and transformation has inspired countless thousands and will continue to well into the future.
In cricket parlance, ‘Great knock, Mike, that’s one of the best innings I've ever seen.’
Rest in Peace, my friend.
Karen de la Carriere. Mike Rinder’s is a story of resilience and triumph. He left the cult and became sovereign to his own domain.
When he first escaped, one of his first jobs was selling cars in Denver. Scientology lawyer Monique Yingling visited with him. She was also lawyer to David Miscavige, who could foresee just how much Mike Rinder could reveal. Yingling offered him $5 million to go away if Mike signed away his right to ever speak his truth and his history.
Although Mike was pretty penniless at the time, he turned it down. Unlike other Ex members who accepted big checks as hush money, Mike could not and would not be bought. He was an honorable man.
Mike and I first met as Sea Org members on the Apollo in the 1970s We go back in friendship 50 years. It was Mike that I connected with after he fled, who helped me wake up and see the monstrosity calling itself the “church” of Scientology while acting like mafiosa thugs. For this I have enormous gratitude.
He was the beacon of light that showed the pathway to just depart and leave. I followed in his footsteps. He created the trail. For so many ex-SO, he was the Guiding Light. Vaya Con Dios, Mike Rinder.
Alexander Barnes-Ross. There is no doubt Mike’s efforts paved the way for many people to escape and find a platform to share their stories. He lit the torch I, and many others, must now carry in his honour.
Thank you for your hard work, your determination, your courage and your bravery Mike. We all owe you a tremendous debt of gratitude and we will continue to fly the flag here in the UK on your behalf.
Jefferson Hawkins. I told this story on Mike’s podcast and he and Leah got a kick out of it, although Mike didn’t remember the incident. I was brought to the ship Apollo by Hubbard in 1975 to be part of the newly forming marketing unit. At one point, I was designing a promotional brochure for the port we were in (Willemstad, Curaçao) as part of the ship’s PR effort. I had to go meet with the Chamber of Commerce of Willemstad to go over the brochure, but I didn’t have a proper suit to wear. A skinny kid who had the bunk above mine in the aft men’s dormitory offered to loan me his suit, so I was saved. That kid was Mike Rinder, and that was a great example of Mike’s kindness and care for others. And that was the start of a 50-year friendship that only improved when we both left Scientology. Mike was a prince of a man, and was (and always will be) an inspiration.
Sunny Pereira. We have sadly lost a great man, who has done so much to effect change by exposing Scientology abuses.
Despite the things we all did in the name of Scientology, there are those who worked to redeem themselves, like Mike, to help those leaving Scientology and get the support and direction that they needed. He has done an incredible amount of work in this regard. We may never fully know how much and how far his reach has gone. May he rest in peace.
The Hole Does Not Exist. I had to steel every muscle and reflex to willingly slide into a car headed to a library in Clearwater. Tony Ortega's nationwide book tour had finally landed in the heart of hell, or as some still call it, Scientology's main slave headquarters.
Only 40 minutes away, I avoided it the same as I did the bays and ponds here where alligators mate. But I was on my way for only one reason. Mike Rinder would be there.
Surreal. I walked over to him and took his hands to put my RPF necklace in them. I mumbled something about “Now I'm free. Thank you.” He looked down at his hand, then at me and for a few seconds we both saw something resembling forgiveness, maybe relief. While we'd had different experiences, there was a recognition that we'd both some way, somehow escaped the grips of the same monster.
And I knew in that moment, Mike wasn't one of them at all.
A Thankful Friend. I was in Scientology for almost 17 years. I got to OT VIII and I did the Saint Hill Special Briefing Course, so I was a Class VI Auditor. I was never in the Sea Org, but I was obviously very “IN”.
In 2023, when I finally got up the courage to hit the “Play” button on the Aftermath series (and this took WEEKS because I was so scared to look. I knew if I did, it was the point of no return), I was introduced to Mike and I loved his honesty and humor and courage that just came so naturally to him. I fell in love with the interactions between him and Leah (they were so genuine, funny and loving). I knew I could trust Mike and I knew this was “truth” that he was telling.
The first thing that I did after I watched the series (I binge-watched every episode in one night. I was so blown away), is buy Mike’s book. I read the whole thing in two days. I was shocked beyond belief that the “cult” I now knew I was a part of was so evil. Mike was the reason that I came to my senses and was able to restore my sanity and get out. The brainwashing is so extreme….I still can’t believe I fell for such an evil, family-destroying cult.
I contacted Mike and told him my story and I thanked him profusely for helping me get through this period of my life where I was “getting away” from Scientology. It is so hard. You lose everything — friends, a belief system that is so part of your life, family that is still in — it’s like your whole reality is gone and you feel lost. That was me and Mike helped me through it. He was the only one I could talk to and he would email me and he answered so many questions I had. He was truly wonderful and he was there for me when I desperately needed someone to talk to. He was so busy with his book just coming out and the Aftermath Foundation, but he always answered my emails and he was so supportive and encouraging to me…me, a person he had never met. He sent me links to others (he gave me your name and I started following you and getting your emails) and this helped me to form many new connections that would help me through this lonely, terrible realization and transition that changed my whole life. I could not have gotten through this without Mike.
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I was afraid that Mike was dying when it was announced that his cancer had spread. That makes me want to quit smoking. Whatever Mike did during his life, he atoned for it. I forward my condolences to his family, connected and disconnected, and will make a donation in his name to the Bunker.
One thing I’ll always remember about Mike was when i was in the Sea Organization. I don’t exactly remember the context but i asked my senior, Claire “Gaiman” Edwards who her favorite Int Exec was. Without hesitation she said, Mike Rinder. That always stuck with me and i was hoping she’d escape soon after Mike. Sadly she didn’t but her evaluation of Mike was right.