Remembering Mike Rinder, 1955-2025

The first time I met Mike Rinder, I had flown down from New York to interview him for the Village Voice. It was 2012, and I’m very fortunate: It was the first full interview of this important figure and remarkable man that saw print.

For several years, he had been making news as one of the most important defections in the history of the Church of Scientology. But now that I was actually in his presence, sitting at a table outside in downtown Clearwater in the middle of the Flag Land Base, and Scientology security guards and private eyes were losing their minds around us, the first thing I was struck by was what a pleasure it was to talk to this guy.

Mike Rinder was a delight, and he had seen everything. As he began telling me a wild story about being stranded on the island of Madeira in 1974 when the locals decided that Scientology’s ship was a CIA spy vessel and had pelted it with rocks, I began to realize that Rinder had been in such a unique position, witnessing some of Scientology’s most important moments, and had emerged from all of it thoroughly scratched and scathed, but with his charm still intact.

The rest of the world certainly learned this when they read Rinder’s epic memoir, A Billion Years, that came out in 2023. Rinder knew maybe better than anyone else how badly Scientology had treated people because he had run its internal secret police, the Office of Special Affairs, and had worked closely with Scientology’s ruthless leader, David Miscavige.

Escaping from Scientology had cost him his family, and he dedicated the book to his two grown children, in the hopes that some day, they might be reunited.

Mike started his new life in 2007, married his wonderful wife Christie Collbran, became stepdad to her son Shane, and they had Jack together. And he dedicated himself to making up for the damage he had done in Scientology, exposing Miscavige’s plots and abuses in the 2015 HBO documentary Going Clear and his A&E series with Leah Remini, Scientology and the Aftermath, which fundamentally changed the way Scientology was viewed by the public and the press.

I’m grateful that I got to know Mike, and that we were exchanging emails about stories until just a few days ago.

Today, at 12:22 pm, I received this email from him while I was out miles away from home on my bicycle:

Friends,

If you are reading this it means I have shuffled off this mortal coil in accordance with the immutable law that there are only two certainties in life: death and taxes.

Your friendship and support, our shared laughs, joy and experiences together — those memories live forever. I hope you will always remember them as fondly as me.

I have been lucky — living two lives in one lifetime. The second one the most wonderful years anyone could wish for with all of you and my new family!

My only real regret is not having achieved what I said I wanted to — ending the abuses of Scientology, especially disconnection and seeing Jack into adulthood. If you are in any way fighting to end those abuses please keep the flag flying — never give up. And please, if you are able in some way, help Christie and the boys to move forward into the next chapter of their lives.

I know many of you will be inclined to send flowers, I ask you not to. Instead contribute to Jack’s family college fund.

Unfortunately this is a government site so is not very user friendly, if you want to use a credit card click this donation button and Christie will redirect it.

Let the flowers grow and look to the future…

With that said, I rest in peace.

Mike

I pedaled home as quickly as I could and threw this together. No, I did not have a story pre-written or anything prepared. Until the end, I was hoping for good news about Mike’s fight with cancer.

But I want to hear from you. I want to hear about your memories of Mike Rinder, and your interactions with him. Please drop me a line at tonyo94 AT gmail, and I’ll put together some memories of this singular man who meant so much to so many people.

— Tony Ortega

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