FROM CULT TO CEO:
Choosing Freedom, Building Beauty with a Conscience
Childhood in a World of Control
I was born inside a high-control cult in a small mountain town, an ecosystem where obedience outranked truth and fear wore a halo. We were told we were the chosen remnant, the ones who would outlast the end of the world and inherit the earth. The price of “everlasting life” was total submission: dresses brushing the floor, heads bowed, bodies policed, thoughts audited. Wearing pants made YOU an abomination. Curiosity was rebellion. Autonomy was sin. Associating with anyone outside left you vulnerable to corruption.
Punishment and Deliverances
Control did not only descend from the pulpit; it braided itself through the pews. We were taught to watch one another and report “slips” that might endanger the whole body. By twelve, I was branded rebellious. Elders pulled me into back rooms for weekly “deliverances,” men shouting inches from my face, hands pressed on me as they tried to cast out demons they insisted lived inside me. I learned to survive by going numb. Years of PTSD therapy later, I learned how to feel safe in my body again.
Isolated but Defiant
When my closest friends left the church, I was forced to “disfellowship” them and treat them as if they had died. Something cracked open in me. I began to question authority. The punishment was years of grounding: school, church, family functions, nothing else - no privileges (I was never allowed to be left alone). At services, I was the girl with demons, the cautionary tale no one could sit beside. I sat in corners imagining who I could become once I escaped.
A Scholarship and a Lifeline
School became my only door to freedom. I was a good student, and when my family cut me off financially but forced me to stay under their roof, I petitioned my school board for a scholarship. My principal and teachers went to bat for me. At fifteen and a half, I got a work permit and a hostess job. Soon I was nannying for a family who became my safe harbor. They showed me I was capable of more and helped me navigate a world I had never been taught to survive in.
The Breaking Point
The night I decided to leave is seared into me. I wore pants to a New Year’s Eve shift, knowing everyone from the church was at mandatory service. When my father showed up to “check on me” he just shook his head and walked out silently, I felt the floor tilt. Panic took over. That family saw me unravel and helped me begin planning my escape. What followed was violence, police who turned a blind eye, attorneys from the church, and finally, disfellowship.
Escaping Abuse Again
Years later, in an abusive relationship, I found myself staring at marriage papers after being choked until I blacked out - I thought I was dying. When I came to, he raped me. Something snapped inside me. I called my grandmother and said, “I want to come home.” Two days later, with the help of a childhood friend, I boarded a plane shaking, terrified my abuser would appear. I cried the entire flight, telling a kind older couple I was just afraid to fly. They told my family at the airport, “You have a lovely daughter,” without knowing the years of hell I had just escaped or that I was the “disfellowshipped child”.
Building a Business from Scratch
Back in California, I supported myself through cosmetology school, began therapy, and at twenty opened my first salon business. Freedom looked like long days, waiting tables at night, and meals limited to shift food. I sacrificed my twenties for independence, saying no to what most 20 year olds were doing so I could say yes to my vision of freedom.
A Leap to San Diego
After a heart wrenching divorce - I set my sights on San Diego. Instagram was still new, but I used it strategically while driving hours every weekend for classes. I built credibility, assisted at shows, and became known for my work. In La Jolla, I built a high-end clientele and eventually opened my own salon. When one of my cuts went viral, I earned a global nomination for precision haircutting.
A Moment of Worthiness
The night before the award show, I stood in a room full of industry icons. One of my heroes, Richy Kandasamy, walked up and said hello because he didn’t know me. When I told him I was nobody, he looked at me and asked, “Who hurt you? You are so worthy. You are here.” That moment shifted something in me forever… no one had ever told me that before.
Resilience in Business
Entrepreneurship tested me constantly. When a salon owner tried to strip my independence, I refused and was locked out overnight. By morning, I had found another salon and was serving clients like nothing had happened. During COVID, I pivoted to in-home services with verified safety clearance. It was not seamless, it was survival.
Expanding Beyond the Chair
I launched VenuEdu, a beauty education platform, and eventually co-founded Common Parlour, a business resource hub for stylists. I won my first pitch competition after countless losses, proof that I belonged in those rooms. When Common Parlour shifted away from my values, I walked away, took a sabbatical, and served as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence with the Stella Foundation.
THE SPARK FOR ECOLUX
Years earlier on a rooftop bar, I drank a $30 cocktail through a collapsing paper straw and thought, “This cannot be it.” Luxury deserved better. A gold straw became the idea that would not leave me alone. Years later, with a jeweler’s help, I prototyped and launched Ecolux, a sustainable luxury gifting brand. Our 22k Gold Sippers elevate everyday rituals with craftsmanship and conscience.
Choosing Freedom, Always
My life began in a system that told me to shrink, obey, and disappear. I chose freedom. I chose leadership. I chose to build. Resilience and radical self-trust have guided me, turning pain into purpose and vision into reality. Ecolux stands at that intersection: luxury that lasts, sustainability you can feel, and beauty created on my own terms.