The Institute in Basic Life Principles, run by the pred*tory Bill Gothard, would turn thousands of families into their own isolated cults. Matthew Castle was trapped in his own family until his mid twenties. Shielded from the outside world and musically stifled, his talent on the violin was so impressive, multiple colleges including Juilliard tried recruiting him as a young teen. However, without choice in the matter, those dreams were quickly torn away. His mother was so strict and controlling, she even drove him to and from a local college ensuring he wasn’t led astray by the evil world. When she found his personal journal, revealing his s*xuality, she immediately sent him to a cult approved conversion therapy conference. Learn how Matthew finally escaped, acclimated to the real world, and eventually found the love of his life– Paul. Streaming platforms: Matthew Castle YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MatthewandPaulOfficial Instagram: @matthewandpaul https://www.instagram.com/matthewandpaul/ Paul’s books: https://paulcastlestudio.com/ We want to meet you in real life! Come adventure with us on our 2nd C2C VACATION! Click here to go to the official booking page: https://trovatrip.com/trip/north-america/mexico/mexico-with-shelise-sola-oct-2025 Subscribe to our C2C "CLIPS" Channel! https://www.youtube.com/@CultstoConsciousnessClips Support C2C - Any donations are welcome and appreciated to support the making of this podcast. Find our FULL (uncensored) merch store here! https://cults-to-consciousness-shop.fourthwall.com/en-usd Patreon https://www.patreon.com/cultstoconsciousness Venmo @sheliseann Find us on Social media! Instagram @cultstoconsciousness https://www.instagram.com/cultstoconsciousness Host Instagram @sheliseann https://www.instagram.com/sheliseann/ Co Producer / Host @jonathan.rosales_ https://www.instagram.com/jonathan.rosales_ TikTok @cults.to.consciousness https://www.tiktok.com/@cults.to.consciousness Twitter @cultstocon https://twitter.com/cultstocon Chapter Marks 00:04:48 What Matthew's early education was like and how his parent's got involved in the Advanced Training Institute 00:06:10 How the "Umbrella of Authority" and other IBLP teachings changed the family's way of thinking 00:10:41 Matthew's s*xuality and the dichotomy between his feelings and what he was being taught 00:14:34 Music in the IBLP movement and how even some classical composers were taboo 00:17:52 How even classical music was a tie to the secular world for Matthew 00:20:24 How Bill Gothard's beliefs prevented Matthew from attending the most prestigious music schools in the country 00:26:18 Matthew's experiences at the IBLP institutes 00:28:11 Matthew's opinion of Bill Gothard and the favoritism in the group 00:29:01 Bill's pr*datory nature towards young women 00:31:31 Bill's near fat*l encounter with Matthew's father 00:33:30 The discovery of Matthew's journal and the beginning of the end 00:37:31 Matthew's experience at a conversion conference 00:41:42 Matthew's last straw and how he escaped 00:43:24 What it felt like to leave and how Matthew started to discover himself 00:48:22 Paul enters the chat! 00:49:26 What it was like for Matthew to starting dating and meeting his partner Paul 00:56:23 What secular things Paul has introduced to Matthew 01:01:01 How Matthew has learned to identify his feelings and communicate after leaving IBLP 01:03:59 What brings Matthew joy today 01:06:38 Linda, listen **Disclaimer: Thanks for joining us at Cults to Consciousness. This storytelling podcast is meant to be for entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for medical advice. We may discuss triggering topics and we ask that you make your personal mental health a priority. Lastly, the opinions of our guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the host.**