Aaron Smith-Levin

His mother joined Scientology in Philadelphia in 1985, when he was 5 years old.⁠[1]

He began working on the church’s public staff at 12 and joined the Sea Org, a military-style workforce, at 22 (its members sign billion-year contracts and are paid less than $50 a week), overseeing courses and counseling for parishioners.⁠[2]

In 2011 his mother was declared a “suppressive person” by the church; he continued to see her, and he was then himself put out of the church.⁠[3]

He spent 29 years in Scientology; he says he was put out after his children’s nanny informed on him for still speaking with his mother. The church says he was expelled and has called him a “man with no moral compass.”⁠[4]

In April 2015 he and Nick Lister, who had also grown up in Scientology, announced a YouTube channel featuring the stories of young people raised in the church; he said he wanted to describe why people get in and what makes them stay, not just the controversies and abuses.⁠[3]

In July 2015 the channel, named Growing Up in Scientology, released its first video, an excerpt from his interview with Nick Lister; he also filmed an introduction explaining the thinking behind the series.⁠[5]

In October 2015 the channel released a video in which he and former Scientology spokesman Mike Rinder were interviewed together, taking turns to describe their earliest memories of Scientology, their first course and their first experience of “auditing.”⁠[1]

On January 3, 2017, an episode of Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath centered on him aired. He said his goal in doing the show was to show what can happen to a family that gets involved in Scientology, adding that his family was not the exception.⁠[6]

A&E describes the season’s sixth episode, “Auditing,” as covering his introduction to and rise through the Sea Org and his gradual disaffection; after the production asked his in-laws, who remain church members, to take part, it received a letter from the church seeking to discredit him.⁠[7]

In November 2021 he was a candidate in the March 2022 Clearwater City Council election, saying the perception that the city is dominated by the Church of Scientology scares away investors and small businesses; by then he had raised more than $26,000.⁠[8]

At the time he was CEO of the investment research firm OTG Research Group and vice president and vice chairman of The Aftermath Foundation, which helps people who leave Scientology.⁠[8]

He appeared as a guest on Scientology: Fair Game, the podcast hosted by Leah Remini and Mike Rinder, to discuss his decision to run for the Clearwater City Council and the work of The Aftermath Foundation.⁠[9]

He was running for Seat 5, vacated by term-limited council member Hoyt Hamilton, against Lina Teixeira and Jonathan Wade; he called for pressing the IRS to review and revoke the Church of Scientology’s tax exemption and said he was not a single-issue candidate.⁠[2]

At a candidate forum sponsored by the Clearwater branch of the NAACP, he said the city had to resolve the giant obstacle to development downtown and bring the downtown back to life; in his opening remarks he asked voters to vote either for him or for Jonathan Wade.⁠[10]

He accused his opponent Lina Teixeira of being a Scientology sympathizer, pointing to her past service on the Downtown Development Board and her role in the Clearwater Downtown Partnership; Teixeira, a Catholic, denied the accusation and said she had stepped down from the board in 2019 because a majority of its members represented a single interest group.⁠[11]

Leah Remini endorsed him. During the campaign he was accused of provoking two bar altercations with vulgar insults; he apologized, saying he had made mistakes under the stress and pressure of the campaign.⁠[4]

In the March 15, 2022, election Lina Teixeira won Seat 5 with about 44% of the vote; he received about 36% and Jonathan Wade about 20%.⁠[12]

On election night he held a watch party at a restaurant and said he had knocked on more than 4,000 doors during the campaign.⁠[12]

He appeared on episode 361 of the Lex FridmanLex FridmanLex Fridman is a Soviet-born, US-raised computer scientist and podcast host who works as an MIT research scientist on human-AI interaction and autonomous driving. His Lex Fridman Podcast is known for hours-long conversations with guests including heads of state and technology leaders.Open the full entry Podcast, whose description calls him a former Scientologist, vice president of the Aftermath Foundation and host of the Growing Up In Scientology YouTube channel; topics included Dianetics, the Sea Org, auditing, David Miscavige, Mike Rinder, the separation of families and Tom CruiseTom CruiseTom Cruise is an American actor and producer known for Top Gun, Rain Man, Jerry Maguire and the Mission: Impossible series. He began appearing in films in 1981 and started producing and starring in Mission: Impossible in 1996, with sustained involvement in action design and filmmaking. He received an honorary Palme d’Or in 2022 and an honorary Academy Award in 2025.Open the full entry.⁠[13]

YouTube: Public channel: https://www.youtube.com/@GrowingUpInScientology (opens in a new window)⁠[13]

X: Public account: https://x.com/GrowingupinSCN (opens in a new window)⁠[13]

The Aftermath Foundation: Official website: https://theaftermathfoundation.org/ (opens in a new window)⁠[13]