Olympic Gold Medalist Noah Lyles Revealed How Growing Up In A "Super Strict" Cult Affected Him

If you watched the 2024 Summer Olympics , you likely saw runner Noah Lyles take home the gold medal for the U.S. in the Men's 100m.

During a recent episode of the Everybody Wants to Be Us podcast, Noah revealed that he grew up in a cult. Yes, really.

“I actually grew up in a cult,” he said. “It was a cult. It just wasn’t at the level of, ‘Yeah, okay. We’re gonna drink the Kool-Aid.'"

Noah claims that the cult was "super strict" and placed a strong emphasis on homeschooling — and it also pushed the shared belief that "the father was the head of the household."

He also said that the church his family attended would tell you who you could — and couldn't — be in a relationship with, up to who you could marry.

What's more, after his family left the cult and moved to North Carolina, they joined another church only to find that "they wanted to do the same thing."

"So, we left that, but that kind of really messed up my view of church and it definitely messed up my mom’s view," he explained.

Noah went on to say that it took his mother "a long time" to move forward after their experiences. "Even now, she still struggles to trust churches in general, but she never lost her faith in the religion and I think instilled that in us," he said.

"It made it easier for me to go throughout my own journey."

You can listen to the entire episode here .