Monday, July 29, 2019

Mr. Fire switches back from whine mode to brag mode, 'cos that's the way he Rolls


As I mentioned a few times in a recent two-part post about New-Wage/McSpirituality luminary Joe "Mr. Fire" Vitale's pending divorce (see Part 1 in particular), Joe has been going through some tough times. He and his new "life partner," dilettante and self-described lightworker and authenticity expert Lisa Winston, have both published numerous Facebook posts and videos about the grueling experiences they've suffered for the past year or so -- particularly these past few months. Joe claims to have experienced trauma, grief, betrayal, and abuse, among other things. Judging from some of her own posts, Lisa has experienced health challenges and other stuff that almost made her want to hang up her lightworker hat. But the two are apparently staying strong, despite the fact that Lisa's main Facebook page seems to be missing, at least for me; I'm thinking that I am simply blocked, though for the life of me I can't figure out why. 


To my knowledge, Joe never publicly specified exactly how he had been abused or betrayed, and who did the abusing or betraying; it may or may not have had something to do with the divorce. I really don't know. But just in case you were worried about him, there's no need. He seems to be back to his old self, boasting about living the high life, and tantalizing his followers and customers with promises that he intends to spend even more of the money they've been throwing his way.

For instance, just yesterday he posted
a short video on Facebook suggesting that his next "company car" is going to be a 2019 Rolls-Royce Cullinan SUV. The implication is that Mr. Fire is going to be using the car not only to show off how successful he is, but also to help him suck even more money from more people.

In the video Joe says that he first saw this car at an auto show when "we" went to Thailand. The other part of "we" would be the aforementioned Lisa W, who accompanied him to Bangkok late last year, not long after he had filed for divorce.

As he walks around the car, capturing it on camera from various angles and close up, Joe says, "I have fond memories of the Rolls-Royce Phantom that I had years ago..."


Oh, my, yes, so do I. (And here's another one; see under, "I paid five grand to ride in a Rolls, and all I got was this dumb blog.")

Salty Droid has fond memories too.

So does
ABC News. You will most likely get an error message a few seconds after clicking on that ABC link, but at least you can see that ABC did cover this matter back in 2010, and not exactly admiringly.



And
here's me, writing the following year about the 2010 segments and subsequent ABC News coverage.You might also find some other useful links here.

A former close associate and friend of Joe's, Mark Ryan,
also remembers Joe's Phantom, and he even wrote about how Joe came to buy...er... lease it for a few years.

For the benefit of those who don't recall, and who don't feel like following any of the links above: Joe (in)famously used the Rolls-Royce Phantom for a few years to conduct pricey "MasterMind" sessions. The deal was that for only $5,000, you and another person with far more money than sense could ride in the back seat of Joe's Phantom, with him behind the wheel and one of his cohorts riding shotgun. The four of you would glide in comfort and luxury through area streets, gabbing about whatever you wanted to gab about, and he would treat you to dinner at the restaurant of his choosing. And the four of you would brainstorm all night about ways you could get rich. It was all supposed to be profoundly life-changing.

Alternatively, if you wanted Joe and his bud all to yourself for the whole evening, it would set you back not $5,000 but $7,500. Either way, you were responsible for all of your travel and lodging and miscellaneous expenses, including any therapy you might need later on down the road when you finally figured out what a waste it had all been.

After Joe's lease for the Phantom ran out and he had to return the thing, he continued to conduct his overpriced scam on wheels with other expensive brag-mobiles. (
Here's a blog post he wrote while he still had the Phantom, but had decided to start offering MasterMinds in other vehicles.)

And now, if we are to believe his Facebook vid, Joe is contemplating a brand-new ultra-luxurious Rolls-Royce Cullinan SUV. Prices start at $325,000; in an October 2018 video
CarTV described it as, "The World's Most Expensive SUV!" The comments for the CarTV video are amusing, with some saying that the Cullinan looks "hideous," "vulgar," "like a funeral car." It will come as no surprise that a couple of others accuse the critics of being jealous; one wrote, "Envious peasantry in the comments who can't afford it!" (Sound familiar?)

No matter. Joe's fans and followers rallied to him, praising his choice, congratulating him in advance, and even suggesting that he start up the Rolls MasterMinds again.

So for those of you who were seriously worried about Mr. Fire's well-being, all is well. He's clearly still raking in the bucks, and is ready to Rolls on down that Scamworld highway.


PS added 2 August, 2019 ~ In a new blog post published on August 1, Joe gifted his fans and followers with an update on his recent activities. He ran through the expected laundry list of the stuff he is still doing after all these years... traveling, speaking, creating, filming, "singing," grieving (for his dad, who died in April, as well as for other unspecified family tragedies), learning, clearing, reading... and growing. Of the latter, he wrote:
The past year has been the most turbulent of my life in decades. Not just grief, but anguish. I walked the streets many evenings feeling despair. Yet during the day I’d smile and post happy Facebook and Instagram photos and videos. It’s been intense. I imagine I’ve been the caterpillar struggling to break free. I’m ready to fly as a beautiful butterfly. It’s also a reminder that there is always inner work to do. We all need to keep peeling the onion and getting clear. Even you. Even me.
Even Joe, the Buddha of the Internet?!? I am shocked. He wraps up the list by assuring his readers that he is "Still loving":
Despite a turbulent year of uncertainty and change – and at age 65 – I am soaking up the joy of a divine connection with someone who wants love, lust and laughter as much as me. As circumstances unfold, I’ll share the specifics of this news with you. For now, let it be known that love is alive and love is good.
If you just can't wait to learn the "specifics of this news," no problem. As I mentioned way up above at the beginning of this post, I already posted the spoiler last month in a two-part blog post that begins right here. For the benefit of those who are super-pressed for time and don't feel like following the link in the previous sentence, or even like scrolling up to the beginning of this post, let me give it to you again in a nutshell (emphasis on the "nut" part): Last November, Joe skipped out on the former great love of his life, his wife Nerissa Oden, with whom he had been for nearly 20 years, and he cast his lot with a SNAG (sensitive new age gal) dilettante named Lisa Winston, who has branded herself as a lightworker, "intuitive mindset strategist," authenticity coach, TV producer, and "gifted vocalist." Together those two are apparently planning to conquer the McSpirituality/New-Wage world. Here is a link to their official portrait, suitable for printing and flaming... I mean, framing.

Joe ends his blog post with
a parting (screen)shot at "critics," in this case a meme of a quotation by Theodore Roosevelt about how it is not the critic who counts but rather the dust-, sweat-, and blood-marred man who is in the arena striving valiantly and whatnot. If past history is any indication, this could almost lead one to believe that Mr. Fire is reacting to recent critical writings about him. To misquote Samuel Johnson, "Critic-blasting is the first refuge of a criticized scoundrel."


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