The Ego Trip

Name: The Ego Trip
Availability: InStock
Author: Kimon de Greef

Psychedelic grift meets modern spiritual hunger

Written byKimon de Greef

Narrated byChristian Barillas

Length11h00m

Release dateAugust 4, 2026

GenreBiographies & Memoirs, True Crime, Con Artists, Hoaxes & Deceptions

LanguageEnglish

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Quick Facts

Author	Kimon de Greef
Narrator	Christian Barillas
Runtime	11h00m
Published	August 4, 2026
Rating	Not yet rated
Categories	Biographies & Memoirs, True Crime, Con Artists, Hoaxes & Deceptions, Health & Wellness, Alternative & Complementary Medicine
Format	Audiobook (Digital)
Platform	Audible

About This Audiobook

*The Ego Trip* isn’t just another con-artist exposé—it’s a razor-sharp dissection of how desperation for meaning turns seekers into marks. Kimon de Greef trains his lens on Dr. Octavio Rettig, a Mexican physician who repackaged an obscure toad venom ritual as the next big psychedelic cure-all, attracting Silicon Valley elites, burned-out therapists, and wellness influencers alike. What unfolds isn’t just a tale of fraud but a mirror to our era’s gnawing spiritual emptiness, where ancient traditions become Instagram-friendly commodities overnight.

Christian Barillas’ narration walks a tightrope between clinical detachment and creeping unease, his measured pacing letting the absurdity of Rettig’s rise—and the devastation in his wake—land with chilling clarity. The audiobook’s strength lies in its refusal to sensationalize: de Greef treats the victims with quiet dignity, while the production’s subtle audio cues (a faint echo during ritual descriptions, the flat tone of corporate emails) reinforce the surreal blend of mysticism and hustle. This isn’t true crime as entertainment; it’s a cautionary tale for anyone who’s ever hoped a single experience could fix them.

Tags: psychedelic culture dark sidetrue crime with philosophical bitecon artist exposé audiobooksspiritual grift investigative journalismimmersive narration nonfictionmodern shamanism skepticism

Why Listen to The Ego Trip?

Expert narration by Christian Barillas brings every character and scene to life across 11h00m of immersive audio.
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Editor's Review

AudioBook Atlas

I’ll admit, I rolled my eyes when I saw *another* book about a charismatic guru gone wrong. But *The Ego Trip* hooked me within 20 minutes—not with shock value, but with its eerie familiarity. De Greef’s reporting is forensic yet empathetic, and Barillas’ performance sells it: his voice drops into a near-whisper during survivors’ testimonies, then shifts into a slick, salesman-like cadence when quoting Rettig’s own words. The contrast is unsettling in the best way. The pacing stumbles slightly in the middle, where the legal and scientific weeds threaten to bog down the momentum. (A tighter edit on the audiobook’s structure—maybe consolidating the timeline jumps—would’ve helped.) But the payoff is worth it, especially in the final act, where de Greef connects Rettig’s scam to the broader ‘wellness industrial complex.’ The production’s minimalist approach—no dramatic music, just the occasional ambient hum of a desert wind—lets the story’s inherent surrealism breathe. If you’ve ever scrolled through a ‘plant medicine’ retreat ad and wondered *who’s really running this?*, this audiobook will haunt you. Not because it’s lurid, but because it feels inevitable.

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The Ego Trip by Kimon de Greef is an immersive listening experience. Performed by Christian Barillas with a runtime of 11h00m, you can start with a free trial that you can cancel at any time. The audiobook remains yours forever, even if you end the trial.