Evan Wright: Where is The Seed Survivor Now?

of Evan Wright: Where is The Seed Survivor Now? Kriti Mehrotra
July 11, 2024

While many already know of Evan Wright owing to his distinguished career in news media, the truth is HBO Max’s ‘Teen Torture, Inc.’ paints him in a much different, more authentic light. That’s because it carefully chronicles the reality behind the nation’s troubled teen industry (TTI), an extensive, lucrative business that has reportedly only ever done more harm than good. Amongst those to have experienced this firsthand was this native of Willoughby, Ohio, especially as he spent many of his teen years in a “juvenile delinquent” institution called The Seed.

Evan Wright’s Unstable Home Life Pushed Him Down the Wrong Path

Born around the mid-1960s in Cleveland, Ohio, to an environmental activist and a state prosecutor before being raised in Willoughby, Evan’s early years were ostensibly quite cozy and joyous. However, everything turned upside down for him following March 14, 1972, as his mother’s best friend and her husband were brutally murdered at the hands of their son, Howard Hoffman III. This reportedly led his mother to have a nervous breakdown, and since they were quite close, he began acting out as well — it was to such an extent he was expelled from school at the age of 13.

According to Evan’s own accounts, he was caught selling “marijuana” joints to classmates and had even egotistically told the local police it was real weed when, in reality, it was catnip. He was, thus, apprehended on narcotics charges before being sent to The Seed — at the time, this facility for troubled teens was backed by the government, only for them to withdraw support when a senate report revealed their practices were like the ones used in Korean prisons for brainwashing. As per the original, one of the tactics they used was control through a complete lack of privacy — even if he was brushing his teeth, using the washroom, or sleeping, someone was watching him at all times.

As if that’s not enough, Evan also alleged there was sleep deprivation, threats of physical violence, public humiliation, as well as perverse rounds of boxing to ensure every command was followed. In other words, he claims they did their best to destroy his sense of self, all the while preaching the bible and giving ‘Lord of the Flies’-like lessons, making The Seed seem like a doomsday cult of sorts. In the end, Evan did break and complied so as to get away from the chaos of this institution, which ultimately resulted in him returning home and to Hawken School, from where he graduated around the early 1980s.

Evan Wright’s Career Trajectory is Nothing Short of Incredible

Although Evan initially dreamed of being a cartoonist, his stint at The Seed left him a changed man — he returned with an affinity for history, words, stories, plus subcultures. Hence, it’s no surprise he subsequently enrolled at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland before graduating with a Bachelor’s in Medieval History from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. It was then that he decided to pursue writing as a profession for good, just for one of his first jobs in the field to be an unpaid interviewer for a small magazine; though, he did get to interview South African politician Mangosuthu Buthelezi through this.

However, unfulfilled, Evan decided to relocate to Los Angeles, California, in the early 1990s in the hopes of establishing himself as a screenwriter — whether for the big or small screen, he just wanted to write. But alas, his efforts didn’t pan out, driving him to evolve into the Entertainment Editor plus Chief Pornographic Film Reviewer for Hustler magazine around 1995. Then, while still serving at this organization, he began writing feature first-person life stories for Barely Legal magazine, unaware his style would soon catch the eye of the revered Rolling Stone Magazine, Time Magazine, as well as Vanity Fair.

It was in 2003 that Evan’s life took a turn for the better as he got an opportunity to go to Iraq for Rolling Stone and cover the Marines’ 1st Recon Battalion. His pieces for this publication and his ensuing book on the same, ‘Generation Kill’ (2004), did so well that it was even adapted to a miniseries in 2008 — one wherein he served as a writer and consulting producer. He followed this with features on other subculture topics ranging from the CIA to gangsters to environmentalists to neo-Nazis, all controversial figures who were open with him thanks to his calming presence and genuine interest in their tales.

Evan Wright is a Proud Writer and Producer to This Day

With Evan’s biggest influences admittedly being essayist Mark Twain and author Christopher Isherwood, his pieces are usually a complex yet easy-to-read blend of serious subject matters with humor, satire, and irony. Therefore, of course, this news media journalist continues to serve as a contributing writer for various publications plus an author to this day — his books include, ‘Hella Nation’ (2009), ‘American Desperado’ with Jon Roberts (2011), ‘How to Get Away with Murder in America’ (2012), ‘The Seed: A Memoir’ (2013), and ‘Bad Therapist’ (2019). It also appears as if he’s working on another book at the moment.

As for Evan’s career in entertainment, apart from ‘Generation Kill’ (2008), this Las Angeles, California, resident has even served as a producer on 13 episodes of ‘The Bridge’ in 2014, 9 epiosdes of ‘The Man in the High Castle’ in 2015, ‘Harley and the Davidsons’ (2016), 12 episodes of ‘Homeland’ between 2016-2017, ‘Dirty John’ season 1, 7 episodes of ‘Homecoming’ in 2020, and ‘Teen Torture, Inc.’ (2024). More importantly, it appears as if he is set on continuing down this path for as long as possible because he genuinely likes it, all the while doing his best to spend as much quality time with his loved ones as possible.

Read More: Jennifer “Jen” Robison: Where is the Provo Canyon School Survivor Now?

SPONSORED LINKS