Meeting Summary: Zachary Levi's Spiritual Crisis and Wild School Vision

Overview

Gary met with actor Zachary Levi who revealed severe mental health struggles including suicidal ideation and deep career regrets following political backlash. The conversation evolved into extensive planning for launching an innovative outdoor Christian micro school at Wildwood Ranch, leveraging Texas's new education subsidies while Zach navigates significant financial pressure on his property investment.

Key Topics Discussed

Zachary's Mental Health and Spiritual Crisis

Suicidal Ideation and Daily Struggle:

• "Sometimes I just want God to take my life away. Without me asking for it... Like dying in a car crash"
• Morning experience: "I wake up in the morning and immediately the fear... The regret and anxiety... And those thoughts roll in. While I have no dopamine in my body to motivate me"
• "I felt it for years and years and years and years in my body. So... And I know I'm not the only one"
• Medication history: Previously on Zoloft, recently stopped after Ibogaine treatment

Career Regret and Identity Crisis:

• "I have a lot of regrets, to be honest. Like, I wish I didn't live life with any regrets whatsoever"
• On political stance: "Saying anything with a needle at all didn't really help... Would that have all happened even without me doing that?"
• "Plenty of other celebrities who also voted for Trump... didn't say anything... Are still welcome in all of those circles. Haven't been blackballed"
• Tribal confusion: "So who is even my tribe? Who are you fighting for?"

Feeling Like a Failure:

• "I still struggle feeling like a failure. Because there's so many things that I... Have set out to go accomplish and... Seemingly can't"
• "I don't feel like anybody believes me when I tell them like... This is a good idea"
• "I haven't built enough of a reputation as an entrepreneur. For people to go like... What's your next big idea?"

Gary's Spiritual Journey and Ministry Connection

Recent Baptism and Spiritual Growth:

• Got baptized two months ago in the Gulf by Liberty pastor
• Walking away from Tulsa opportunity: "I saw that as a sign that God wanted me to chill out and spend more time with him"
• "My view of what I value and what I see as success has nuanced a bit"
• Lesson learned: "I don't see things clearly when I'm idolizing a person that I want to work with"

Liberty Healing Ministry:

• Discovered pastor performing healing miracles: cancer, blindness, Covid long
• "This one woman who was declared dead... Had three cancers. Now she's fine"
• Currently coordinating blind young man from San Antonio to visit for healing
• "Literally... This past Sunday. I was like... Trying to coordinate with the San Antonio family"

Integration Challenge:

• "How can I live an integrated life? Where I can support the things I want to support"
• "God gave me a lot of gifts related to technology. That I'm community builder. And media"
• "I think I'm close to figuring that out. Like where I dedicate my hours in 2026"

Wild School Vision at Wildwood Ranch

Educational Philosophy:

• "When you start getting into middle school and high school you wanna start being able to provide kids with like more technical"
• Anti-screen for young kids: "I don't wanna have technology... for young kids"
• Nature-based: "First and foremost it's getting kids outside... off of these desks... and bells that are teaching them just how to be good factory workers"
• "Teaching them just like fundamental life skills and learning reading writing and arithmetic along the way"

Research Supporting Analog Learning:

• "There's also studies that are coming out right now literally that are saying children... who are learning with pen and paper or pencil and paper are doing better on the tests"
• "There is something about using a pen and paper... that actually affects your neuroplasticity in your brain that makes you more intelligent"
• "People are literally going brain dead" from over-reliance on AI and technology

Adventure-Based Curriculum Example:

• Birthday party model: "The kids all... had to like chop down a tree together... drag it somewhere... chop it up... build a thing"
• "Eventually the birthday boy gets to climb this one tree and there's a treasure map at the top"
• "Best birthday ever... experiences are far more rewarding far more valuable"
• Parents asking kids: "Do you remember what you got for Christmas last year? I remember where we went"

Practical Implementation:

• Initial capacity: "A reasonable schoolhouse that holds 30 kids" or "let's say 50"
• Texas subsidies: "$10,000 a year" per student starting February 2026
• "$500,000 budget to pay for those teachers pay for that building"
• Non-residential initially: "They wouldn't have to live on camp"
• Leveraging Prenda or similar platforms for accreditation

Wildwood Ranch Financial Crisis

Current Leverage:

• "I'm essentially leveraged $5 million with the loan that I took out for pre-construction development"
• Two-year loan currently in effect
• Option for $14-15 million loan for horizontal infrastructure (4-year term)
• "If I don't get that money back, I lose my ranch, essentially"

Strategic Pivot Consideration:

• Original vision: Sound stages, production facilities, hotel
• New priority: "Start building homes and accommodations and a farm and wellness"
• "Building a brand of Wildwood through that and building a community through that"
• "Nobody's built a movie studio... Plenty of people have built communities and tourism around wellness and around agriculture"

Cultural and Industry Insights

Conservative Movement Critique:

• "Conservatives are honestly, like, pretty... They don't understand the arts and entertainment and the power of it"
• "Policy is downstream from culture, and culture is downstream from storytelling"
• On wealthy conservatives: "They'll all go crazy on X and all cancel their Netflix... but where's your support?"
• "They just don't, you know, seemingly step up and step in"

Civilizational Concerns:

• "I think we're looking at the end of whatever this version of civilization is"
• "The intentional communities that are self-sustaining is going to be the only thing worth anything in the next five to ten years"
• "Particularly now that I'm a dad and trying to figure out... how to give my child and hopefully multiple future children a better world"

Gary's Strategic Counsel

Educational Timing:

• "February 6th is the first time parents can apply for this grant"
• "God's like Zach you want to have something ready for the fall 2026 school year"
• "Texas is like very... Abbott is basically a dictator... no term limits... allows him to make Texas like a very specific thing in his image"

Narrative Power:

• "You have started to cross the Rubicon right in your narrative"
• "You're really well positioned to create a real movement around the future formation of children"
• "Think about the endless content that will be driving awareness to more investors for the bigger vision"

Vision Articulation:

• "You're trying to create an integrated like non dystopian micro society that's like training young people"
• "Using technology in general to be more human right... agriculture... community building"
• "Prepare your kid fully for the future... not like resigned ourselves like there's gonna be machine overlords"

Key Quotes

On Mental Health:

• "The battle is so much in the blood... It's easy to feel kind of ridiculous... list out your blessings. You're like... Why am I competing?"
• "Gratitude is the answer... It's not faking it until you make it. But reversing the polarity of the energy and the thoughts"
• "When you've got a specific childhood trauma that tells you otherwise... And it's so deeply ingrained in you... I don't know man. It's a wacky cycle"

On Faith and Purpose:

• "Never underestimate God's ability and desire to turn your mess into a masterpiece"
• "What was the point? Aside from... The truth"
• "We're all so called to be wise as serpents, and innocent as doves"

On Education Revolution:

• "Wild School... that's what I want"
• "Eventually we would be building that curriculum into as they get older"
• "Most people don't have 75 acres to go do that kind of stuff"

Action Items / Takeaways

• Gary to create mock website for Wild School at Wildwood
• Research administrators who understand outdoor/experiential education philosophy
• Prepare for Texas Education Freedom Account applications opening February 6, 2026
• Target Fall 2026 for school launch
• Consider starting with boys' school or mixed K-5 program
• Focus on wellness/agriculture/community before production facilities
• Document the educational innovation journey for content and awareness
• Connect with other alternative schools like Apogee for curriculum insights
• Position as authentic alternative to screens and factory-model education