Season 11, Episode 8
Skyler
Age: 24
Location: Glendale, Arizona
Addiction: Bath Salts
UPDATE: Skyler Patrick Russell passed away on October 16, 2020 after suffering from a brain infection and organ failure due to alcohol withdrawal. His mother has a gofundme to help with costs.
What’s memorable: Bath salts, holy crap! Still new enough to be legal and bought at the store. The psychosis it causes is truly alarming. The things he does to combat against the hallucinations, how they tell him to kill himself. Also, the teenage reality show he was on, as the unlikeable “geeky Asian kid” that totally demoralized him, and the horrible way he talks to his mother and adores his absent father.
Official Synopsis: When Skyler was a kid, his mother pushed him to do modeling and TV work, but the tension drove Skyler to drugs. Now he uses the new synthetic drug “bath salts,” which cause him to hallucinate. Can an intervention save Skyler’s sanity–and his life?
Original Air Date: February 2012
Interventionist: Jeff
Skyler broke my heart. He reminded me so much of my little brother, he even looks just like him. I just wanted to hug him and be a big sister and help him, I really hope he’s found peace now. Is there any update???
I just watched this episode and was curious as well.
http://endurance.wikia.com/wiki/Skyler_Russell
It says he’s been arrested twice, but I couldn’t find anything else.
Skyler has a Facebook page here https://www.facebook.com/Skydude27?ref=br_rs
Looks like he has a son and he appears healthy.
Watching this episode, it’s likely that schizoaffective disorder and the bath salts caused him to have a psychotic break. I have the same disorder and I did the same thing with meth.
I just came across a video featuring Skyler and his mother Tiffany about a year after the intervention. You can see Skyler driving around Phoenix looking for bath salts even though they have been prohibited in the meantime and possession is now punished by 10 years of prison. Tiffany is adamant that bath salts are responsible for Skyler’s schizophrenia. If that were the case, we would have had an epidemic of schizophrenia in the UK where millions of young people were taking them. However I do believe that bath salts in his case precipitated a condition he already had and that he would have developed a couple of years later. Link to the video: http://www.sbs.com.au/news/dateline/story/drug-crazed
And here’s the link to the Daily Mail article cited in the video: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2053289/Meow-meow-drug-kills-young-Briton-week.html
Most of the commentators of the article are lashing out at the tabloids coverage of the “meow meow” epidemic and the situation it created.
I remember this episode well because in the beginning when the subjects are introducing themselves and saying what their drug of choice is, when Leon said “bath salts” I literally said to myself “What?”. I had to back up my TiVo to replay it. Then to be sure put on the CC and read it. This episode aired right before bath salts became well known.
Then as I heard about their effects on poor Skyler I felt like a parent in the 50s watching Reefer Madness. Where was the enjoyable part of using this drug? Unlike pot this stuff really does fry your brain. The guy clearly had mental issues to begin with, so for the first time watching Intervention I felt the subject was so out of it mentally right from the beginning I questioned whether they should even be interviewing him at all. He had no rational base to even start with.
Still, glad they were there and I hope he got or gets better. Very sad..
Hi, I’m his girlfriend 🙂 I just happened to run across this site. Thank you for recognizing that he had a lot of negative influences exacerbating an already bad situation. God forbid a specific someone should see this, as I have no idea what kind of shitshow it would unleash, but his family life was/is full of narcissistic people, mental illness, and substance abuse. They decided to leave that part out.
He was already needing help. As usual mental illness leads to drug abuse leads to more mental illness. Compounding the situation, everybody does dumb stuff at 24, but not everyone gets put on TV about it; When he didn’t draw the attention to them one way, they brought it in through another…hence the Intervention nightmare. He has (obviously) had difficulties from all of this, including ones that stem from having been on the show, but he has put it behind him the best he can.
He’s an incredible father and really just a great human being in general. I love him and I’m proud of him more than I can express. He’s definitely doing better and has a solid support system in me and my family. Sorry for basically writing a book about it ☺️
I’m so glad to hear he’s doing well! I figured they were leaving some stuff about family wise. His mom seemed like extremely self serving, who puts their child on a reality show? Especially one that depicted him as the “nerdy asian boy”.
Yeah he passed away like a month after she posted this from multiple organ failure due to withdrawal. She was obviously not being truthful about his situation. Super sad story, I feel for his family, especially his son! Go donate to his go fund me if you really feel sorry!
i stumbled upon Tiffany’s facebook out of sheer curiosity to see if she had another form of taking donations. and I see the truth.
it is so sick and twisted, i am shocked. i am so sorry this happened, you were so close to saving him from ((that person)) i cannot imagine the pain you’re going through.
<3 sending my love
yeah his mother seemed really immature
Gosh,I dont want to be too mean…but she doesnt seem to care if she is so wooow…I can understand how someone could want to escape with a mother like that. The way she pulled up old video tapes and tried to include him and get him to look at “how cute he was” in the middle of him clearly having hallucinations…I can only imagine how humiliating that must feel. To have something that was so traumatic for you held over your head like that, in the middle of an episode no less…kids were mean to him and she was “disappointed” ??? Excuse me?
His Facebook looks like he has three sons 🙂
His son is the one with the basketball and the smaller kid is Skyler’s baby brother.
UMMM, watching this episode, I knew Skyler looked familiar but I couldn’t remember exactly where I knew him from. And as soon as they said he was on Endurance, I instantly remembered! I was a huge fan of Endurance, and the first season was one of the most memorable. He such as a handsome young man, I wish him the best of luck in life, and I hope he is doing well.
Skyler is losing his battle…he underwent brain surgery and has liver failure ….his mother has decided to place him on hospice. There is nothing they can do for him. This hurts my heart. I pray for him and his family. ❤️
Its 2020 and Skyler Russell unfortunately is currently under Hospice Care and his mother Tiffany and his son Mateo is at his side – He fought the fight but God has bigger plans for Skyler – May he RIP 😞
I’m Ari, Skyler’s fiancee. He passed away yesterday morning, Oct 16 2020, at the age of 33. He had a long battle with addiction and when he finally saw the end of the road, his body gave out. It’s honestly a shock even though he had some health issues from the last few years. We haven’t really processed anything yet and the pain is absolutely unspeakable. A lot of things died with him.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/skylers-emergency-medical
Tiffany set up a GoFundMe to help cover the final costs of putting our beloved to rest. Her Facebook, Tiffany Russell of Phoenix Arizona, is also public for anyone who wants to take a look back and see how this all started a few weeks ago.
If his story saves just one person, it’s worth the follow. He was an amazing human being and was loved beyond all reason. We’ll never get over this but he was sober when he passed, so he accomplished what he set out to do. Proud doesn’t begin to describe how we feel for him through all this. Thank you for loving him too.
I’m so sorry to hear this. We all care about the people featured on this show and their loved ones. Stay strong.
So sorry for your loss, and so sorry that Skyler’s story ended this way.
Thank you Ari for updating us. Much love to you and Tiffany and the rest of his family.
Just rewatched this episode and was hoping to come on here and see a life away from toxic folks and mental health support. My mother is schizoaffective, in part due to a TBI when she was a teenager. The struggle of growing up with a mother who battled several addictions and countless days consumed by hallucinations and delusions, was tough. But mental illness is REAL. And that’s why I became a mental health counselor.
I am saddened to see he passed a couple days ago. But I’m so happy to see he had a loving and caring and supportive family up until his final days.
Your family is in my heart. Please be kind to y’all’s selves and don’t hesitate to go receive extra support where needed 💗
Ari, I am so sorry for your loss. Crazy because I just watched Skyler’s episode today and came here to see how he was doing, he seemed like such a sweet guy. You are in my thoughts & prayers.
Watched the Intervention show and clearly his mom pushing him into what she wanted to be was so wrong, but sure she loved him very much. His dad was just a poor excuse of a dad. He wanted to spend time with him but his dad couldn’t be bothered. So sad. So glad to hear he found love and got to be a dad, I m sure he was a great dad. To his fiancee I’m so sorry for loosing Skyler,im sure he finally got to be loved for who us was and fir his kids my ❤️ breaks for them.
I’m so glad he found love and someone who appreciated him for who he was.
If you read this Ari – My condolences. Thank you for loving Skyler
This episode really made me angry at his mother. Skyler clearly didn’t want to be a model or actor yet she made him do it anyway. He was on that reality show and he looked so miserable. The clip of her watching his audition reels and telling him to come sit down and watch was like rubbing salt in an open wound. The amount of denial his mother was and continues to be in about his addiction is just stunning. Why wasn’t she sent to a Betty Ford clinic and evaluated? Denial is a bad way to deal with someone’s addictions. I really hope Skyler’s soul is at peace now and free from the anger and sadness he held on to for so long. My heart hurts for his son knowing he no longer has a daddy to take care of him.
I’m watching the episode for the first time. His mother just said how disappointed she was in him when he was on the reality show. How heartbreaking. May he rest peacefully.
My condolences to Skyler’s family and loved ones.
I just watched his episode and after reading here it says that he passed away from alcohol withdrawals, did he become an alcoholic later?