Durek Verrett

Durek Verrett (born 1974) is a self-professed shaman and author of one book Spirit Hacking: Shamanic Keys to Reclaim Your Personal Power, Transform Yourself, and Light Up the World.

Born Derek Verrett in Sacramento, California, in 1974, he grew up in nearby Foster City, and has stated that his mother is of Norwegian-Indian descent and that his father is of Haitian descent, having been born and bred in New Orleans.

Verrett claims that some of his elders had powers but chose to stay away from them in order to follow more traditional paths. Durek claims his great-grandmother was a medicine woman who grew up in Ghana before fleeing to Haiti and eventually settling in New Orleans. Durek also claims her son, Durek's grandfather, had powers too, as did his father, but they were traditional Seventh-Day Adventists.

Verrett grew up in what he says was an affluent, primarily white neighborhood. His parents divorced when he was three, he lived with his father, whom he has described as a pious construction entrepreneur, and his stepmother.

Verrett claimed to have some early supernatural experiences then such as seeing his ancestors. Verrett has claimed he suffered early sexual abuse at the hands of a babysitter leading him down a path of drink and drugs. He has characterized his early life as a battle between self-destructive tendencies and a spiritual journey in understanding the latent shamanic forces within him, including what he was supposed to do with them. Verrett claims he eventually realized he had been given these powers to help people.

Verrett also had a limited early career as a model and in appearances on television shows. Vanity Fair wrote about Verrett being bisexual and summed his early activities up as 'an eclectic early career and this helped propel his brand of new age shamanism into celebrity circles as he had grown up partly in that world.'

Verrett's website describes his style of shamanic teachings as being ‘no nonsense’. Verrett claims to demystify spirituality by making it attainable and understandable for not only the layman, but also for the more spiritually advanced, and everyone in between. Verrett states that his 'true mission is to bring the ancient practice of shamanism to the mainstream, helping people to “get lit” by cultivating love and acceptance of themselves and others.'

Verrett has been linked to many high-profile individuals throughout many mainstream publications including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Glamour magazineand many more. These range from celebrities such as LeAnn Rimes, Nina Dobrev and Gwyneth Paltrow, to tech giants like Dave Asprey of Bulletproof Coffee and Verrett's former lover Hank Greenberg.

Verrett's relationship with Princess Märtha Louise of Norway has been heavily scrutinized, with many Norwegians voicing their disapproval calling Verrett a ‘charlatan’. Both Verrett and Princess Martha have responded to this negative perception openly and publiclyto various news outlets.

Verrett has written ‘Spirit Hacking: Shamanic Keys to Reclaim Your Personal Power, Transform Yourself and Light Up the World’.