Eligio Bishop, also known as "Natureboy," is a controversial figure who has gained attention as the leader of the eco-cult Carbon Nation.
The Most Disturbing Cult On The Internet
Distribution of Black People in the U.S.
Who is Eligio Bishop?
Bishop, born in Harlem in 1982, has described his upbringing as troubled. He has said he has no memory of his parents, who died when he was young, and that he and his younger brother bounced between foster homes where he experienced sexual abuse. As a teenager, Bishop repeatedly ran away from home and was involved in criminal activities, leading to time in juvenile detention facilities and, later, East Jersey State Prison, where he attempted suicide. After his release, he enrolled in the military but was discharged due to his psychiatric treatment. He then worked as a model and a stripper before becoming a barber.
The Birth of Carbon Nation
Carbon Nation's story begins in a small room nearly a decade earlier. The walls are bare, save for a small corkboard where he’s tacked up a map of the United States and a menu from Tassili’s, his favorite raw vegan restaurant in Atlanta. Bishop himself seems gleeful as he shows viewers his space. Five minutes in, he turns the camera on himself. “People talk about the injustices, white supremacy, and what are we doing about it,” he says. “I’ve decided to be the change that the planet needs.… This is my transition before I go into nature and move out of the country. This is the most efficient way to shut the system down."
That video garnered about 40,000 views, but in the Carbon Nation universe, it’s the Big Bang.
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The Beliefs of Carbon Nation
Calling himself "Natureboy," Bishop promotes a mix of beliefs including:
- Veganism
- Polygamy
- Nudity
- Astrology
- Sleeping and shitting outside
He contends that melanin, which produces skin, hair, and eye pigmentation, has almost supernatural powers enhanced by the sun. Bishop also believes that Black people need to live in the tropics.
The Travels and Tribulations of Carbon Nation
Between 2016 and 2022, Bishop and a rotating core of about 10 to 20 followers traveled through Central America, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, California, Nevada, and Texas, before settling in the Atlanta area.
In July 2016, he posted a video responding to the shooting death of Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old Black man, by police. Erikka Carroll remembers that video. “There was a lot of anger in the Black community, and he was the first person I heard that was like, ‘We ain’t got to be angry. Just move away.’” Carroll, 38, had been working as an engineer and studio manager for rapper T.I. She reached out. In late July, Bishop took the plunge, and traveled to Honduras. Among the small crew that joined him, one had access to a house there.
A tropical climate.
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Hawaii Quarantine Incident
Bishop and his group arrived in Hawaii over June 7 and 8. On the 8th, Bishop and others were seen at a beach, where Bishop petted a sea turtle, police said. All travelers - tourists and residents - arriving in Hawaii must obey a mandatory 14-day quarantine, which doesn’t allow people to leave a hotel room or residence for anything other than medical emergencies.
Bishop said he and his group weren’t aware Hawaii officials were serious about the quarantine, even though he and others signed documents at the airport saying they acknowledged the quarantine order.
Controversies and Legal Issues
Bishop's message has resonated more widely than you might guess. Carbon Nation is part of an ecosystem of Black spiritualists, natural-living advocates, herbalists, alternative historians, motivational speakers, and backpack rappers known as the conscious community. Since 2016, members of the self-described cult have coupled, uncoupled, argued, fought, been exiled, returned. Bishop has juggled a rotating cast of “wives,” encouraging them to battle - at times, literally - for his affections.
In 2011, police were called to a house east of Atlanta and found Bishop on the front porch attacking Maisha Evans, who he lived with. Bishop was charged with aggravated battery. He faced 20 years in prison, but by the time the case was about to come to trial the following year, Evans and Bishop had reconciled. She wrote the judge a letter in his favor.
Currently, Bishop is serving life without the possibility of parole, after being found guilty in March of rape, false imprisonment, and revenge porn. He claims he’s innocent.
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Comparisons to Other Groups
In 2023, two other prominent figures in the conscious community, Rashad Jamal of the University of Cosmic Intelligence and Michael Noak, an author known as Brother Polight, were sentenced to long prison terms on sex charges. Dwight “Malachi” York, leader of the Nuwaubian Nation, a Black Muslim cult based in Georgia, was in 2004 sentenced to 135 years in prison for a variety of charges, including child sexual abuse and rape.