🔥 The Rehab That Failed Nick Reiner

Accused double-murder suspect Nick Reiner’s troubled past appears to include a controversial chapter spent at a remote wilderness therapy camp in Utah — an experience he later said may have worsened his struggles rather than healed them.

At just 16 years old, Nick — the middle child of legendary filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife Michele — had stopped attending high school and had already begun experimenting with drugs. After traditional, high-end rehab facilities in Malibu and Los Angeles failed to produce results, his parents turned to a more extreme solution: a wilderness-based treatment program known as Second Nature.

Founded in 1998, Second Nature promotes a “nomadic backpacking approach” aimed at helping troubled adolescents confront challenges through extended outdoor living in isolated environments. But years after completing the program, Nick questioned its impact.

In a 2016 appearance on the Dopey podcast, he reflected on his time at the Utah camp and suggested it exposed him to influences that would later shape his addiction.

“I went to a wilderness program in Utah called Second Nature,” he said. “I met a kid there from LA… years later, I called him up when I was in sober living.”

Nick recounted that encounter led to his first experience using heroin near Los Angeles’ Skid Row — a moment he believes can be traced back to connections formed during rehab.

“The seed of heroin was planted the first time I was ever in rehab,” he said. “For all the negative I think it did to me, it also exposed me to a much larger demographic of people.”

Two former Second Nature attendees, who spoke exclusively to the Daily Mail, echoed Nick’s concerns. Although neither knew him personally, both said they recognized the pain he may have endured as a teenager in the program.

Savanna Boda, who attended the camp as a 15-year-old, said she was exposed to extensive discussions about drugs during her stay — conversations that later fueled her curiosity.

“I learned so much from the kids around me that I wanted to try marijuana when I got out,” she said.

Boda described the program as physically and emotionally brutal, claiming teens were required to live outdoors full-time for months in freezing winter conditions, often without basic comforts.

“We did frostbite checks every hour to make sure we weren’t losing toes,” she recalled. “It was freezing. It was so hard to go through.”

She alleged that participants hiked roughly seven miles a day through snow while carrying heavy backpacks, bathed infrequently, and slept outdoors under tarps with no pillows or extra blankets.

Food, she claimed, consisted mostly of canned or freeze-dried meals — and only those who mastered a survival skill known as “busting a fire” were allowed hot food.

“I couldn’t make a fire for months,” Boda said. “They punished me by not letting me eat hot food. I was literally freezing.”

Another former participant, Margaret Lynd, who attended Second Nature at 17, alleged that staff members were inexperienced and often demeaned the teens, calling them “dirt urchins.”

“They were on a power trip,” Boda added. “They bullied us and made our lives miserable.”

Both women claimed counselors lacked formal psychology training and appeared to be drawn to the job primarily for its outdoor lifestyle.

Lynd also described what she called one of the most traumatizing aspects of the program: being forcibly transported to Utah in the middle of the night — a process former attendees refer to as “gooning.”

She alleged she was taken from her father’s home at around 2 a.m., restrained, blindfolded, and flown to Utah while being threatened by escorts.

Upon arrival, Lynd said she was stripped of her belongings, forced to undress for a search, and required to shower with lice shampoo.

“I don’t feel like these people cared,” said Lynd, now 35, who runs an animal rescue organization. “Parents are convinced their child will die if they don’t send them away.”

Rob Reiner has previously acknowledged regret over how he and his wife handled Nick’s rehabilitation. In an interview cited by The Hollywood Reporter, Reiner admitted they ignored their son’s objections.

“When Nick told us it wasn’t working, we didn’t listen,” he said. “We were desperate, and we trusted professionals when we should have trusted our son.”

Nick himself later expressed understanding toward his parents, saying fear often drives their decisions.

“Parents get scared,” he said in 2016. “They don’t want to see their kids die, so they act fast.”

Both Boda and Lynd emphasized they feel sympathy for parents — including the Reiners — whom they believe are manipulated by treatment consultants.

Boda, who said a fellow Second Nature attendee later died by suicide, claimed boys in the program were treated more harshly than girls. While stressing she does not condone violence, she said she empathizes with the pain Nick may have carried into adulthood.

Second Nature strongly disputes the allegations.

In a statement to the Daily Mail, a representative called the claims “false and misleading,” emphasizing that the program is licensed, regulated, and built on principles of compassion and emotional safety.

“Nature-based therapy can provide a structured and supportive alternative for families whose children have not benefited from traditional treatment,” the statement said, noting the program’s 27-year safety record.

Online reviews of Second Nature remain mixed. While some former attendees echo criticisms, others praise the program for helping them recover.

“I came in angry, empty, and addicted,” one former participant wrote on Yelp. “Through blood, sweat, and tears, I found myself again — and built relationships that still matter today.”