The Guy Who Played Barney Now Runs a Tantric Sex Practice

You'll never hear the "I Love You" song the same again

BY Calum SlingerlandPublished Jan 23, 2018

In what might be the wildest "where are they now" story of 2018 (so far), David Joyner — known best as the actor who portrayed the beloved purple dinosaur Barney from 1991 to 2001 — now runs his own tantric sex practice.

As VICE reports, Joyner has actually been running Tantra Harmony since 2004, offering $350 sessions that include massage, a ritual bath, chakra balancing and possible orgasms to women in hopes of releasing their blocked energy.

"It is time for women to understand their true worth and the true essence they have to offer to the world," Joyner writes on his website. "The true spirit of a woman that lies within, must now take its true and rightful place, and shine its light for all to see. This is my goal!!! This is my calling!!! This is my mission!!!"

Joyner, whose business currently sports 30 clients, told VICE that tantra shares many similarities to the job of stepping inside the 70-pound purple dino costume. He explained that he used his tantra training to maintain energy during long days on set to help him "maintain an abundance of joy during the process."

"The energy I brought up [while] in the costume is based on the foundation of tantra, which is love," he said. "Everything stems, grows, and evolves from love. Even when you have emotionally blocked energy, the best way to remove it is to remove it with love, and then replace it with God's divine love. Love heals and allows you to continue to grow."

Joyner continued, "Before I got into the [Barney] costume, I would pray and ask God to allow his loving divine spirit to flow through me through the costume and let that draw the kids. That energy would always draw them in. Children are more connected spiritually than [adults]. A lot of times when I see infants and I'm out and about at the grocery store or whatever, they start staring at me. I make the joke, 'You know who I am.'"

Joyner discovered the world of tantra in the 1980s while training in Swedish massage. Upon getting his part as Barney in 1991, lawyers for the show told him he was not allowed to teach, practice or talk about tantra while playing the character. He told VICE that those who worked on the show "knew I was spiritual, and that I meditated."

You can read Joyner's complete interview here.

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