Ex-Barney the Dinosaur actor now controversial tantric sex guru

The beloved kids character Barney the Dinosaur - or at least the man who played him - for the best part of a decade - is now a tantric sex guru who likes to have sex with his female only clients without a condom.

David Joyner, 54, played the purple dinosaur between 1991 and 2001, on the PBS children's show Barney & Friends.

The stuffed toy come-to-life, and voiced by Bob West, was famed for his song "I love you, you love me, we're a happy family" and was a big hit with kids and families alike.

Today, Joyner has hung up the big purple suit and his new career couldn't be much further away from the innocent kids TV show, working a tantric sex guru who promises to unite his clients' mind, body and spirit through tantric massage and sex.

Yet Joyner, who works in LA, California, insists there are similarities than one might suspect.

Barney the Dinosaur - or at least the man who played him - for the best part of a decade - is now a tantric sex guru. Photo / Getty

He even used his tantric training for parts of show, such as surviving the 120 degree heat inside his T-Rex costume, and for digging deep to find the 'joy' during grueling shoots, the Daily Mail reported.

"The energy I brought up [while] in the costume is based on the foundation of tantra, which is love," he told Vice. "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."

Now Joyner finds orgasm and sex the best way to unblock that energy.

"When the lingam [penis] and the yoni [vagina] meet, there's a certain energy that takes place that hands on the body alone cannot create," he said.

Sex, according to the 'guru', should be unprotected because condoms "block the energy".

The foundation of all our existence? LOVE!

Live it, Breathe it, Speak it, Stand on it, Share it!

I Love You, You Love Me... We’re A Spiritual Family!!! pic.twitter.com/TIcTa6CQpb

— David Joyner (@djoyner22) January 7, 2018

The spiritualist provides his STD test results to prospective clients, who are asked to sign a form before participating disclosing any STDs they may have.

Joyner charges $350 for a full tantric massage session which includes a ritual bath, chakra balancing, a massage and orgasms. He says he meets many of his 'clients' on Tinder.

Joyner, previously a software analyst at Texas Instruments, said he discovered tantra in the 1980s, at age 20, while training as a masseuse.

He later landed the job as Barney in 1991, and says he was warned by the show's attorneys not to teach, practice, or talk about tantra while under contract with them. But the former kids star said he ignored their warnings and continued to practice sexual spirituality in secret.

Grown up fans of Barney the Dinosaur, and their parents, may be horrified to discover that the man that embodied the innocent purple dinosaurs now performs tantric massage on two to four women - who he refers to as 'goddesses' every week.

Barney's cast and crew were also pretty stunned by his new career choice.

Stephen White, head writer on the show from 1992 to 2005, says he was 'surprised' but that Joyner had always been 'a very spiritual guy.'

"David was eccentric and wonderful and into things that I wouldn't have been privy to given my age at the time," Leah Montes, who played 'Luci' from age 9 to 15 on the show told Vice.

White added that he still saw Joyner's new job as the "'I love you, you love me' deal, but different. I don't judge or anything, but that's a side of David I didn't know."

However, other tantric gurus and sex therapists have raised concerns about Joyner's unorthodox methods - particularly his strong preference for unprotected sex.

"Even porn stars in California use a condom," said Kimberly Resnick Anderson, a sex therapist and professor of psychiatry at UCLA. "It's the law. For him not to use condoms is medically unethical and irresponsible. This is outrageous and far outside the standard of care."

Other tantric coaches slammed the practice as 'shady', saying that full sex was very rarely used in practice with clients and that the use of intercourse seriously risked adding to the clients' trauma.

It could also be breaking California's solicitation laws which make it illegal for punters to pay for sex.

Joyner believes he has got round this by getting a cop friend to help create a contract for clients, which states they are not law enforcement or part of a sting operation.

His first session is also free, which he believes sets up legal consent.

However, subsequent sessions that are charged for could potentially put Joyner at risk if any of his clients ever complained to the police.

Currently, that seems unlikely judging by the gushing testimonials on his website.

One woman says she only experienced her first full body orgasm at the hands of Joyner. Another, titled "I BOW TO THE MASTER OF HEALING PLEASURE" claims that "Each time I have met with David, I was transported to a delicious and deep realm of pleasure."

Many of his clients appear to be in their 50s and 60s from California.