A firsthand account of how multi-level marketing operates as a commercial cult—what starts with purchase turns to years of coercive control and ends by creating a crusader.

Julie Anderson is one of the most influential voices in the anti-MLM movement

In this episode, Dr. Mara Einstein is joined by Julie Anderson, one of the most influential voices in the anti-MLM movement, for a deeply personal and unflinching conversation about life inside multi-level marketing—and the long road out.

Julie walks through how she was pulled into MONAT through a product that initially worked, how she was systematically funneled from customer to seller to recruiter, and how incentive structures, love-bombing, personal development ideology, and coercive “coaching” kept her locked in for nearly five years. What begins as “just shampoo” turns into unpaid labor, psychological manipulation, and moral injury—mirroring the dynamics of high-control groups and cults.

Together, Dr. Mara and Julie unpack why MLMs disproportionately target women, why governments continue to legitimize these structures, and how shame keeps people trapped. But, in a twist the industry didn’t see coming, social media has steadily begun to crack the system open. Julie also explains how she transformed the very marketing skills she learned inside MLMs into a powerful force for exposing them—online and offline.

In this episode:

Why Julie calls MLMs “endless chain recruitment fraud,” not businesses
How incentive periods, bonuses, and rank structures hook people early
Why over 99% of participants must lose money for MLMs to function
The personal-development trap—and how coercion is disguised as motivation
How MLM coaching programs replicate cult dynamics
The psychological toll of realizing you’ve harmed people you recruited
The long exit: overcoming shame, cognitive dissonance, moral injury, and the slow lift of the “veil”
How TikTok and social media accelerated the collapse of MLM narratives
Practical advice for people who feel ready to get out

Mentioned in this episode:

MLMs & Coaching Groups

MONAT
Amway
Herbalife
Mary Kay
Avon
Tupperware
Arbonne
doTERRA
Primerica
Rank Makers

Documentaries & Media

LuLaRich – Amazon Prime
The Vow – HBO (NXIVM)

Organizations & Institutions

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
Direct Selling Association (DSA)
Direct Selling Education Foundation (DSEF)
Competition Bureau of Canada

Books & Podcasts

Hoodwinked: How Marketers Use the Same Tactics as Cults – Dr. Mara Einstein
Merchants of Deception – Eric Scheibeler
Life After MLM – Roberta Blevins

Scholars, Thinkers, and Public Figures

Julie Anderson – anti-MLM advocate, content creator, and former MONAT participant
Eric Scheibeler – former Amway insider and whistleblower
Roberta Blevins – host of Life After MLM
Gary Huggins – Direct Selling Education Foundation (referenced critically)
Ray Higdon – MLM coach (discussed as an example of coercive coaching culture)
Richard DeVos – Amway co-founder
Betsy DeVos – former U.S. Secretary of Education (contextual reference)

About the guest

Julie Anderson was simultaneously in a multi-level marketing company and an MLM-adjacent coaching cult for five years. Upon exiting both, she took to social media, spreading awareness about the reality of MLMs and focusing on amplifying the voices of victims/survivors.

Find Julie on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@JulieAndersonvideos

And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_julieanderson426/

TRANSCRIPT AVAILABLE

About the host

Dr. Mara Einstein spent a decade in corporate marketing working for some of the world’s biggest brands before turning her focus to exposing the industry’s inner workings. Now a tenured professor of media studies at CUNY, she’s dedicated to helping people understand how marketing shapes what we buy, what we believe, and even who we think we are. With a background spanning business, media, and the arts, Dr. Einstein brings sharp insight and humor to the systems that sell us our identities—and the power we have to push back.

Pick up Dr. Einstein’s book Hoodwinked: How Marketers Use the Same Tactics as Cults on

Bookshop.org (and beyond): https://bookshop.org/a/116018/9781493086153

Website: https://www.drmaraeinstein.com

Books: https://www.drmaraeinstein.com/writing

Instagram, TikTok, Threads: @drmaraeinstein

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Drmaraeinstein

Credits

Production: Multitude

Lead Producer & Editor: Bren Frederick

Music: Marc Langer

Cover art: Cayla Einstein