The Cult Next Door: The Shocking Truth About MLM Schemes and Wellness Influencers

Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) cults, pyramid schemes, commercial cults, brainwashing, coercive control, neurodivergence, ADHD, narcissistic leadership, and psychological manipulation are all explored in this episode of Cults, Culture, & Coercion. Dr. Steven Hassan interviews psychotherapist and commercial MLM cult survivor Brandie Hadfield about her decade inside a health & wellness pyramid scheme, the financial & psychological tactics that kept her trapped, and how she ultimately escaped.

Brandie Hadfield is a psychotherapist, advocate, and neurodivergent advocate. After spending nearly a decade inside a wellness-focused multi-level marketing scheme, she has dedicated her graduate research to examining narcissistic leadership in commercial cults in order to answer important questions that resonate in her own life: why do these MLM structures appeal so much to neurodivergent people and how do these groups derail their individual lives? Today, she supports former MLM members through therapy, education, and the nonprofit Flipping the Pyramid.

In this conversation, Dr. Hassan and Brandie examine:

- How wellness MLMs use cult-like psychological manipulation and coercive control

- Why new parents, people in life transitions, and neurodivergent individuals may face unique vulnerabilities to cults that present themselves as "be your own boss" business opportunities

- The role of love bombing, behavior control, cognitive dissonance, and thought-stopping in commercial cults

- How the sunk cost fallacy keeps people trapped in MLM "businesses" even after serious doubts emerge

- Why coaching organizations, wellness marketing, and MLM recruitment often overlap

- The financial, emotional, and psychological costs of spending years inside an MLM pyramid scheme

- Why recovery requires rebuilding critical thinking, identity, and healthy support systems

- How AI scams, deceptive marketing, and false authority continue to exploit vulnerable people online

- Practical strategies for recognizing manipulation, reality testing extraordinary claims, and safely exiting high-control groups

Drawing from his own experience in the Moonies, Dr. Hassan compares Brandie's MLM experience with manipulative techniques used across destructive cults. Together, they explore why commercial cults deserve the same level of public awareness as religious and political cults.

This discussion also examines the growing connection between social media influencers and online wellness culture, highlighting how recruitment, identity manipulation, and false promises continue to evolve in the digital age.

Whether you've experienced an MLM yourself, know someone who has, or want to understand how commercial cults operate, especially in the digital age, this conversation offers valuable clarity and insight into the ever-evolving landscape of cult recruitment and manipulation.

🌐 For more of Brandie's work

🔔 Subscribe for expert conversations on cults, brainwashing, coercive control, authoritarianism, manipulation, narcissistic leadership, and the psychology of influence.

#MLM #MultiLevelMarketing #PyramidScheme #CommercialCults #MLMbusiness #MLMcompany #Brainwashing #CoerciveControl #PsychologicalManipulation #CultRecovery #StevenHassan #CultsCultureAndCoercion #MindControl #Health #Wellness #CultAwareness

********************************************

Learn more at

Subscribe to The Influence Continuum podcast

Enroll in our courses -

Download a .pdf of the BITE model here!

Subscribe to the Freedom of Mind newsletter

Read or listen to Dr. Hassan's books