[TheNaturalBoy]

Good morning, afternoon, or evening, everyone!

As you can probably tell from the title of this post, today we're talking about life gurus, fitness gurus, "masculinity" gurus, and whatever else you can think of. People who spend their time on the internet showing off their lifestyles, luxury possessions, and supposedly overwhelming success.

I don't doubt that there are genuinely people out there offering courses, mentorships, or training in highly sought-after fields or very specific niches, and some of them may understandably come with a considerable price tag. But today, we're talking about those people who are clearly trying to sell you the "ultimate secret recipe for success."

People like Kevin David, or what Digital Altitude used to be. I also remember hearing that controversial figures like Andrew Tate had some kind of course where they would "reveal their strategies."

Without a doubt, there will always be scams on the internet, but some are certainly more blatant than others. Remember, we went from things like a Ugandan prince who desperately needs money because his accounts are frozen, or a beautiful woman in a war zone who needs financial help, to something a little different.

These days, some scammers don't use love as the hook anymore. They use desperation—especially among young people—the constant insecurities that someone might have during their teenage years or early adulthood, or even the vulnerabilities of older people who naively believe they can finally solve problems they've carried or suppressed for years.

Have any of you ever been victims of this kind of scam or fallen for one of these "gurus"? Maybe recently, or back when this whole thing was just starting?

Have you ever helped a friend or family member avoid one of these scams before it happened? Or did you end up watching someone you know spend an absurd amount of money on a course, mentorship, or "experience" that ultimately wasn't useful at all?

I'm genuinely curious to hear your stories. :3

[Sift]

So many of them running pyramid schemes and attract desperate men. Like Andrew Tate.

[m1000]

I'm not one to buy "self help" courses and books but I had a friend that would ALWAYS spend money on these things and never really get anywhere... The Tate brothers are pretty brilliant and their courses aren't a scam, you just have to take some initiative and do what they're guiding you to do. Many people are willing to learn but won't execute. The Tate brothers originally operated on a "fake it til you make it" scheme until they were bringing in enough money to actually flaunt. To this day a lot of what they "buy" are actually rentals and it's to keep up with the persona. The real money is in taking what these guys are doing, doing it yourself, then being the one to sell the courses/guides yourself. If you can create a luxurious online persona without spending much money it's pretty easy to convince others into buying your agenda. It's not really scamming if what you're selling is real, it's just that not everyone is willing to execute those plans.