Is Beachbody a Pyramid Scheme? An Exercise and Dietary MLM Review

Beachbody Review

The overview and rankings

What to look for in a MLM:

What is Beachbody?

Beachbody is a health and wellness Multi-Level-Marketing company which sells exercise and workout programs and nutritional supplements.

Carl Daikeler and Jon Congdon founded the company in 1998 at Santa Monica, with the goal of helping people achieve a healthy lifestyle and fit body while earning good money on the side.

Here's a 3-minute video showing you what Beachbody is all about...

Sounds enticing, right? But take note that it's just a sales video. So you're probably still wondering...

Is Beachbody a pyramid scheme?

No, Beachbody isn’t a pyramid scheme.

Their members can make money by selling their nutritional supplements and exercise video programs without recruiting people.

But a better question to that is…

Is Beachbody a pyramid scheme in disguise?

What is a pyramid scheme?

Pyramid schemes are a kind of company structure where members are promised payment for recruiting people into the company.

There are no actual products or services sold inside the company.

These are illegal in many countries because not everyone can earn money from a business structure that only pays people for recruitment and not for selling the company’s offerings.

You can check out this clear illustration from Wikipedia to know why…

Beachbody does sell legit products. 

But the only way members can guarantee to avoid losing money from the monthly sales quota is by recruiting more people into their "downline" in the MLM. It makes Beachbody very similar to a pyramid scheme in disguise...

Here’s a 5-minute video on how you can spot “pyramid schemes in disguise.”

Success is rare with Beachbody

You will have a hard time achieving success in Beachbody or any MLM company.

Take note that between 72.5% and 99.9% of MLM members lose money.

This is because most MLMs have sales quotas which forces members to maintain a certain number of sold products each month. Therefore, most members end up purchasing products themselves just to remain active.

This is why thousands of MLM members lost hundreds or even thousands of dollars before they could recruit a single person.

And when you account for the costs to remain active, you can see in the Beachbody income disclaimers that 93% of all members lose money.

That leads us to think...

How does Beachbody Work?

Beachbody sells workout routines in the form of DVDs and online videos, exercise accessories, and nutritional supplements.

They also offer everyday people an opportunity to work from home by simply selling these products while receiving commissions from their sales and their downline’s sales.

Sounds like a win-win, right?

Well, hold on!

Beachbody saves hundreds of thousands of dollars on marketing costs because they let the average Joe do all the promoting and advertising.

Before dwelling more on that, let’s know more about...

Beachbody products

If you’re really set on joining this MLM and trying your luck, then it’s important that you know and understand their products.

Beachbody Performance Line ($109) - Gives you the needed energy to exercise longer and harder. It contains caffeine, quercatine, and beta alanine.

Daily Sunshine ($99.95) - A 3-in-1 smoothie that’s designed for kids. However, adults can also take this.

It contains various whole-food based fruits, vegetable blends, protein, and healthy fats to increase energy levels without compromising health.

80 Day Obsession Accessory Bundle ($90.85) - A package containing exercise and workout accessories such as resistance loops, strength slides, and portion control containers.

It also comes with an 80-day workout calendar to help you keep track.

It’s important to know that there are thousands of other MLM brands offering a similar range of health and workout products.

Here are some of them:

• Max International
  
• Arbonne
• Vyvo
  
• Univera
• Reliv International
  
• Genesis Pure
  
• American Dream Nutrition 
  
• Trivita 
• Yoli

So, what makes Beachbody stand out?

Shakeology Protein Shake ($129.95)- flagship product

The company promotes this as a superfood nutrition shake that helps in losing weight and reducing junk food cravings. This also boosts energy levels and improve digestion.

Check out this 5-minute video about Shakeology...

Can you make money with Beachbody?

How to make money with Beachbody?

There are 2 main ways you can make money from Beachbody:

• Sell their products

• Recruit people into the company

Before diving into their compensation plan, let’s know...

How much does it cost to join Beachbody?

It costs $39.95 to get Beachbody’s Digital Business Starter Kit.

Having this means that you’re a full-fledged, but basic member.

You can also receive their Challenge Pack worth $140 to $265 depending on your chosen workout videos, coaching, and nutritional supplements.

Getting this also means that your initial $39.95 fee will be waived.

But the costs do not stop there amigo...

Beachbody monthly sales quota

Beachbody compensation plan

Most, if not all MLM companies make their compensation plans confusing.

Beachbody is no different! But no worries, because I’ll try my best to keep it simple…

There are 2 ways you’ll be paid by Beachbody:

Retail Commission

Earn retail commissions of up to 25%. You can increase the rate to 40% commission if your customers avail the Beachbody on Demand membership.

Shakeology Fast Start

Earn $20 every time your recruited downlines get a Shakeology Home Direct Starter Pack. Earn an extra $100 if you sell 1 Shakeology Starter Pack weekly for 5 straight weeks.

Don’t worry if you’re confused with all that.

MLMs use weird and fancy acronyms and terms so that is seems like there are lots of ways to make money from their company.

The reality is that there are only 2 things to do:

• Sell products
• Recruit members

If you want to get your head around it a bit more then here's an 11-minute video about Beachbody's compensation plan...

Is Beachbody a scam?

Nope, Beachbody isn't a scam. They sell legitimate products and pay members exactly as they say.

Unfortunately, the company receives a number of misleading claims once their members realize that they’re losing more money instead of earning monthly.

This means that the company can be called a scam in one way or another.

The remainder of this review will help you see the truth behind Beachbody so that you can make an informed decision if it’s worth proceeding or not...

Just to be fully transparent with you, I am not a distributor myself and I do not endorse Beachbody in any way.

I have researched the website, testimonials and information on the Internet to get to the bottom of what this program genuinely does. This is because I have been burnt from programs just like this in the past and I want to prevent others from making the same mistakes. If you’d like to learn how to “Spot an Online Marketing Scam” then click the highlighted text.

What I like about Beachbody

Key Terms:

• Pyramid Scheme – recruits members via a promise for payment from referring others to the service rather than providing a product
• Affiliate Marketing- Connecting a customer to a product they are looking for and receiving a commission for doing so
• Red Flag - A warning sign

#1 Proven history

Did you know that only 30% of MLMs survive the first 10 years?

Beachbody started in 1998 and is still operating with thousands of members from across the country.

So, it’s safe to say that it won’t be gone soon, unlike most MLMs. This is also a sign that Beachbody is not a scam because the FTC hasn't shut it down.

#2 Positive product reviews

I’ve scoured the internet and looked for reviews about Beachbody’s products.

There were a few negative ones, but the number of positive reviews were still far greater. I've personally tried the insanity workouts before and they are great!

#3 Gaining momentum

It's far easier to sell something that people are looking for...

What I don't like about Beachbody

#1 Expensive products

If an MLM has overpriced products, it’s a huge red flag that the company is a “pyramid scheme in disguise.”

It’s because their focus is on recruitment instead of selling good, useful, and affordable products...

Beachbody sells nutritional supplements which cost from $90 to $120.

That’s just way too overpriced if you compare that to other nutritional supplement brands in the market.

Here are some of the few other brands I found in Amazon…

Those are known brands and they sell 70% to 90% cheaper products than the ones Beachbody is selling...

#2 Hidden monthly expenses

Yes, you’ve read that right…

You need to sell 50 PV monthly to stay active.

Also, what actually is this PV? Yes, it’s personal volume. But why would even bother having this “rule” when what you need to focus on is selling Beachbody’s products?

50 PV (or whatever it is that they call it) means that you need to sell over $50 worth of Beachbody products (supplements and workout calendars) every single month.

If you can’t do this, then you need to buy it for yourself.

Here’s the truth the most MLM members don’t know…

Beachbody’s biggest customer base is their members who are obliged to keep buying their products with the hope of “becoming their own boss” in the soonest possible time.

#3 Is Beachbody a pyramid scheme in disguise?

If you need to spend over $50+ a month to stay active, there’s only one way you can avoid losing $50 on expensive nutritional supplements and workout videos each month...

How? Well, by recruiting people under you!

And what do you call a company that focuses on recruitment instead of selling actual products? A pyramid scheme in disguise…

And any company that focuses on recruitment always ends up looking like the diagram above. 

Don't believe me?

Just check this out...

#4 1 in 154 members earn over $16k a year

You can see in the Beachbody income disclosure that 1.5% of all "coaches" earn an average of $103,698 per year...

However, the smallprint at the bottom shows that only 43.49% of all ranks receive a bonus and count as coaches. 

That means that 0.65% of all members earn over $16k a year.

In English, it means that only 1 out of 154 members make more than $16k a year!

Also check out this graph from Google Trends...

You can clearly see that not much people are searching for or are interested in Beachbody...

My opinion - Beachbody

Does Beachbody have good and useful quality products? For sure… But are they overpriced?

Yes. In fact — very overpriced…

So, what do I think of this supposed business opportunity here?

The fact that you can make good money if you recruit lots (and lots) of people just to make money is just plain wrong. Espeically when you know that 93% of the people you recruit will end up losing money. 

That doesn’t sound like an ethical business model to me.

You’ll need to sell the dream of becoming your own boss and then leaving it up to your recruits to discover the ugly truths themselves...

How I make passive income online

MLMs are not scams or illegal. However, I'm not a fan of them because of the restrictions to the expensive products you have to promote.

Once I learnt about affiliate marketing, I realised it's a far superior business model because:

• You can promote anything you want and truly own the business
• You never need to sell to friends and family
• It's completely free to start

In 2018 I had no idea what affiliate marketing was.