Chicago – Cami Strella has seen a lot in her twenty-something years of life, but joining a Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) business-based scheme, which ran its practices like a strict religious cult, still stands out as her most indelible learning experience to date.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis particular network marketing scheme operated on recruiting people to recruit others in order to directly sell products that may or may not be effective, and I would describe it as being the opposite of NXIVM, the notorious organization that brainwashed young women into becoming sex slaves,\u201d she says of the experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was forced into celibacy and punished when I watched porn or did anything that was considered aberrant behavior to them. I once confessed to my upline (mentor) that I had broken my vows and was labeled a sex addict, sent to a \u2018therapist\u2019 who charged me $200 an hour to make me recite every person\u2019s name I ever slept with to \u2018break the ties\u2019 with these people. I honestly couldn\u2019t remember a lot so the sessions with her ended pretty quickly!<\/p>\n
\u201cI was ordered to approach at least five people a day and have them meet with me over coffee so I could pitch our business, then give them a book to read. If they read the book by our next meeting within the week, it was a green light; if they didn\u2019t, I moved on. I was trained to seek out the most desperate and vulnerable with the goal of retiring early by recruiting enough people to financially support ourselves. I found that same happy ending in adult entertainment\u2026 no pun intended!<\/p>\n
\u201cMy brother recruited me in 2017, but I soon learned just how extreme my mentors were. Being around entrepreneurs and so much money really dazzled me; I gave up absolutely everything to pursue this, as I was inspired by all of the cars, private jets and travel my mentors participated in. After surviving a physical attack that nearly ended my life, that was the straw that broke the camel\u2019s back. I packed my things, sold my car and moved far, far away.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s funny how outsiders tend to look down on the adult industry and deem it \u2018unsafe\u2019 and \u2018exploitative\u2019, but I’ve only ever felt unsafe with people outside of the industry. As awful as this situation was though, I got quite the education in those two years; I learned everything I now know about business, development and finance through this organization. If I hadn\u2019t joined this cult, I wouldn’t know what I know now about running a business!\u201d<\/p>\n