Burpees at 5am, cold showers, personal development, doped muscles, Lamborghinis (or as he affectionately calls them, Lambos), mansions, boats, and women (who for him are just another product of his notion of success). The “belly” and “mileuristas” (on a salary of a thousand euros) live in a matrix for Amadeo Llados, a guru who bases his business model on being an “online fitness coach” where he sells an experience: his mentality and lifestyle. Social media is full of mostly men talking about discipline and “following the path” to “escape the system”. Llados’ school, called “Tu1millon”, brings together young men who make a pilgrimage – the ones who pay the most – to Miami to their particular Lourdes: the mansion of the supreme leader who promises them to be millionaires, indeed, promises them that they will “become the man they want to be”.
With an irradiation of the most toxic – and at the same time fragile – masculinity, Llados’ discourse engages those in search of the myth of lost virility, of the self-made man:“Llados represents nothing more than the last excrescence of a reaction of neo-macho men such as Jordan Peterson or Andrew Tate, who have slipped through the open hole between a patriarchy that has not just died, and a feminism that has not just been born”,analyses the philosopher Adrià Porta about the character.. With a histrionic profile and a kind of saviour syndrome, he arrives with a message to make people “wake up”. Through social networks, the images of a life of luxury make the recruits function as a sort of franchisees who show the same standard of living in order to recruit more clients, with the Llados element as the centralising element.
One of his youngest followers – a 16-year-old boy – explains on his YouTube channel that he wants to leave school because he doesn’t learn anything, and that when he arrives at class, he has already done two hours of “personal development” which gives him much more. Another of the followers with the greatest reach, who went viral when he appeared in a report on Equipo de Investigación (La Sexta TV), tells us in no uncertain terms that he has moved and cut ties with all his family and friends. As for the promise of becoming a millionaire, he works as a cashier and says that he “doesn’t give a shit about money”, investing large amounts in Llados’ courses and trusting in the process that will lead him to the supposedly coveted first million.
“Doing burpees does not generate money, doing burpees generates the man who will generate money”, is one of Llados’ phrases to justify the fact that his students do not become millionaires – in fact, that they are even left with debts: one follower went viral for saying that he was going to pay for the purchase and the card was denied.
Common psychological patterns of those recruited
Sectarian behaviour has certain patterns which may resonate with the Llados case, one of which is the youth of the recruits. According to an article in the journal “Papeles del psicólogo”, young people are more vulnerable to this type of discourse as “when the subject is still in the evolutionary phases of construction, definition or stabilisation of their personal identity in relation to that of their educators or peers, they are more receptive to all types of behavioural alternatives, and especially to those options which facilitate a clear and rapid distinctiveness”. Other common characteristics of fitness guru followers are the moment of crisis – it is easy to find testimonies that say things like “I was lost until I found LLados”, or even the case of a man who explains that he used to take pills for anxiety and since he has been on the courses he has stopped because “he doesn’t need them”. The “recruiter” as an element to be idolised is a key factor that also occurs in this case, especially with his close character towards his students – at the same time aggressive in some of his classes, justifying this behaviour as necessary for his students to progress – which makes them feel part of the “leader’s” project.
VIDEO PROMOCIONAL
Buying smoke, selling smoke
One of the most recurrent questions is what is the product that Llados sells. They are courses that do not really offer anything tangible: “live mentoring every Saturday. Create the man you admire and respect. Escape the system as an online coach. Change your environment. Learn the millionaire mindset”. These are some of the modules he offers in his “Tu1Millon” course, which is priced at a modest 1800 euros. The supposed path to becoming a successful millionaire costs thousands of euros in different training courses
Ponzi schemes are based on the promise of high returns to those who choose to invest. Low risks and high returns are the keys to easily persuading people, but in many cases emotional sales tactics also come into play to manipulate and attract new members. The interest generated by the capital deposited or borrowed is paid using the money contributed by new investors, so we are talking about a very similar model to a pyramid scheme. “The system only works if the number of new victims grows. In this fraud there is always a ‘centraliser’ of victims who interacts directly with them”, explains the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) about the system..
In a pyramid scheme, participants recruit new members and pay a fee that goes directly to those at the top. In a Ponzi scheme, investors give their money to the scammer, who promises returns that are actually paid out of new investors’ money rather than legitimate profits. While in the pyramid scheme money flows up through the structure, in the Ponzi scheme money flows laterally between investors, maintaining very similar operating structures.
The mother of the pyramid model has been in place for almost half a century: Herbalife, the company that defines itself as “multi-level marketing that develops, promotes and sells nutrition-related products” – especially “weight loss diets”. In this corporate dynamic, sales work through individuals recruited to be “independent distributors”. However, the multi-level marketing system is based on the fact that distributors can earn commissions not only on their own sales, but also on sales generated by the distributors they recruit and distributors at their lower levels (i.e., as the ACFE mentioned, “the system works only if the number of new victims grows”).
Un sistema parecido utilizaba IM A similar system was used by IM Academy, the fraudulent scheme dressed up as a “Forex academy” investigated by journalist Carles Tamayo in several chapters of his YouTube channel. As some former participants relate, many minors came to spend their money in this pyramid scheme, which became a recurrent topic of discussion among teenagers in high schools. As one of them says: “you might not trust a stranger, but if a friend sells you the project, it’s different”. The fever of cryptocurrencies and Forex trading was in this case the “product to sell”, videos of gurus with an ostentatious life who invited thousands of people to buy their courses. An image reminiscent of the fashionable smoke-seller, Amadeo Llados. A recurring image among the pyramid scams that aim to offer an escape route to all those people who, due to different personal circumstances, take the bait.
