Is Beachbody A Pyramid Scheme? – An In-Depth Review

Have you ever considered making money while you work out your abs? Beachbody is a company that provides opportunities like these to people of all ages and backgrounds.

Over the years Beachbody has won the respect and goodwill of the general public, whether they use its workout videos or its passive income opportunities.

Beachbody, however, has been the subject of criticism due to allegations that the company engaged in fraudulent practices. Is Beachbody a pyramid scheme? is the burning question of the day, so let’s dig deeper into this site and find out.

What Is Beachbody?

Beachbody is a fitness empire that has been changing the lives of millions of people for over two decades. Founded in 1998 by Carl Daikeler and Jon Congdon, the company’s mission is to help people achieve their goals and help them lead a healthy lifestyle.

The main idea was to provide fitness-related content like short workout videos and videos based on exercise and nutrition. They hired popular fitness coaches for the same purpose.

In fact, according to Forbes, Beachbody obtained $500,000 as an angel investment in its early days — showing the immense support the company gathered even in its initial days. 

Celebrity trainer Tony Horton was hired for a somewhat like sequel series of the ‘:08 Min Abs’, called ‘Great Body Guaranteed’. The idea flourished and they decided to spearhead the creation of a library of such videos. Beachbody.com was the result of the same decision.

The first mega telecast of Beachbody was P90X or Power 90 Extreme by Tony Horton. This fitness series lasted for 90 days and was aimed at providing big results to the viewers.

While its fitness programmes are excellent, Beachbody is more than that.

Team Beachbody is the company’s online coaching programme that links up customers with fitness experts who encourage, inspire, and direct them in their efforts to get fit.

Fitness coaches not only provide advice and instruction, but also serve as motivators and  accountability partners for their clients.

The company aims at targeting users from all age groups through its fitness videos. The fitness coaches or the marketers ensure the connection of the users with the brand remains intact.

The company was set up in Santa Monica, California, and has its headquarters in El Segundo, California. Apart from the USA, Beachbody is available for international selling in the UK, France, and Canada. Today, the brand has grown immensely and runs many sub brands like BODi, Openfit, MYX, and more.

What Is Beachbody’s Business Model?

Beachbody is a multi-level marketing company that uses affiliate marketing, direct sales, and similar schemes for promoting itself.

Beachbody’s core business model is based on direct selling, where independent “Beachbody coaches” promote and sell Beachbody products to their customers.

Here is a quick-breakdown of the major components of Beachbody’s business model:

1. Products: Beachbody offers a range of fitness programs, supplements, beauty products, fitness equipment, and nutrition products.
   
2. Support & Subscription: Beachbody provides online support and coaching through its Beachbody-On-Demand platform (an online subscription platform), which offers a library of Beachbody workouts and nutrition plans.
   
   Coaches also provide personalized coaching and support to their customers through this.
   
3. Independent Coaches: Beachbody’s independent coaches are individuals who sign up to promote and sell Beachbody products to their customers. They earn commissions on the products they sell, as well as additional bonuses for building and leading their own team of coaches.
   
4. Multi-Level Marketing: Beachbody’s compensation plan is based on a multi-level marketing (MLM) structure, where coaches can earn commissions not only on

A customer who uses the company’s product is equivalent to a tier 1 coach. There are no eligibility criteria to become a Discount Coach at Beachbody, hence any person can join the company in that role and earn a reasonable discount on products.

Like a traditional MLM company, the privilege of earning money via promoting the company from the comfort of your home without much hard work is the key attraction of Beachbody’s business model.

People join as customers and transform into coaches eventually. The Beachbody coaching success journey involves stages, beginning with Emerald Coach, followed by Ruby Coach, and then Diamond Coach where the Diamond level involves 11 stages in total.

For more deets: Check this out

The independent coach earnings ascend from the bottom to the top, ranging from $250 to $12,000 per week. This huge income difference with much less increment in investment, excites the customers to continue on a long relationship with Beachbody.

Beachbody’s highly flexible business model is the reason why customers who join for developing personal fitness turn into self-dependent fitness models or even successful entrepreneurs and wealthy affiliates!

Is Beachbody A Pyramid Scheme?

In case you were wondering, NO, Beachbody is NOT a pyramid scheme. Actually, it’s a multi-level marketing firm (MLM), also called a network marketing firm or a social selling company.

A pyramid scheme is a form of investment where each person involved recruits others to join and money made by the new members funnels up to the higher members.

It is called a pyramid scheme because it usually takes the shape of a pyramid, with the top layer having one person, the next layer having two people, the next four, and so on.

Each person recruited is required to pay money to the person at the top of the pyramid, who will then use that money to recruit more people. The scheme relies on an ever-increasing number of people to continue to recruit others, and eventually, the scheme collapses because there are not enough new people to recruit.

The people at the bottom of the pyramid, the ones who invested the most money, are usually the ones who lose the most money.

This is how the structure looks like: 

Beachbody is a multi-level marketing (MLM, a.k.a Network Marketing) company that sells health and wellness products, such as fitness programs and nutritional supplements. Unlike companies that have a pyramid scheme-centric business model, Beachbody operates its affiliate marketing schemes by influencing customers to earn money by selling the company’s products.

So the Beachbody company cannot be termed as a pyramid scheme because it does not pay its users for connecting folks to its network.

However, no special skills are required to join the network and anyone can be a coach (in various beachbody coaching programs) or an affiliate marketer at the company.

These coaches are encouraged to make their teams and earn higher profits but are not simply paid for recruiting team members under them (like how a pyramid scheme usually is).

Also Read: Top 20 Shark Tank Products

Beachbody’s Compensation Plan – Can You Really Make Money?

Takeaways from the company’s official compensation document, indicate the existence of a well-structured, genuinely rewarding, and easy-to-attain compensation model.

This model also has levels. When a Total-Solution Pack (TSP) or a Shakeology Kit is sold for retail, to a new customer, commissions up to 35% are earned. Similarly, various products sold have different commission rates.

Once a customer is onboarded, the idea for the formation of teams is implemented. An individual who is also a coach in the company aims at earning high amounts via networking or affiliate marketing.

The term coined for this setup is Team Cycle Bonus where a Coach earns commissions on purchases made by his team members. The amount earned depends on the rank of the particular coach.

There’s a Matching Bonus offered to the upline coach which is 5%-10% of the total bonus earned by the team members as Personally Sponsored Coaches.

2 Star Diamond-ranked coaches and those with higher ranks are eligible for participating in 4 Star Diamond Bonuses. There are a few conditions to qualify for earning these bonus compensations called Team Beachbody Coach Rank Requirements.

The higher the rank, the more effort is required. Unlike other network marketing companies, Beachbody offers the masses an indirect and intriguing way of earning money.

Now, if you’re wondering whether or not it’s possible to make money on the platform, there are plenty of reviews all over the web to show that it does, in fact, help people make some real cash!

Is Beachbody FDA approved?

According to their website, Beachbody products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any medical condition and are not subject to FDA regulation.

This implies that Beachbody does not offer any medical product or treatment and is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The FDA regulates medical products, including drugs and medical devices, to ensure their safety and effectiveness. Beachbody does not fall under the umbrella of companies liable to seek FDA approval.

Beachbody programs are cleared to do so by a healthcare professional. However, for personal safety, it is important to follow the instructions and guidelines provided with any exercise program and to listen to your body, stopping if you feel any pain or discomfort.

It is also important to be aware that any exercise program, whether belonging to Beachbody or not, carries some risk of injury, and it is important to use caution and common sense when participating in physical activity.

Do Beachbody Coaches Make Money?

After the customers, Beachbody fitness coaches are the lifeline of the company. There are more than 400,000 fitness coaches under the brand. The Beachbody fitness coaches are not just fitness enthusiasts but also make heavy money through the company’s multi-level marketing approach.

According to various sources, a Beachbody coach can make over $3000 monthly in the USA. The main source of earnings is commission on various schemes like recruiting team members, selling products, membership renewals, and organizing Beachbody workout programs.

Currently, there are 4 types of coaches, namely Discount Coaches, Part-time Coach, Part-time Coach working to be Full time, and Full-time Coach. All have different modes of earnings.

A Discount Coach is like a regular customer only limited to earning a discount on the company’s products. Part-time and Full-time Coaches are distinguished on the number of hours they spend working for Beachbody.

Beachbody is an MLM company and so its schemes are indirectly focused on connecting more and more people. Any coach in the company gets paid on the basis of the reach he generates for the brand.

Is Beachbody worth the money?

Given the majority of opinions on Quora by past users, it can be claimed that one has to be very careful in choosing the fitness program one wants.

The pricing is very genuine as compared to other options in the market or even a gym membership. According to Choosing Nutrition, the charges are:

• $77 for 6 months
• $99 for a year

^ Amounting nearly to the cost of pizzas eaten in a month!

Beachbody offers some special services like Beachbody on Demand Interactive (BODi) which is a program offering personal assistance from a fitness coach. It costs $19.5/month and $298/year — making it a rather affordable model!

With a claim to serve more than 5 million users and its growing size, Beachbody has been out there for quite a long now. People have trusted the brand’s programs, even after it being criticized to be running a pyramid scheme, and have invested monetarily and physically in them. The company in return has been catering to their needs via videos, diet programs, personal fitness sessions, etc!

Conclusion

Beachbody is a pioneer in the fitness and healthcare industry. Despite running affiliate marketing schemes, the company has very wisely influenced the masses to connect with it.

Although the MLM company has been the target of public criticism due to the fraudulent practices (like the scams involving pyramid schemes) of other network marketing companies, it has so far delivered on all of its promises to customers.