A Great Life, a Maryland-based weight loss tea company, was sold to Total Life Changes by May 2020, ending operations for a firm co-founded by Dave Lear, a figure previously linked to two collapsed pyramid schemes in 2015.
Lear co-founded The Elite Networker and Total Takeover. Both launched in 2015. They operated as pyramid schemes and failed quickly. After The Elite Networker's demise, Lear promoted Valentus. His partner, Wes Wheeler, had no prior multi-level marketing experience, a detail noted by critics.
A Great Life marketed a single product: "Not the Average Skinny Tea." The company claimed ingredients sourced from Asia, Africa, and South America. Promoters promised users would feel immediate effects. The tea supposedly aided weight loss through seven different mechanisms.
A single box containing thirty sachets sold for $69.95. Customers could purchase a three-pack for $154.95, reducing the per-box cost to $51.65. A six-pack cost $239.95, bringing the unit price down to $39.99 per box. The compensation plan outlined five ranks: Life Changer, Professional Life Changer, Gold Life Changer, Platinum Life Changer, and Diamond Life Changer.
Each rank demanded a monthly product order and specific recruitment metrics. To reach Life Changer status, an affiliate needed to maintain a monthly order and refer one retail customer. Higher ranks, like Professional Life Changer, required two recruited Life Changers. Gold, Platinum, and Diamond levels added "Business Volume" (BV) targets on the affiliate's weaker binary side, ranging from 5,000 BV to 40,000 BV each month. Retail commissions were direct: a $20 payout for one box sold, $30 for a three-pack, and $50 for a six-pack.
Recruitment commissions extended down three levels. An affiliate recruiting someone who bought a Starter Pack earned $20 on level one, with $5 paid out on levels two and three. Builder Pack recruitment generated $40 for the first level and $10 for the next two. A Pro Builder Pack recruitment paid $60 to the first level and $15 to the second and third levels.
The residual structure used a binary compensation plan. A single box sold or a Starter Pack recruited generated 40 BV. Three-packs or Builder Packs generated 80 BV. Six-packs or Pro Builder Packs provided 120 BV. Affiliates earned $8 each time 40 BV on one side matched 80 BV on the other. Three bonus pools also existed, drawing from 5% of company-wide sales, distributed among Gold, Platinum, and Diamond ranked affiliates. Joining the company cost between $69.95 and $209.95, depending on the initial product pack chosen.
Initially, the Life Changer rank required a single retail sale on paper. But the operational focus quickly shifted to group BV and recruitment. Affiliates could meet qualification requirements by simply maintaining their mandatory monthly purchase. By February 2019, an official corporate video removed retail requirements entirely. The Life Changer rank then needed only an autoship order and two recruited affiliates. Marketing presentations from that period omitted retail sales. The recommended path for success involved recruiting two product-buying individuals, then having those two recruit two more product-buyers each. Retail was absent from this success model.
By June 27, 2019, the compensation plan stated affiliates could qualify through autoship or retail sales, yet retail was only mentioned for the Life Changer rank before becoming optional. The company did not publish its compensation plan on its own website. Marketing continued to emphasize autoship, indicating retail was not a priority. Jordan Wright of A Great Life contacted ScamTelegraph on June 29, 2019, stating the company had removed problematic videos and updated presentation slides. He also said A Great Life considered eliminating the Pro Builder bonus. Wright claimed a substantial retail customer base existed, partly due to some representatives running radio advertisements. The company pledged to comply with all laws and improve its practices.
Despite these assurances, A Great Life's website became non-functional by May 2020, following its acquisition by Total Life Changes. Alexa traffic data showed a steady decline for the company starting in mid-2019, prior to the acquisition. The company's trajectory aligned with the typical pattern of a pyramid scheme: rapid launch, emphasis on autoship recruitment, followed by collapse when recruitment inevitably slowed. In such models, the product often becomes secondary to participant recruitment, with most affiliates buying to maintain qualification, ultimately leading to financial losses for the majority.
A Great Life ceased independent operations after its sale to Total Life Changes in 2020.