GenX Women are Sick of This Shit!

Tupperware Dreams and Vitamin Schemes

• Megan Bennett & Lesley Meier • Season 2 • Episode 15

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Remember that moment when your neighbor invited you over for "just wine and apps with the girls," only to ambush you with a sales pitch for overpriced leggings or miracle vitamins? You're not alone.

In this episode, we dive deep into the cultural phenomenon of multi-level marketing schemes that targeted Gen X women throughout the 80s, 90s, and beyond. From Tupperware parties our mothers hosted to the Mary Kay consultants with their pink Cadillacs, these pyramid-shaped businesses promised financial freedom while delivering financial ruin for 99.6% of participants.

Lesley shares her family's personal journey with Shaklee vitamins, including her grandfather's run-in with the IRS after some creative accounting with his vitamin business. We explore the awkward social dynamics of being invited to jewelry, candle, or kitchen gadget parties in our twenties when our bank accounts were running on fumes, and the guilt trip of saying no to friends who desperately needed to make sales.

The conversation covers a nostalgic tour through the MLM landscape - Amway, Avon, PartyLite, Pampered Chef, Silpada jewelry, LuLaRoe leggings, and dozens more that promised riches but mostly delivered debt. We analyze how these companies specifically targeted women with products related to beauty, home, wellness, and childcare, capitalizing on both financial needs and social connections.

As we reflect on these experiences, we question whether today's social media influencer marketing has simply become the digital evolution of the MLM hustle. Has anything really changed, or are we just seeing the same exploitation with new packaging?

Share your own MLM horror stories with us! Call our hotline at 1-888-GEN-X-POD or visit our website at genxwomenpod.com to connect with other Gen X women who survived the pyramid scheme era.

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Megan:

I'm Megan Bennett,

Lesley:

I 'm Lesley Meier

Megan:

and this is Gen X. Women Are. Sick of this Shit.

Megan:

Hi Leslie,

Lesley:

Hi Megan

Megan:

, how the heck are ya?

Lesley:

I'm pretty good the power's on in my house, which is great

Megan:

, that's good, I'm just glad nobody was in the hot tub when your power line dropped into your backyard.

Lesley:

That was pretty exciting. The power didn't even go off. That was a fun thing to drive in the garage too, though no storms.

Speaker 3:

No wind to speak of, just trees knocking down power lines.

Lesley:

A bothered branch, an old tree saying I'm giving up, I'm tired.

Megan:

It's like me, I'm just going to lose this right here. No-transcript. It's like me, I'm just going to lose this right here.

Lesley:

I'll just lay on the ground.

Megan:

I'm tired.

Lesley:

What happens if I just fall out of my chair.

Megan:

It's Friday

Lesley:

To the ground.

Lesley:

I'll take this cord and probably a lot of shit that'll piss off producer Tim, it's fine, I won't reenact. The tree fall right here, good chunk, but luckily a good old power company and community and we were able to like get it winched back up and we have power, yes, which is great because it's friday, and that would be super, super lame. And I was taking a peek because I did text my electrician and I'm waiting to see if he responds. We do have to have a little repair work done, but it's fine, power's on, that's all that matters well, I'm glad.

Speaker 3:

How are you? I'm okay. My puppy had her spay surgery yesterday, so I'm a little tired because the drugs wore off at about 3 am and so we were like what the fuck? She was very disturbed, so yeah did she have a cone on? No, we do. We got her a um recovery suit, which, oh my, the cutest thing you've ever seen. What is that?

Speaker 3:

it looks like doggy pajamas oh, and so it, like wraps, it goes over the head nugget over the front legs and then it goes over the back and there's a hole for her tail and it goes up and under and then you velcro it around her middle and we got one that has flowers and little pink bunnies on it. It's ridiculous.

Speaker 3:

So when you take her out to pee pee, you have to un-velcro and go up over the tail and then you roll it and then you like, just let her do her thing and she goes pouty.

Lesley:

It's almost like a doggy diaper, but not quite Kind of it's just to protect, just basically to keep her from doing some damage to stuff.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, licking her stitches. I've never had a girl dog before, so this is new for me, and it's a whole lot.

Lesley:

She's very well. It's a much more invasive surgery. It is, it's like more complicated.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, absolutely. So she's got to take it easy. So she's got all the drugs and we had to get some extra drugs because she's incredibly sensitive. Not anymore. She's like nope done.

Lesley:

Menopause in Menopause over.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, now she's just got the hormonal imbalance that we're dealing with Darling girl.

Lesley:

Just slap an estrogen patch on her and she'll be fine. That's fine, right? We could just put welcome human estrogen on a dog. I think that's okay. I mean, we wouldn't really do this please animal lovers this is a joke medicating my dog with okay.

Speaker 3:

Joke with yeah no, what's her?

Lesley:

recovery time 10 to 14 days okay, so, and then does she have to like, be still or not, she's got to be chill.

Speaker 3:

And yes, she's got to kind of chill so we can't do big walks and Jeff has to carry her up and down the steps. Oh, that's adorable, so she did sleep with us for a little bit last night and she was zonked out after I gave her some more drugs and then she was somebody that got a few hours of sleep, but not a whole lot.

Lesley:

I wish her a swift recovery and I wish you sleep. Thank you, my friend.

Speaker 3:

Thank you. We're going to drug our dog tonight and sleep real well, that will happen.

Lesley:

That is not a joke. It is not a joke. They really will give the dog, these are vet prescribed.

Speaker 3:

So anyway, let's see. What do we know?

Lesley:

We know not as many people died in the past two weeks as died the two weeks prior, or even, I guess it's probably like a month prior, because we had waited. But one person did die just today.

Speaker 3:

I just, I am so embarrassed that I just learned about this while sitting here.

Lesley:

And it's important to you and also important for a previous episode where we talked about soap operas who died today.

Speaker 3:

So Tristan Rogers, who played Scorpio, robert Scorpio on General Hospital, passed away. He had been ill for a while. If you are a General Hospital fan, you probably tuned in and saw that he was looking a little like he wasn't well for quite a while and they sent him off with Holly out into the world for whatever reason, and he will not be coming back, which is very sad, my gosh.

Lesley:

And he will not be coming back, which is very sad, my gosh. It says that he portrayed Scorpio on the soap opera intermittently over the course of 45 years, 45 years.

Megan:

Yes.

Speaker 3:

So he's been around for a really long time. He was in the Luke and Laura era. He was married to Anna Devane. He was the dad to robin scorpio. He was um, yeah, he's been around for a really long time. This is a lot of lore and now we've got like his brother's gonna have. Max scorpio is gonna have to deal with his brother's death oh it, it's going to be rough.

Lesley:

I'm sorry. My condolences to all of you. I hope that it's okay.

Speaker 3:

No, he was. He was really good. He was a great actor and a lot of fun, so, and he was a big time sex symbol for a long time Like.

Lesley:

Oh yeah, back in the day. I guess he was married to Holly too. He was married to anna wait, should we see.

Speaker 3:

Is there like?

Lesley:

a hot photo. Probably we have looked at robert robert scorpio, that was yeah yeah, fictional character there you go, there we go. But real in so many ways it seems like look at how pretty, oh same, this is like such a 70s hot kind of vibe. Yeah, that haircut like literally it was a little Sean.

Speaker 3:

Connery like okay kind of the character was a little sure, sure because he played. He was in the um WSB which was is that it?

Lesley:

did he have that hair?

Speaker 3:

oh yeah, oh yeah, he had a little mullet thing, okay. But bad guy, robert Scorpio, no, no, good guy. Oh, good guy, good guy, I mean, I think he had a little mullet thing going for a long time, okay but bad guy robber scorpio no, no good guy. Oh, good guy, good guy I mean, I think he had some. He was not. He had some bad stuff. Now, that's anna. He had some bad stuff now and then, and that's holly.

Lesley:

That okay now I know all the things okay. So he was more like a good character.

Speaker 3:

He was uh, like the WSB is sort of like the FBI slash.

Lesley:

Okay.

Speaker 3:

Interpol type Right on Organization, an international Respect Spy organization.

Lesley:

I yeah, I believe you, I believe that that is true.

Speaker 3:

Anyway, like everybody's like, shut up.

Lesley:

No, there are a lot of people who are like yes, yes, ma'am, I'm crying, tell me more, let's talk about.

Speaker 3:

Robert, there are an equal number of people who are like no, no, I am an all in my children kind of person.

Lesley:

Sure, of course, young and restless. We'll do a cage match. Get out with this general hospital shit. They can duke it out Okay.

Speaker 3:

So anyway, that's sad, that was very sad, and to just learn about that, that is a super bummer.

Megan:

I mean, I knew he was ill.

Speaker 3:

I knew he was ill, so it does not come as a surprise.

Lesley:

So you're okay, right here, I'm okay right here. You were like no, you're okay, right here, I'm okay, right here. You were like no. I was like oh, shit, yeah, and has surviving family. So condolences to them Wife, kids, grandbaby, I think. So that is super sad. But other than that we didn't dig too deep, there wasn't anybody that like popped right up that we were like oh.

Speaker 3:

There was yep. We've already said goodbye to Ozzy. And yep.

Lesley:

All the things.

Speaker 3:

So that was the big one. Amazing, people are still beat up about Ozzy. I keep watching. There's all these reels that keep popping up Like Ozzy walking. My favorite one is he was walking through his backyard trying to get one of his cats to come inside. Oh yeah, and he's like come here, puss, and he's like yelling, yelling at the cat and there's.

Megan:

Sharon.

Speaker 3:

I can't get this fucking cat. And like he's walking in. I mean he's got a cane and the poor guy is like kind of like you know, not steady on his feet, tottering Sharon comes out, she's like you're not supposed to be over here and he's like, and he's like I know I gotta get the fucking cat. And she's like let the kids, kids won't fucking do it. I don't want the coyotes to eat the cat.

Lesley:

Well, no, which is very sweet of him, that is sweet. He doesn't want the coyotes to eat the cat, he doesn't want the dingo to eat the baby. No, bring them both in, bring them all in, cats and babies.

Speaker 3:

But those reels keep popping up of little snippets of Ozzy Osbourne. They're really cute.

Lesley:

Aw. Anyway, rest in peace. He can hang out with Tristan. Oh, he might get along. No, they might be, they might. I mean it's got to be a cool club. Yeah, maybe.

Speaker 3:

Maybe there was some. I don't remember what the band was now off the top of my head, but some band is taking some heat because they did a montage of Ozzy, like AI generated montage of Ozzy in heaven with other.

Lesley:

Oh, that's weird.

Speaker 3:

People. I don't remember who it was, but I was like what the freak so people are. That was all playing behind them.

Lesley:

Oh, that's not cool.

Megan:

It seemed weird.

Lesley:

AI is only a tool. It's not for recreational use. You're destroying the rainforest. Stop it, and you're causing trouble just generally cut it out it's like integrated everywhere, but like for that is every single wear don't do it don't do it. Uh, megan, yes, ma'am, what should I be sick of?

Speaker 3:

this week, girl, I don't I. My list is so long.

Lesley:

Are there certain shits that are worse than other shits? What are? Have you read anything that people are sick of this week in?

Megan:

particular. Well have there been any rants in the group.

Speaker 3:

No, not necessarily in the group, really Just, I mean generally speaking. I think the the the takeover of Washington DC.

Lesley:

That is so fucked up President.

Speaker 3:

Okay, here's the thing I am most sick of.

Lesley:

Yes, please, All of that's bullshit right, yes, absolutely the whole taking over Smoke and mirrors.

Speaker 3:

All of that. It's all bullshit. It's all done to cover up stuff. He does not really give a shit about homelessness. He doesn't care about like.

Lesley:

Or cleaning up. Dc Doesn't really care.

Speaker 3:

No, none of that is real and it's cruelty is the point.

Lesley:

Yes, and that is incredibly infuriating and outrage, like stirring up outrage.

Speaker 3:

Yes, sticking it to the libs is like number one me off, though, headline wise of all of that, because I'm constantly in a state of anger about everything, but this is like amped up just a little bit higher, for whatever reason. Um, he is fucking with the smithsonian oh, and going in and like their hand picking out shit that they don't like. Yeah, rewriting history, rewriting history I don't fact. I just I'm flabbergasted.

Lesley:

Yes, I did read that the exhibitions are going to be given an extra hard look to make sure that they're all patriotic and celebrating American values and adhere to Trump's version of history, history.

Speaker 3:

So I hope personally that he decides that he desperately wants the Hope Diamond which is in the Smithsonian, and he takes it home with him and the curse happens. Oh, tell me about the curse. Oh, there's a curse on the Hope Diamond.

Lesley:

What is it? Do people just drop dead when they touch it?

Speaker 3:

Oh, yeah, there's all kinds of things. Yeah, you'll have to look that up sometime.

Lesley:

Look up the history of the Hope Diamond.

Speaker 3:

First of all, the Hope Diamond is butt ugly. It is not a pretty piece of-. Is it really? It really is not a pretty diamond. It's blue, it's got all kinds of shit in it. It's not pretty. Why were they-?

Lesley:

Why was it we're not going to See if it's real.

Speaker 3:

See if the curse is real.

Lesley:

It would just be like the fates, the will of God.

Speaker 3:

You just the thread Snip. Tom Cruise declined an award from the Kennedy Center.

Lesley:

Yes, I did see that Trumpy Trumpskin wanted to give it to him. He would be the presenter and the list of honorees. Tom's like I'm good. Yeah, I don't need that.

Speaker 3:

Thanks, and to that I say welcome to the resistance, Tom Cruise.

Lesley:

Welcome to the resistance. We're going to send you a t-shirt. Yes, gen X, women are sick of this shit. Resistance member.

Speaker 3:

Oh, hey, now.

Lesley:

Maybe we should do that.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, we can do something like that.

Lesley:

Gen X women are the resistance In the same vein of the Smithsonian overhaul. Had you heard about the proposed alternative to PBS?

Megan:

for children oh my.

Lesley:

God no. Prager University.

Speaker 3:

God, of course Prager.

Lesley:

University, the right-wing network could fill the void left by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's DEA funding. One of the children's lessons taught by PragerU is that slavery was no big deal. No big deal, and it's an animated cartoon starring Columbus. You know, christopher Columbus brought here such wonderful diseases um. So yeah, this is sort of well, you could use this. Um. So it is. The white house debuted a new educational partner at its launch event for the new founders and this is new.

Lesley:

This is new prager university has been around for a long time, but this news is new.

Speaker 3:

Yes, this is new Prager.

Lesley:

University has been around for a long time, yes, but this news is new. Yes, this is like this was, so this particular article was posted on the 8th Jesus.

Speaker 3:

Christ, because the Prager stuff was when the whole Project 2025. Yeah, all these people are pregnant Came to light.

Lesley:

Yes, right.

Speaker 3:

Like Prager got a little Yep Little headline there, little uh, yep, little headline there.

Lesley:

Yep, so, absolutely so. They have not faded into oblivion. They are back with a vengeance project 2025. The orchestrators of that plan are actively in branches of our government right now.

Speaker 3:

So let us not be well in the heritage foundation we get uh, oh, this was it the christopher columbus explorer of the new world slavery is no big deal uh, the one of the dudes in the heritage foundation will, has been nominated to take over for the um statistics position oh yeah, I read that bullshit fired. Yeah, so that you know we may have that of that dunderhead, who also, by the way, was in the Capitol on January 6th.

Lesley:

Oh, yeah, oh. So that Just hanging out just in the crowd, just observing. I'm sure that's what they say he just happened to be at a meeting.

Speaker 3:

Of course, just happened to be, but there are pictures of that dunderhead like in you know, in the crowd.

Lesley:

It's awful, it's all awful, everything's awful.

Speaker 3:

Keep talking about it.

Lesley:

Keep fighting the good fight. Please fight the good fight and speak up. Record things you know, we just have to keep talking about it. It doesn't do your heart good to be angry 24-7, but do the parts that you can when you can, yes, and also bring some joy to your corner of the world. Yes. Do something beautiful.

Lesley:

Protect your mental health as best you can Make a craft Paint rocks and distribute them amongst your neighbors, not through their windows like as gifts. Yes, just leave them around. You know something lovely? Plant flowers I don't know. Do something good? Pet flowers?

Speaker 3:

I don't know, do something good. Pet puppies. Pet puppies, walk dogs. Volunteer for nonprofits. Volunteer for nonprofits Yep. Nonprofits come together. Absolutely use help right now.

Lesley:

Okay.

Speaker 3:

Because all of the amount of federal funding that has been cut for nonprofits is absolutely terrifying. There are whole nonprofits that do not know how they are going to keep their doors open.

Lesley:

Right Doing things like feeding people. Yeah, you know important things.

Speaker 3:

So send money or donate your time. Yeah, Jump in and do some good and yeah, put the good in the world where it is needed. Agreed.

Lesley:

Oh shit, we do have a topic today. We are going to preview it and then we could take a little break.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, one thing you shouldn't do probably with your spare time right now.

Lesley:

Oh what, what, Megan? What should you not do?

Speaker 3:

Probably, maybe, probably, shouldn't join an MLM. What I mean?

Lesley:

I'm just saying you could, but please don't invite me to the party. You shouldn't join an MLM right now. Why not? That's crazy. Everybody gets rich in an MLM.

Speaker 3:

Funny, funny. You say that I was looking at stats. I just saw well, let me find it, where was it? 99.6 percent of people who join mlms. I mean, that's a lot of people 99.6 money.

Lesley:

Yeah, no fucking shit. So you know what I think? I think all of gen x we were just conned and we're all in a giant mlm and the boomers and started it right like silent generation just survived.

Lesley:

They were like I hope I fucking make it depression, my god. And then the boomers were like this is great, I don't know what you're fucking talking about. I got some money, I'm gonna buy a house for five raspberries sounds great, uh. And then they were like oh, you guys, just go do all these things, you're gonna be great, you know, go to. You have to go to college, you have to do this, like you have to do that. Well, make sure you get a house, make sure you do. You know, buy a fucking car, all of this stuff. And now we're all stuck in a fucking giant MLM, because guess what you would have to make $66 an hour to have the same buying power as our parents in the 1970s.

Speaker 3:

Really, yes, that is crazy bullshit. That, uh, that tracks. Uh, it's interesting. I heard a stat too that I can't quote exactly, so I won't say exactly what the stat was, but the the fact of the matter is that gen x is not even. We are still in a place where gen x isn't buying houses to the same level as baby boomers. Baby boomers are still buying the majority of homes. Oh my god right, really, yeah, fascinating, they're just out there. Oh my God Right, really, yeah, fascinating. And they're just out there with all their money. But you're not going to be around that long.

Lesley:

Do you really need that house? Yes, ma'am, I mean, everybody deserves a place to live.

Speaker 3:

But hello, they're buying those houses and they're probably all converting them into Airbnbs. Different episode, different episode. We got things we can talk about, all right.

Lesley:

Well, let's take a brief break, a quick pause, and then we'll come back and talk about.

Speaker 3:

MLMs, let's talk about those parties. Gen X Women Are Sick of the Shit is supported by Lilas Love you like a sis, a Gen X Women's Social Club. What's Lilas, megan? Lilas is our off platform, off the books of faces, off all of the other traditional social media. It is our space and place for Gen X women to come together, have conversations, meet each other.

Lesley:

It's a social club. It is a social club. It's a membership-based club. Memberships are $10 a month. That does help support us in growing the platform. We purchased a platform that would host a network of women so that you could come together and meet each other in real time.

Speaker 3:

In a safer space than a traditional social media platform and a much more personal space. So what do we do there, Leslie?

Lesley:

We host movie nights where we live stream some of our favorites as they are available to us for group watches of films from the 70s, 80s and 90s. We host a space for a monthly book club. We host trivia nights once a month. We have a live text chat.

Megan:

Four prizes even.

Lesley:

Four prizes. That's true. The space is able to host like weekly text chats so that you can kind of check in in real time with people. I would say the critical difference between kind of what this space is and any other social media space that I've experienced is that it is active. You will have to engage in it or be engaged in it by other people, so it's not like a passive consumption thing.

Speaker 3:

It's like making connections Yep.

Lesley:

Like making connections Yep and if that's what you're looking for the opportunity to meet other people, to find people who are maybe in the same similar spaces as you, are Like-minded, same time, phase of life, navigating all of those transitions, then this might be the right place for you.

Speaker 3:

So check out, lylas. You can learn more about it at GenXWomenPodcom. It at genxwomenpodcom. Hey, so we're going to talk about multi-level marketing. What stuff? What do you mean? You know, like all of those partays.

Lesley:

Partays, you know, pure romance, not like oh yes, do you remember that one that was at least like, aren't they still?

Speaker 3:

around. Are they still around?

Lesley:

That actually they sold stuff that was useful.

Speaker 3:

Why can't I be invited to that? We could just host one, yeah, but you know what the moment? We do is the moment like somebody's going to be like we just need to buy it. If you buy it, then you get a discount. And if you buy it, then you get a discount. And if you buy in and then you get other people to do it, then you get even bigger discounts.

Lesley:

I don't want to join a sorority. You can't make me. Is it a sorority? Well, it's similar, because you're just like recruit. I mean, that's what sororities?

Speaker 3:

do they recruit you?

Lesley:

in. You got to pay your dues. You got to keep it going.

Speaker 3:

And then why don't you get your hair a certain way? Yeah, you gotta wear the shirt, you gotta wear your greek letters. So, uh, I just pulled up on the wikipedia like a little definition, because I think this is good for setting the stage yeah, what we're talking about here, what an mlm is all right.

Speaker 3:

So an mlm? Multi-level marketing is also called network marketing or pyramid selling. It's a controversial and sometimes illegal marketing strategy for the sale of products or services in which the revenue of the MLM company is derived from a non-salaried workforce selling the company's products or services, while the earnings of the participants are derived from a pyramid-shaped or binary compensation commission system. Multi-level marketing compensation plan usually pays out to participants from two revenue streams one based on sales from directly selling the products, and the other is paid out from commissions based on the wholesale purchases made by other sellers underneath you. And that's where they get you right. Yeah, you can go to a party and like all of a sudden they're like hey, you know, I know you really like this party light party stuff.

Speaker 3:

You're buying this, I don't know, like Full price for me Stuff, right, but if you join it's only like $150 and then you get 20% off. Discount, 20% off. I cannot live without.

Lesley:

Yeah, so it's a hot fucking mess. It is a hot fucking mess with the promise of like oh, and I just work part time and I make like $5,000 a month Right.

Speaker 3:

It's so easy, right, and there's literally those MLMs for everything, like there's a nail polish not nail polish, but like the sticky yes, nails Press on nails Press on nail stuff. There is.

Lesley:

There's like that. There's essential oils. Yes, oh God, so many of those Clothing LuLaRoe yes.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, oh, that was leggings. Uh, cleaning products, many of those fuller brush stuff. Right, oh, yeah, was fuller brush one.

Lesley:

Yes, I presume fuller brush was one of the earliest mlms there are ads of fuller brush, like back in the 80s or 1800s that I saw uh amway had cleaning products, oh my god.

Speaker 3:

and amway was a big deal, and they had everything. I think, first of all, they still do. They're still around. Amway is still going strong.

Lesley:

Not all of these are deceased. I was looking really quick to see how when Fuller. I saw this ad it was so cool about Fuller Brush.

Speaker 3:

I can't talk and so like that would have been like our grandparents or great grandparents right like so grandma comes, she, she's done making uh weapons for world war two, right, and she comes back into the house and she's bored out of her mind.

Lesley:

She's also got to make some money.

Speaker 3:

She can sell some Avon, she can sell some Mary Kay.

Lesley:

Oh, this is pretty interesting. Fuller Brush To tag on the. I just totally cut you off. No, no, no, Go for it To tag on the Fuller. So Fuller Brush Company was started in 1906 and you were literally saying exactly what occurred in the 30s. They relocated from a space across on Union. They moved, but in World War II the company cut its normal civilian output to make brushes for the cleaning of guns.

Lesley:

So that did impact, and then, post-world War II, they had to figure out something else to do so. Between 59 and 94, instead of 1966, they hired 17 500 women, motivated by the lack of qualified men and the example set by avon products. So they brought in all these women, and so that seems like that sale thing this is probably the the I I would guess is kind of like the original.

Speaker 3:

It's not the original scheme, right, but it's like it. It almost makes the most sense.

Lesley:

The concept, yes, like absolutely for and but yes after that. The origination story of mlm right. Well, and I think, like door-to-door sales, like that was just a thing, you know you would be a door-to-door sales like.

Lesley:

that was just a thing you know. You would be a door-to-door sales person and be selling your vacuums or which. My grandmother purchased a sweeper because of door-to-door and it was also expected because there weren't necessarily like department stores or vacuum stores. I mean, you did count on that for certain things. Exactly, exactly All of that stuff that I said about Fuller Brush mostly true. I don't know.

Speaker 3:

I kind of bullshitted some of it, but please don't hold me to it forever and it seemed like, too, that you it was either, at least in the early days and maybe even now really. But like the key products tend to be cleaning products and makeup, yeah Right, so like clearly women focused products. So like.

Speaker 3:

MLMs to me are very heavy focused on women going to these parties, women joining up and being part of this. You know the pyramid and not as much men, although I think you know. Then you've got Amway and things like that. That were more men, right.

Lesley:

And you have a story. Shackley Vitamins was definitely. That was where my family got hoodwinked. What else was like kind of? I will talk about Shackley Vitamins, but what else was sort of early 70s and 80s? 80s saw a huge boom in MLMs and I think there were. I asked a question and now I'm going to answer with some other answer altogether. I think that there was a capitalization on women, many women still being at home but wanting to enter the workforce, but not having access to solid jobs that would work around like school schedules, and this is a way you can still have capitalize on like, hey, you need a career but you also need to take care of your kids.

Lesley:

Why don't you just sell part-time for?

Speaker 3:

this good money doing this, good money doing this, or, like you know, you make your mad money or whatever right Sure.

Lesley:

Take your family on vacation, don't you want to buy your kids nicer clothes and, to be honest, there were enough of those pink Mary Kay Cadillacs on the streets that I've seen them. There were a lot. Yes, I mean people got them.

Speaker 3:

So somebody was, somebody was making money.

Lesley:

Just that, that point four percent though. Yeah, right, well, and this topic came up because I mentioned the other day that Tupperware had filed bankruptcy and Tupperware and in-home Tupperware parties with couples were like a big fucking thing in the 50s and the 60s, and so that got us talking about like well shit, what MLMs did people you know participate in and what was it like?

Speaker 3:

And yeah, there were many. So my mom never, I don't think, I don't think she ever did anything, but she did say that she really liked mary k cosmetics. Okay, like of the two right between avon and mary k, she always thought like, oh, mary k seems like it's like a legit, you know, better makeup, better cars yeah, higher.

Lesley:

I do think mary k had the vibe of like higher end kind of cosmetics.

Speaker 3:

It's interesting and you remember, like the, the movie um edward scissorhands? Yes, and the mom was like a mary k? Yes, I don't, it wasn't mary k, but it was like their, their fictionalized version of whatever it was diane, diane, keaton.

Lesley:

No, was it keaton? We know not keaton, we we're right, d was the mom and she has her little eyes and she's so cute and her little voice and she had the little pillbox hat adorable. So MLMs, I can share my MLM story if you would like to you should.

Speaker 3:

And then I did post in the group about the fact that we were going to record this particular podcast, and there's a few comments in here too that people have about their experiences. Okay, so I do that. You want to do this?

Lesley:

Yeah, tell me tell me your story, my experience of an MLM. I was a small child. We had moved, so it had to be post 1978. So somewhere between like 1978 and 1973, 1978. So somewhere between like 1978 and 1973. My grandfather I doubt any family member of mine listens to this, but I believe that this is mostly true from the perspective of a eight, nine, 10 year old child, my grandfather, I think, retired.

Lesley:

He had been like a minister and needed to make some money and there was a lot of recruitment happening in the Shackley vitamin world.

Lesley:

And because he'd been a minister. I'm making this up this is like gen expert, not an expert thing but there was a definite like sort of like religious I don't know if it was amongst like Christian churches that there was recruitment. That happened. I don't know like Christian churches that there was recruitment, Okay Okay, that happened. I don't know, but it had sort of a religiousy vibe, Okay To it when. I was young, it was like maybe it's just because grandpa had been a minister.

Speaker 3:

Okay, there were other folks that that kind of felt the same way, that it was sort of it had like a and I think Amway has that vibe too.

Lesley:

There's a little bit in there. I pulled up Shackley and lost it again. It doesn't matter, but he would. I mean he had an office in the back of his house and it was like floor-to-ceiling Shackley vitamins. I mean they were like hustling the shit out of some fucking vitamins, right, and he made money shit out of some fucking vitamins, right, and he made money, so I think amongst their church community, like he had an audience right.

Lesley:

And then he had three sons my dad was one and a daughter, and then I believe her husband was still around at that time, so he was also direct selling to his children and then encouraging his children to like take these things to their friends. I mean hustling.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, right.

Lesley:

And so when he would come down or when we would go up, my dad would go back with like vats of vitamins, but he did pay. Like grandpa was also hustling my dad, so my dad paid some small amount for it, but there were always. There were certain things that were comped or discounted or all of this stuff. Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, he would discount. And the reason I know is that as I got older and my grandpa was still living, he got a little phone call from the IRS.

Lesley:

So my grandpa who had been a minister, had hustled the hustler a little too much, and my understanding of what happened and childhood memories. My mom was dying. I don't know that I remember this accurately. I was probably like 11 or 12. But the things that he had given to his children had been write-offs. But he was writing off thousands of dollars in products.

Speaker 3:

So how does one get to? I mean, this is my ignorance, but how does one get tipped off to 10?

Lesley:

years and at some point they start to notice that your business is not making any money, but you're bringing in, you know, and he was probably making a few thousand a month which in 1980 dollars that was probably $20,000 or something, I don't know.

Lesley:

It's like mansion money. And not only did he get tipped like had to have a conversation with the IRS, he had to go to the office, into the IRS office and present his boxes of receipts. And I either overheard the conversation or like asked like what was up, like it got mentioned. Were like asked like what was up, like it got mentioned, and he implied, said directly, basically, that he just played dumb. He's like oh, I'm just an old man, I don't know what's going on.

Lesley:

Yeah, he did and he was probably in his late 70s. Health-wise wasn't in great health, you know. So he came off like quite doddering, yeah, but he just kind of, like old man, dumbed his way through that.

Speaker 3:

I don't know if there was a. I guess I forgot to carry my one Right.

Lesley:

Wow, or I didn't know, I couldn't write these off and give them to all of my children. Here are, but, like in our bathroom closet, I remember there just being a lineup of like all of the different supplements that you would take Low key, like there were these, were you taking them. So were they like shoving. I didn't really take a ton of vitamins. Now some of this was exacerbated because my mom did have lung cancer.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, right, during the period that she was sick, they were shoving everything in her poor body.

Lesley:

But I realized that like I probably had like a little bit of an addiction to like laxatives at one point, because there was this herbal one that you could just take yeah, and you would like Seneca stuff or whatever, and I was like dad's like oh, you could take a couple of those a week, and I was like great or like whatever.

Lesley:

I mean he just told me what to take and I was just like this is. I was like so did I have like a little bit of an eating disorder, I don't know when. I was just like pooping all the time. It wasn't like I would binge and then poop, but we were encouraged like to take all of these supplements. Take your laxative and they were free in our house. So, and it was you know, and it just felt like important.

Speaker 3:

In a weird way, it's so funny to have people just come over to your house and like, oh yeah, grab a towel out of there. What the?

Lesley:

fuck right, I mean it was just I, it was a whole class. It was sort of like, if people discover you're a drug dealer, like we probably had thousands of dollars of vitamins in this closet.

Speaker 3:

But it was just what grandpa did. I mean it's super smart of grandpa really. I mean, if you're going to be in an MLM, you want to be at the top.

Lesley:

Right. Which grandpa clearly was at the top he got in at. You know he was middle.

Speaker 3:

I don't think he was super high but he but he had a congregation of people who would buy, sold vitamins to the front.

Lesley:

Oh yeah, it's so gross, what was happening oh my god did you ever get sucked in like? Did you ever get invited to parties? Or, yes, go to any mlms, were they? Like in the 80s or the 90s or 2000s.

Speaker 3:

I feel like it was later. So I don't think I got sucked into anything until much later. It's you know. I think it was probably one of those cases of like why would you invite somebody who doesn't have any money to a party? You?

Lesley:

know, unless it's just sheer desperation.

Speaker 3:

I need bodies at this party. Well, wasn't that the?

Lesley:

fucking most awkward thing Like we were early 20s in the 90s when a lot of these happened. And I would get invited to like a jewelry party, exactly, and you're like I can't afford that shit Right Like okay so what did?

Speaker 3:

you go to. So there was a jewelry, silpata, does that sound familiar? So like so potter was jewelry. Okay, I think I still actually have a couple pieces.

Lesley:

Oh yeah, so potter jewelry? Yeah, yes, man, so you know silver and it was kind of cutish.

Speaker 3:

There was some okay stuff, and I guess if you're good at cells, I mean at least it was sterling silver and I could get behind that and Okay.

Lesley:

I was sterling silver and I could get behind that and okay, I wasn't gonna sell it. What's your favorite dead mlm? I guess so funny so, oh, oh, leah sophia oh, I do remember leah sophia.

Speaker 3:

I do, I remember party light. My my mother-in-law was a party light person okay, I feel like party light, what was. And then there was um, what was the one? That was all like home kitchen stuff, the pampered chef pampered chef. Yeah that was another one that was always way out of my price range I got pampered shelf pampered shelf pampered chef stuff, same diff pampered shelf pampered pampered shelf. It works.

Lesley:

It felt very uh out of my price range fancy and high-end. I did actually spend money at pampered chef. I still have some pampered chef items in my kitchen.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I mean, see, like I think some of that okay, like the product wasn't terrible, it was the no, it was the selling method of it yeah, it was the going to party can. Can I share? I went to a party once.

Lesley:

I'm going to try to say this with the kindest. So I was a young mom, I went to a party that was hosted by an extended family member and the person who hosted was clearly just having like a really hard time in life and there was just TMI being shared left and right, but it felt a little like in my. It was just a lot.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, it was a lot of words.

Lesley:

There was a lot of word vomit about a lot of very personal things and a lot of kind of hysterical laughing. And we were like we're just going to buy things from you you clearly need, and it was like a friend or whatever. But we were sitting there and like well, you know, the thing is, you go and you cook something and you eat and you have wine and you hang out and then you sell things. But like the pitch about like how she got in and why she was doing it and all this stuff.

Lesley:

We were just like oh, we should not know these things. Yeah, no, no, no no, let's just stick to that. It's fine, it was a lot.

Speaker 3:

There was a hot minute where I felt like I was sort of the person that people would go to to have. Like if you were selling it, then you'd come to me and be like will you do a party? Then you'll get, you'll get 40 off of everything that you buy, if you host the party. Yeah, and I'd be like, uh, fine, what did?

Lesley:

you host?

Speaker 3:

I had, I did, I did host a party, light party Okay, that might be the only one and then maybe a salpada.

Lesley:

Oh, maybe you hosted the drag party, because you know I don't fucking know right, sure for sure.

Speaker 3:

But like, yeah, I think that's the only two. Okay, and that would have been after my daughter was born, kind of era so like it would have been early 2000s.

Lesley:

Oh, okay, that makes sense. I think my sister-in-law hosted a Silpata party, as you're talking, and I think I know exactly where that ring is. It's upstairs Same. You did buy something.

Speaker 3:

I did. It was a cool ring, but there were, I think, for every okay-ish type product. There were some that were just bad.

Lesley:

What were the stinkers?

Speaker 3:

Well, and I? Somebody's gonna get mad at me like arbonne.

Megan:

Like, I feel like arbonne?

Speaker 3:

for sure not great stuff um those lularoe, oh my gosh the lularoe thing that was insane. Yes, and they were.

Lesley:

They were hot for like a hot minute, but I always and people got totally ripped off and we were all just, I didn't ever get any. But I knew somebody who had a ton because I was like, oh, that looks company, where'd you get it? And I learned all about it. And then in our neighborhood for the halloween, festival there were a few years where there were vendors who were selling lularoe halloween all their all their Halloween leggings were out there and that was a huge deal, but they got in big trouble.

Lesley:

I mean, they had a class action lawsuit filed in 2017.

Speaker 3:

I just think that if you didn't have a class action lawsuits filed against you, are you really an MLM? Nope, not at all. Not really Get it together. I was surprised, though, that some of these are as old as they are, like Arbonne started in 1980 in Switzerland.

Lesley:

Oh, wow which.

Megan:

I didn't know that.

Speaker 3:

Amway started in 1959.

Lesley:

Oh my gosh Okay.

Speaker 3:

And it's going strong question mark.

Lesley:

I would imagine some people are still doing it.

Speaker 3:

Herbalife was another one that one started in 1980 in Los Angeles. I was looking at is it Nope?

Lesley:

This is a different one. Not Herbalife at all.

Speaker 3:

But it's probably the same thing right Kind of.

Lesley:

I can't even pronounce this word, so something I don't know it doesn't seem like a very I don't know what this is it's um. So this is it's a wellness company and so that is interesting because there does seem to be like a preponderance of sort of wellness. Yes, improve your life.

Speaker 3:

Related things like well, the supplements, the yeah from from.

Lesley:

Shakely and beyond right. All the vitamins and then the essential oils company like.

Megan:

Young.

Lesley:

Life and doTERRA like that was a whole. You can survive, you know, cure everything if you just rub some essential oils on your temples and you're going to be fine, roden Fields Tell me about this.

Speaker 3:

That was another one. So, like rodent fields, let's see if they're still around. I think they probably are. Oh yeah, totally they will make you young. Apparently it's all anti-aging stuff Roden fields, anti-aging eye cream for wrinkles and crow feet.

Lesley:

So we needed all of those things evidently. Yeah, I'm sure uh.

Speaker 3:

Rodent fields rf is an american skincare and hair care company from katie rodent and kathy fields okay started it in 2000, oh, and then sold the company in 2003.

Lesley:

Okay, so with like personal products, like that with vitamins, with cleaning products. So much of it is relational.

Speaker 3:

You know you get your friends and you're like no, I'm taking it.

Lesley:

I really like it. I think it's great because there's no way to assess the accuracy of those claims. None of those are. It's all just referral. There's zero science Made and with so many supplements, I mean there's very little, there's minimal science with any of them, do you? Remember unique.

Speaker 3:

What does unique say? Y-o-u-n-i-q-u-e, an American direct selling multi-level marketing company that markets beauty products. Okay, so that was another one. Beauty counter was another one. Um, beauty counter was another one, that was that was kind of best. That was a hot one for a minute I think that one's? I don't think that one exists anymore.

Lesley:

There were so many. I will say a um I I went to fun mlms that I participated in, which I didn't fully realize what an mlm was, probably in the early 2000s, like in this particular way.

Speaker 3:

But I did.

Lesley:

I went to a creative memories party and that was all marketed to us because we were young moms, like I had a new baby. Oh, you want to do a scrapbook? I have a fucking tub upstairs with like two creative memories scrapbooks and a bunch of shit, but because I have fucking adhd, I couldn't do anything with them because I didn't have all of the options. Megan, I needed all of the paper cutters before I could do anything.

Lesley:

So it's literally just sitting in a box. That sounds right, um. And then the other useful one was the pure romance party. See, I would be. I would kind of go to that. Didn't hate that party at all. Went to one. It was like a bachelorette party for one of my girlfriends and I was like that's a good fucking time. Yep, I'm gonna spend 80 on that. It's got a lot of options. Thank you my being happy we're gonna take it there.

Speaker 3:

Uh, let's see. I'm just looking through the facebook page, or?

Speaker 3:

the facebook group too, because you put a question to the yeah I just said that we were doing this and there was some just got some feedback um awesome joffra cosmetics that one I don't remember, but a few people do which I thought was fun. Um, somebody says oh my god, yes, the almond scent was awesome. Okay, right on all right. Uh, jafra, let's see Sarah Coventry Jewelry. They also say Pampered Chef. Okay, they bought a very expensive vacuum from either Kirby or Rainbow, that's pretty funny this person says this person's name is Kelly.

Speaker 3:

Kelly says my neighbors recruited me at the age of 15 to help start their Amway business. Says my neighbors recruited me at the age of 15 to help start their Amway business. They had me cold calling doctors in the phone book and asking them who they used as a security company for their home. The couple brought in a recruiter from the mothership to come talk to them and some friends and I have no idea how my parents allowed me to go. It was three hours of me nodding along with no clue. It felt more like a Christian revival get together when the couple divorced over debt incurred buying these products to sell. It was a super. It was super awkward and it would be really weird when I would see them in the front yard.

Lesley:

It's just. I think it latches on to this promise. I mean, here you go please, here you go.

Speaker 3:

Mary says my first memory of an MLM was my mom selling Shackley vitamins. She was kind of a germaphobe and thought everything would make you sick, so we took tons of vitamins. She also bought a bunch of Amway. That was an MLM. Yes, ma'am, it was yes, yes. Then it was home interior avon. My brother's girlfriend did mary k. Everyone did tupperware parties yeah when I was older and just married. I went to so many parties, pampered chef leah sophia jewelry 31 bags, oh god yes yes, that was.

Lesley:

I got sucked into one of those on the internet. I bought a fucking bag paparazzi jewelry, oh my goodness.

Speaker 3:

So yeah, um, somebody was mentioning too. You talked about crafts. So there was a craft mlm that my mom bought into. Okay, um, needlepoint and cross stitch kits, which is kind of interesting Because we need an MLM for those. I mean you need one for all the girls. I don't remember what it was called, but it was a find. What season you are, colors type thing. You would have a big color wheel and all of these different scarves.

Lesley:

Yep, I remember that in the 80s Somebody in that same family that sold Shackley vitamins did that because as little girls we were probably eight, nine, 10 years old they were practicing I don't remember which aunt it was, or cousin or whatever and they would take these fabric drapes and tell us if we were like a fall or a winter or a spring or a summer, and that would be like the makeup that we should wear, the colors we should wear.

Lesley:

My eyes would have rolled so far back in my head, but like they were just like draping these things on us and we were like, oh okay, I'm a child, I don't have an income, so, no, I'm probably not going to buy anything. However, you got to practice your presentation.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, for sure.

Lesley:

It might have been my grandma. Maybe they just went totally MLM crazy.

Speaker 3:

I mean it's a short step If it was working with the Shackley Vitamins it goes to the same church.

Lesley:

Sure, this is why I don't join cults or clubs or MLMs or sororities or whatever. Yep, Yep it just. It's a fine line from like hanging out having fun as a group to.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, no, I think if you were invited to one of those parties, there's this of like, oh fuck, like do I really have to go? And I there's also, like kind of that, hey, do you want to come over? I'm just having a few girlfriends over I'm just having a few girlfriends over, I'm gonna do a little charcuterie, I'm gonna have some wine, we're just gonna hang out. And then you get there and you're like boom.

Lesley:

Yep.

Speaker 3:

Tupperware oh, my friend sells jewelry.

Lesley:

Right, she's just going to be there. She's just going to be there. Don't worry about it. You are a lying whore.

Speaker 3:

Don't take advantage of me. I walk in, I walk back out.

Lesley:

We are not friends. Fuck the fuck off.

Speaker 3:

But it's such a lure.

Lesley:

But you get 40% off if you host a party for me, if only I could get 40% off of my Pampered Shop pan set, which is, yeah, I'd probably do that. They're pretty expensive. Yeah, see, they don't last. I had one. I bought a nice big skillet. It lasted like two years, it wasn't terrible.

Speaker 3:

I'm sorry I could go to TJ Maxx Absolutely Walk in.

Lesley:

I think I paid like $90 or something I could get a skillet.

Speaker 3:

And then I could go through all of the cool tchotchkes and, you know, buy fun stuff. You could I think maybe I'll just stick to that instead.

Lesley:

It's the lure of easy money. Yes, it's like oh, you could just work part time and make $47 million.

Speaker 3:

All of that. Do you think that gen x women do we feel like these are fading away? Or do you think like maybe gen x is the last generation to to hold to be an mlm person, like are our kids gonna? Oh interesting? Yeah, I don't know?

Lesley:

I mean because, as I see them happening now, I think they just get. They're getting just more sophisticated at how they package what it is. But will our kids go like, yeah, that seems like a great idea? I don't know, because everything's available on the internet, right? You can research a company in 2.5 seconds. Reddit is a fucking goldmine. Everybody gets added on Reddit. I got almost hornswoggled by these beautiful ads for this perfume company. They have infused thousands of dollars into Instagram and I was like, ooh, maybe I'm going to try that. And I was like, nope, fucking Reddit. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. That shit sucks. Don't buy it.

Speaker 3:

I mean everybody was like I got suckered.

Lesley:

I spent the 50. Don't buy that fucking perfume, oh my god. And I was like oh, thank you, jesus.

Speaker 3:

I think I know that you're talking about too they're gorgeous ads.

Lesley:

I mean, it's all about this aesthetic and the look, and then it's sort of like you get the smell in your brain. Oh, maybe I don't kind of know.

Speaker 3:

You imagine you know what it would smell of, like you get the smell in your brain.

Lesley:

Oh, maybe I don't know and you kind of know, you imagine you know what it would smell like.

Speaker 3:

Now that you have mentioned it to me, it will show up on my Instagram.

Lesley:

Heck yeah, because they're always listening In the way that that happens.

Speaker 3:

I have a story for you for another day, but about that, our internet overlords.

Lesley:

Were there more MLM stories that got shared in the group? No?

Speaker 3:

That was pretty much it. I think the liquid embroidery was another one that somebody brought up. What the fuck is that? I don't know, I don't know. Is it like puff paints, like?

Lesley:

the liquid like the little shirt paints, maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe.

Speaker 3:

That could be true, I mean, but literally they'll sell anything in a pyramid if you can do it.

Lesley:

it's not a pyramid scheme, it is a network marketing opportunity has anybody done pet products um? I don't know, that's interesting are there any pet mlms? Are there any useful mlms? Pure romance, we know you're one, yeah uh. Are there any that you can think of where?

Speaker 3:

you know, I mean pamper chef. That was okay.

Lesley:

I still have my fucking can opener that thing, and I have like a little.

Speaker 3:

I have a couple things that I use pretty regularly, but I mean long a burger baskets.

Lesley:

Nobody needs that oh, nobody needs that.

Speaker 3:

That was egregious because, not and they were fucking thousands of dollars. So expensive.

Lesley:

So it wasn't just that it was an mlm where they were selling baskets, but that there was this promise of this expansive futures market in basket investments.

Speaker 3:

You're going to resell this basket. It's going to put your kid through college Like that's disgusting.

Lesley:

You can't clean them.

Speaker 3:

They're fucking dusty all the fucking time and they've got like bad ribbon on them. Oh yeah, awful.

Lesley:

They smell bad. What are you you gonna do with 50 baskets? And it's not just that, but it's like you were selling them half a million people, right? Yeah, crusty old avon lipsticks, the like little samples right in there. Yeah, a longer burger egregious.

Speaker 3:

No, not great disgusting yeah, I don't know, I think maybe the yeah, the sexy, sexy, maybe that's it, maybe that's all the only one and I have to say it didn't last that long.

Lesley:

I mean for the cost, but none of those things, you know, maybe you were just a little hard on it, I, it was a little hard on me, and you can only do so much, like you don't need 48 settings just to try out all those options you don't need 48 toys.

Speaker 3:

It would have taken Like you really just need one good one.

Lesley:

That's door to you know it's got some options. Sure, okay, you need some varieties, Spend some where you're going, but there's not a high quality control amongst that. No, industry anyway, whether you're ordering from pure romance or adam and eve. They're all coming from the same factory in china, yeah yeah, yeah, no, I don't know.

Speaker 3:

I just I don't think. I feel like the mlm model is, uh, something that is in the past. I think that it's gonna go, my gut feeling but I could be wrong.

Lesley:

I mean amway's kind of stood the chest test of time aren't the instagram ads kind of the mlms of today, in a way?

Speaker 3:

with influencers and all the yeah, yeah kind of that's essentially the new mlm I mean, I mean, except you're not like recruiting somebody else underneath you?

Lesley:

Sure, You're not directly doing that, but you are selling stuff that is like crap. I mean there are many people like this whole perfume company that I saw, with the gorgeous ads Like they. Some people specifically were like, oh, they hired a bunch of influencers, sent the things out and said you must only give us positive reviews. Like that was part of the contract and part of getting paid. So they buy the reviews. They get the people's faces up there. You go buy the thing. It takes a little while but you can't return it.

Speaker 3:

So you're out your money and incredibly short-sighted for those influencers too, because you are really going to tarnish your reputation.

Lesley:

Somebody's going to be like so-and-so, I follow you and I bought this shit and it is shit and it fucking sucks and yeah, but then you like take all your shit down, rebrand yourself, pop back up again and you just can't freaking go.

Speaker 3:

I don't know. That seems like a bad idea.

Lesley:

It's gross. That's all I had to say about that.

Speaker 3:

Well, I think this is a fun conversation and if people have other, you know memories of this shit.

Lesley:

Did MLMs in the 80s ruin your family? Did your parents?

Speaker 3:

get divorced. Anybody go to jail for IRS tax fraud, tax evasion?

Lesley:

It could happen, let us know. If so, we're really sorry. Sorry, we hope we didn't traumatize you too terribly much. I think that's all I got about this for today. God, me too. We'll see what else? Comes up, all right good topic we are totally going to be invited to parties now everybody's gonna want us at their fucking parties because we're gonna look them up on reddit first and then talk shit the whole time, like.

Speaker 3:

Like I don't know. I don't know if I want to be at that funky pillow party.

Lesley:

You have been listening to Gen X. Women Are Sick of this Shit. Hey Megan, hey Leslie, what do people do if they want to find us?

Megan:

Well, we have a website that people can find us on, and that is genxwomenpodcom. We also have a Facebook page. We have an Instagram account as well. We have a YouTube account where we put YouTube shorts and other little tidbits up there. We have a TikTok account. I don't talk the dick or tick the tock. You don't tick the tock, I do not. I barely talk the tick. But I did put a tick tock up.

Lesley:

We're explaining the internet to people again.

Speaker 3:

That's okay though.

Megan:

It's great, we need to know how the internet works. Can people buy merch? They absolutely can. We have a merch store on the website itself, and we also have an Etsy store too, which is pretty easy to find. It's just Gen X Women on Etsy.

Lesley:

And if you are listening to this podcast, presumably you found it somewhere. And while you're there, give us a review.

Megan:

Yeah, let us know what you think. Throw some stars at us, that'd be great. We'll take one, two, three, four or five, ooh, five, maybe ten. And also make sure that you are hitting subscribe so that you're notified whenever a new episode drops. Most important, we also have a five minutes of fame that I think we should tell people about too hell, yes, we want to know your stories, your five minutes of fame stories.

Lesley:

You can send those stories in on the website or you can call 1-888-GEN-X-POD and leave your story for us and we will play it live in our next episode.

Megan:

We'll listen to it on a little red phone, just like Batman. That'd be cool. Let's get a bat phone. I think that's it. I think you're right.

Head Shot

Lesley Meier

Host
Head Shot

Megan Bennett

Host
Contributor

Tim Barrett

Producer

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