The Yellow Brick Road - THE INSTASCAMMER (Liana Shanti) Ep 1

No one expected it to happen online.

This is where the story begins: how a wellness figure built a devoted following through juice cleanses, food protocols, and private groups full of encouragement and before-and-after photos. What started as health advice quietly became something people trusted with far more than their diets. In this opening episode we trace that rise — the language, the promises, and the community that formed around a single voice — and set out how the series approaches what came next.

Sources & credits: Short third-party clips are used as brief excerpts for the purpose of criticism, comment and review under fair dealing (UK) / fair use (US). Each copyright holder is credited below.

• Archive from Liana Shanti, Deep Throat: And By That I Mean Throat Chakra (“Episode One: Intro”), 2022. • Archive from ABC News (WABC-TV), World News Now, 2016. • Archive from Fox Business Network, Stossel, 2014. • Archive from Joe Cross, Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead, 2010.

About this series: THE INSTASCAMMER is an 11-part investigative audio documentary from The Cult Vault podcast into Liana Shanti (legal name Liane Wilson), the online wellness figure behind HMI Wellness, the Health Mastery Institute and Life Mastery Network. Built on court records, documents, recordings, former members, experts and the families affected, the series traces how a juice-cleanse following became a coaching business and a closed community. Hosted and produced by Kacey Baker, Vault Productions.

Have you experienced something like this?

Support & resources: If anything in this episode resonates with your own experience, you are not alone, and help is available.

• Recovering from a cult or coercive group: R.A.I.S.E. CIC (UK) — cultic-abuse support and peer-led recovery — recoverautonomy.org.

• Internationally: the International Cultic Studies Association — internationalculticstudies.org, [email protected].

• If you’ve lost a loved one to a cult or coercion: The Family Survival Trust (UK) — thefamilysurvivaltrust.org/support.

• Childhood or sexual abuse: US — RAINN, 1-800-656-4673 (24/7). UK — NAPAC, 0808 801 0331.

• In emotional distress or crisis (including suicidal thoughts): UK & ROI — Samaritans, free on 116 123, 24/7. US — 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, call or text 988, 24/7.

• Domestic abuse or coercive control: UK — National Domestic Abuse Helpline (Refuge), 0808 2000 247, 24/7. US — National Domestic Violence Hotline, 1-800-799-7233.

(If you are in immediate danger, contact your local emergency number.)

Verification & evidence: Much of what is described in this series is supported by recordings, documents, court filings and public records. If you are a journalist, researcher, or someone personally affected and you would like to verify what you’ve heard, you can reach the production at [email protected].

A note on names: To protect the privacy and safety of contributors and their families, some names and identifying details have been changed. Where individuals appear under their real names, they have consented to do so.