The Healthcare Hustlers

The Influencer Health Hustle No One Wants to Call Out

By Charles Mattocks for Ravoke.com 

There have been some recent outings—public, uncomfortable ones—of people operating in the healthcare and wellness space who have been exposed. I hate calling things out, but someone has to.

More and more, I find myself comparing them to crooked church pastors who discovered their hustle early and perfected it. They don’t wear shiny suits. They don’t quote scripture or hide behind the Bible. But the model is the same: authority without accountability, faith without evidence, and followers who are encouraged not to ask too many questions.

Many of these figures are not experts. Many are not trained. Some come from backgrounds that have absolutely nothing to do with health, biology, or medicine. And yet, if drinking cow’s blood suddenly drove engagement and views, they’d be on camera tomorrow explaining how it “optimizes” your health—while people at home try it without understanding the risks.

That’s the most dangerous part.

Why We’re Vulnerable to the Hustle

The healthcare system has failed millions of people. That part isn’t debatable. I’ve experienced it myself.

You walk into a doctor’s office looking for real help, real answers, and you’re met with an out-of-shape physician who tells you to lose weight, hands you a prescription, and says, “Come back in a few months.” That interaction alone is enough to push anyone toward alternative voices.

We’re not stupid—we’re desperate.

So when someone online looks confident, sounds informed, and speaks in a way that feels relatable, it’s easy to buy in. Not because they’re right, but because they appear to know more than we do.

And let’s be honest: most of us don’t understand how our kidneys function. We don’t wake up thinking about pancreatic enzymes or how the chambers of the heart fire. We just live. We try to wake up each day and enjoy it.

Some people read a lot of books, then regurgitate what they’ve read with conviction. I don’t think most of them start out intending to mislead. But at some point, they realize they’ve found their hustle.

When Wellness Becomes Big Business

Once an audience is locked in—especially with wild or controversial antics—the machine kicks on.

Supplements.
Discount codes.
Books.
Courses.
Paid partnerships.
Speaking gigs.

It becomes a business, and a very lucrative one.

Now we have men in their late 50s, 60s, and older reinventing themselves as YouTubers, podcasters, and longevity gurus—spending an alarming amount of time online pushing narratives that change every few years.

I remember one longevity figure who was treated as a major authority—until he wasn’t. Then another replaced him. And now that one has been exposed too. I have seen them raise money for programs that won’t ever happen, one even sold high end steak dinners for twenty thousand dollars, I have yet to see their platform launched. 

So the real question is: why did we make them leaders in the first place?
Who handed them the title of “expert”?

They’re flown first class around the world. Featured on major panels. Paid enormous fees to speak at conferences. Some don’t even need original ideas—just polished speakers who move from stage to stage repeating the same talking points.

What is actually going on here?

Healthcare Is Broken—and We’re Looking in the Wrong Places

Healthcare is deeply broken, and many people have no incentive to fix it. Plenty get paid just to exist. They don’t want to move the needle. They don’t want to step outside the box. They want their weekly check and nothing more. I’m talking about executives and those who work at many of the big companies, be it from big pharma to ad agencies. 

True innovators are rare. And when they do appear—especially with the right team behind them—they can raise tens of millions of dollars even when their ideas are shaky at best.

Elizabeth Holmes is the perfect example. I still don’t understand how so many educated, intelligent people believed that a tiny box could accurately test dozens of patients a day without contamination. She found her hustle. No different than a crooked pastor.

The Seduction of Influencer Wellness

Compare that reality to the wellness influencers effortlessly floating across your phone screen.

Longevity.
Happiness.
Less bloating.
Glowing skin.
Peak fitness.
Long hair.
A stronger immune system.

All of it made it look as simple as taking a supplement with lemon water.

Answers to complex medical questions have never felt so convenient—or so seductive.

The Trust Crisis in Modern Healthcare

Many people can relate to the struggle of finding quality healthcare information and providers. According to a 2023 study by the National Association of Community Health Centers and the American Academy of Family Physicians, over 100 million Americans—nearly one-third of the population—face barriers to accessing primary care. That number has almost doubled since 2014.

Women and BIPOC communities face even greater challenges. Black women, in particular, experience higher rates of medical gaslighting, which erodes trust and makes future care less likely.

Trust is now one of the biggest obstacles in healthcare.

As sociologist Stephanie Alice Baker notes, trust in institutional expertise has been declining in the U.S. since the 1950s, fueled by scandals in pharmaceutical and food industries that exposed financial and political motives.

Into that vacuum step influencers.

When Misinformation Turns Deadly

The wellness industry is now a multi-trillion-dollar machine spanning mental health, fitness, nutrition, beauty, weight loss, and alternative medicine. And not all creators have your best interests in mind.

Some have little or no medical training.
Some accept gifts or ad money.
Some push their own products first—and wellness second.

Even with FTC disclosure rules, the illusion remains: that health is entirely within your control if you just buy the right product.

We’ve seen where this leads.

Belle Gibson fabricated cancer and made half a million dollars.
The Liver King sold an “ancestral lifestyle” while secretly using steroids.
Paloma Shemirani died at 23 after refusing chemotherapy in favor of alternative treatments promoted by her influencer mother.

These are not harmless trends.

Where Responsibility Actually Lives

Watching wellness influencers can trigger health anxiety, unnecessary doctor visits, testing, and overdiagnosis.

The truth is far less glamorous.

Most of our best advice hasn’t changed:

• Eat real food
• Sleep well
• Manage stress
• Drink water
• Walk
• Move your body

Yes, there are great experts and even influencers who share valuable information. Take what helps. Leave the rest.

We don’t need to worship them.
They don’t need to be our end-all authority.
We don’t need to follow in droves to keep them rich.

None of us know what tomorrow brings. Most of us won’t reach 90. We hope our later years aren’t filled with chronic illness, and we’re doing our best with constantly changing information.

But like crooked pastors, I don’t understand why we feel the need to follow blindly—to be part of the herd.

We already know what we should and shouldn’t be doing for our health. We don’t need influencers to guide us every step. I’ve watched them jump from vegan to carnivore and back to vegetables again. It’s confusing—and it’s making everyone else confused too. Wishing everyone well.
Godspeed, because we will need it.