Tai Lopez
Here in My Garage: The OG Fake Guru
Tai Lopez is an internet personality and entrepreneur who became widely known through his 2015 YouTube ad "Here in My Garage," in which he appeared in a garage with luxury cars and bookshelves while promoting his "67 Steps" program. The ad became one of the most widely viewed YouTube ads of its period. Critics and online investigators subsequently reported that the garage, cars, and mansion used in his advertising were rented rather than owned. Lopez has disputed or not directly addressed these specific claims, while maintaining that his business success is genuine.
The 67 Steps program offered recorded motivational and business advice content. Consumer reviews of the program were mixed; some customers reported finding it valuable while others described the content as generic self-help material that did not justify its price. Lopez expanded into additional products including Mentor Box, Knowledge Society, and social media marketing courses. The Better Business Bureau received consumer complaints about these offerings related to auto-billing practices and cancellation difficulties.
Lopez promoted MOBE (My Online Business Education), a business coaching program that the FTC shut down in 2018, alleging it had defrauded consumers of hundreds of millions of dollars. Lopez was an affiliate promoter of MOBE rather than its operator, and was not a named party in the FTC action against the program. Multiple FTC complaints were also filed against Lopez's own companies over income claims in his advertising, though no FTC enforcement action was brought against Lopez directly.
Lopez continued operating various business ventures, online courses, and social media channels. His supporters credited him with making entrepreneurship content accessible to a broad audience; critics, including content creators such as Coffeezilla, characterized his marketing practices as misleading and his course offerings as delivering less value than advertised.