HOUSTON—Houston, we have a hit—and it’s on Centric! The “Amateur Millionaire’s Club,” premiered Saturday, July 7, and it seems the reviews are already rolling in. The reality show follows a group of African-Americans’ rapid rise to fame and fortune, with Houston’s Dorothy Cook leading the pack.
Cook, also known as the Godmother, can be seen driving through the streets of Houston in a white Rolls Royce, leaving many people to wonder who she was and how she got to the top. It was no secret, she shared her knowledge, always saying there was definitely more room.
The high school dropout who was pregnant and married as a teenager became a millionaire selling Ardyss International products, best known for their dynamic shaping garment, the “Body Magic.”
Through Ardyss, not only did Cook change her life and lifestyle, she changed the lives of countless other network marketers by bringing them aboard on a product that –some say—sells itself. The Ardyss line of products mixes health and wellness with the number one reason for consumer spending – pure vanity.
The Body Magic is definitely “not your grandma’s girdle” and is a super strong, yet surprisingly comfortable, garment that pulls it all in and takes a woman down two to three dress sizes within a matter of minutes. What’s more amazing is there is a size for almost everyone.
In the words of fellow Ardyss distributor and “Dot’s” longtime friend, Martha Preston, “I can fit ‘em big as I can get ‘em!”
With a slogan like that, it’s no surprise the company made the hardest working grinders millionaires almost overnight.
“The best thing about advice is, you don’t have to take it,” Cook said. But those who followed her advice to the letter acquired a piece of the “Pie a la Mode.”
And with the newly found financial freedom, or “new money” flowing, comes drama, egos and some serious head-butting.
Enter Helen Dela Houssaye, who is quickly becoming the “NeNe Leakes” of the exclusive club, challenging Cook’s authority and not biting her tongue for anyone. Dela Houssaye is tall and beautiful, with ample assets, and a fiery personality to match. The mother of four formerly employed as a copywriter made her fortune by recruiting and leading a line of vendors with no-nonsense tactics she shares as a powerful motivational speaker.
“Helen is a beast, but be careful because the beast can consume you. When Helen’s around, eat your Wheaties,” said Kenny Lloyd, another club member driving his business with his wife, Chante.
Rounding out the group is Chyna Bethley—a breast cancer and Hurricane Katrina survivor who went from broke to debt free within six months, Robert and Nicola Jackson, Erwin and Twiler Portis, Lidia McKinney, Jewel Tankard and Stormy Wellington – a former exotic dancer who used her street savvy to help make her become one of the company’s top earners. In Cook’s words, Wellington “set a standard they all had to come up to.”
Wellington said the key to success is all about choices, decisions, positioning and timing.
“If I can change one life today, I’m happy,” Wellington said.
It’s a motto they all live by, because the more foot soldiers in the field, the more products fly off the shelves and the more money in their pockets.
And with more money, comes more problems and that is what “Reality TV” is all about these days.
Check out episode 1,courtesy of Centric.
