Darren Campbell’s FBA Brand Builder program has been under fire for ages, and honestly, it’s not hard to see why. The steep price tag and some sketchy mentoring tactics have left plenty of people raising eyebrows. In a call from last year, Darren reportedly went as far as encouraging participants to take on debt—and not just any debt. He suggested some downright demeaning and outrageous ways to scrape up cash. Yikes.
What makes it worse is his tone. Instead of showing empathy for the real financial struggles people face, he came across as dismissive, like their problems weren’t even worth acknowledging. This attitude, combined with the sky-high £6,500 fee, has folks questioning not just his approach but the entire program’s values.
In this piece, we’re diving into Darren’s comments, the impact on his clients, and why shelling out that much money for advice from someone who seems more focused on their own gains than on being a real mentor just doesn’t add up.
Note: The audio clip below from the client meeting features Darren Campbell discussing credit card use and making controversial comments about securing money. We’ve excluded the video to protect client privacy. Quotes from this meeting, including additional statements on credit and mindset, are included in the article for context.
1. A Shocking Suggestion
The "Throw Yourself" Comment
In the call, Darren encouraged participants to overcome financial obstacles by any means necessary, making a shocking suggestion:
"Yous girls out there, if yous really needed to get money, you know, throw yourselves at OnlyFans".
For a program that promises professionalism and expert guidance, this statement is appalling. It trivializes financial struggles, perpetuates harmful stereotypes, and alienates women by framing their worth in exploitative terms.
Beyond Offensive
Whether intended as a joke or not, this comment is deeply inappropriate:
- Reinforcing Gender Stereotypes: By singling out women for this type of “initiative,” Darren implies they are more limited in their legitimate financial options than men.
- Normalizing Desperation: Suggesting that participants “throw themselves” at others trivializes their financial challenges and positions extreme measures as acceptable solutions.
2. Encouraging Reckless Spending
Advocating for Debt
Darren also urged participants to overcome their fears of credit and take on debt to fund their businesses:
"If you’re leveraging credit, leveraging debt...to build something in the future, it’s going to build an asset".
This advice disregards the realities of many participants, who are already financially stretched after paying £6,500 to join the program. By framing debt as the only path to success, Darren pressures participants into risky financial behavior without acknowledging the consequences.
Unrealistic Guarantees
To justify his stance on credit, Darren assured participants that success was inevitable:
"There is absolutely no doubt you will sell. You will sell".
This blanket guarantee ignores the complexities of e-commerce, the high failure rate among Amazon sellers, and the program’s own shortcomings in areas like product selection and PPC management.
3. The Absurdity of Paying for This
A £6,500 Fee for Dismissive Advice
Participants are paying a premium to join the FBA Brand Builder program, expecting professional guidance and actionable strategies. Instead, they’re subjected to dismissive comments and reckless financial advice:
- Darren’s suggestion to “throw yourself at OnlyFans” underscores a lack of empathy and professionalism.
- His relentless push to spend money—no matter the source—shows more interest in participants’ cash flow than their long-term success.
Selfish and Tone-Deaf Leadership
Darren’s remarks reflect a leader more concerned with his own agenda than with empowering participants:
- Encouraging participants to spend as much money as possible, regardless of their financial circumstances, demonstrates a clear disconnect from the realities many clients face.
- Instead of providing sustainable solutions, Darren frames financial desperation as an inevitable part of the process.
4. Shifting the Blame
Deflecting Responsibility
Despite mentors overseeing every aspect of the business-building process, Darren routinely blames participants for failures:
"The minute you start saying ‘I can’t afford this,’ you shut your whole brain down... You start feeling down, you start feeling depressed".
This rhetoric places the burden of success entirely on participants, ignoring the program’s systemic issues:
- Unqualified Mentors: As previously reported, mentors like Jordan lack the expertise to guide participants effectively, particularly in critical areas like PPC.
- Mismanaged Campaigns: Participants like Kirsty have suffered significant financial losses due to poorly managed advertising strategies overseen by the program’s team.
5. A Pattern of Exploitation
Leveraging Participants’ Vulnerability
Darren’s approach is emblematic of a broader culture within the program:
- Pressure to Spend: Participants are constantly encouraged to invest more money, often without a clear understanding of the risks.
- Dismissive Attitudes: Comments like "throw yourselves at OnlyFans" trivialize the sacrifices participants make to fund their businesses.
The Cost of Recklessness
For participants, the stakes are high:
- Many are already financially strained after paying the program’s hefty fees.
- Encouraging debt without addressing its risks places participants in vulnerable financial positions, especially if their businesses fail to deliver returns.
Other Key Quotes from Darren
- "Anything you can do in terms of not using your capital. Leveraging credit. Everyone is so fucking scared of credit because…oh bad credit, don’t want to be in debt."
- "The other thing of – I can’t afford this, how the fuck can I afford this?"
- "If you’re in a deadlock...give them the silent treatment. They’ll come back in a few days, happy just to get a response from you."
- "The minute you start saying I can’t afford this, you shut your whole brain down. You shut your whole creativity down."
- "If that’s the route you want to go in trying to get your capital up, that’s amazing. The way you’re saying there about thinking about a credit card, that’s amazing."
A Wake-Up Call for Darren Campbell’s FBA Brand Builder Program
Darren Campbell’s comments during last year’s client call really drive home just how ridiculous it is to fork over £6,500 for guidance from someone who seems so out of touch. His dismissive attitude, reckless encouragement to take on debt, and even sexist, inappropriate remarks paint a picture of a program more focused on squeezing money out of participants than genuinely helping them succeed.
For anyone currently in or considering the FBA Brand Builder program, this should be a serious wake-up call. Mentorship is supposed to lift people up, not take advantage of them. Unless Darren and his team own up to their missteps and make real changes to how they approach client support, the program will keep missing the mark on what it promises to deliver.