Mike Vestil has one of those YouTube channels where the thumbnails show a shirtless guy next to a pool in Bali, income screenshots flashing across the screen, and titles promising you can make $10,000 a month with some “new method” that takes 10 minutes a day.
That’s not necessarily a disqualifier — plenty of legitimate entrepreneurs have flashy marketing. But when the packaging looks like every other make-money-online guru on the platform, you owe it to yourself to look past the thumbnails and examine what’s actually being sold.
Mike Vestil has been in the online business space since roughly 2015. He’s promoted dropshipping, affiliate marketing, ClickBank products, remote closing, and most recently, AI-related money-making methods. He has over 700,000 YouTube subscribers and has published a book called The Lazy Man’s Guide to Living the Good Life. His content consistently pulls hundreds of thousands of views.
But here’s the question nobody in his comments section seems to ask: does Mike actually make his money from the things he teaches, or does he make his money from teaching?
First — A Quick Recommendation…
I’ve been in the make-money-online space for over 15 years. I’ve seen hundreds of gurus come and go. The ones who last — and the ones worth listening to — are the ones who can clearly show you how they make money outside of selling courses about making money. That’s the litmus test.
The best method I’ve found for building recurring income is local lead generation. I build simple 2-page websites that show up in Google and generate leads for local businesses. Each site pays $500 to $1,200 monthly, recurring, with 92 to 97 percent margins. I’ve been doing this for years and the model hasn’t changed. No trend-chasing. No new “secret method” every six months.
Go here to see the exact system I use to do this
Now, back to Mike Vestil.
Who Is Mike Vestil?
Mike Vestil (real name Mike De Villa) is a Filipino-American online entrepreneur, YouTuber, and course creator. His family immigrated to the United States from the Philippines, and Mike grew up with the typical immigrant-family expectation to pursue a stable career — in his case, dentistry.
He dropped out of that path and went online instead. Here’s the trajectory:
2015-2016: Started with dropshipping on Shopify. Found some success and started travel-vlogging. His YouTube channel grew quickly.
2017: Pivoted to making “how to make money online” YouTube content. Reached 50,000 subscribers in a matter of months.
2018-2019: Launched Internet Lifestyle Academy, his own course on dropshipping and affiliate marketing.
2020: Stopped promoting his own course. Started promoting Gerry Cramer’s Profit Singularity program as an affiliate. This is when things get interesting — Mike shifted from being a course creator to being a course promoter.
2021-2023: Continued promoting ClickBank-related products and affiliate offers through his channel.
2024-2026: Launched 7 Day Remote Closer, a course teaching people to close deals for coaching programs on the phone. Also continued producing content about AI-related income methods.
The pattern that emerges: Mike has consistently chased whatever online business model is trending at the moment. Dropshipping when dropshipping was hot. ClickBank when that was trending. Remote closing when high-ticket sales became popular. AI when AI exploded.
This isn’t inherently wrong — adapting to market trends is smart. But it raises the question of whether Mike has deep expertise in any of these models or whether he’s primarily a content creator who packages trending topics into YouTube videos and course funnels.
Where Mike Vestil’s Money Actually Comes From
This is the critical question, and it’s one that his critics consistently raise.
YouTube ad revenue: With 700K+ subscribers and over 44 million lifetime views, Mike’s channel generates significant ad income. Estimates suggest $10,000 to $30,000 per month from YouTube ads alone.
Affiliate commissions: Mike has promoted Profit Singularity ($2,500 course), various other affiliate products, and tools through his content. Commissions on high-ticket courses can be $500 to $2,500 per sale.
His own courses: 7 Day Remote Closer and previously Internet Lifestyle Academy.
Sponsorships and brand deals: With his audience size, Mike can command fees for promoting products.
The uncomfortable truth that multiple review sites and Reddit threads highlight: the majority of Mike’s income likely comes from his YouTube channel and affiliate promotions, not from actively doing the things he teaches.
Mike teaches remote closing — but does he still close deals on the phone all day? He lives a laptop lifestyle in exotic locations, which doesn’t exactly align with sitting on sales calls for hours daily.
Mike promoted ClickBank affiliate marketing — but his own results came primarily from promoting a course about ClickBank, not from being a ClickBank affiliate himself.
This is the guru paradox. The business works because people watch the content. The content exists because it promises to teach a business. But the actual business being demonstrated is making content that teaches a business.
I’ve seen this pattern across dozens of programs. The Millionaire Partner System, Profit Avengers, various copy-paste profit systems — different packaging, same underlying dynamic.
Mike Vestil’s Programs: What’s Being Sold
7 Day Remote Closer
Price: Varies (typically a few hundred dollars, with upsells)
What it teaches: How to earn commissions by closing sales for online coaching programs and high-ticket services over the phone or video call. The course covers finding programs that hire closers, mastering a sales script, handling objections, closing deals, and managing your schedule.
The business model is legitimate — remote closing is a real job. Companies that sell high-ticket coaching do hire closers, and commissions of 4 to 10 percent on products costing $3,000 to $10,000 or more can add up.
The reality check: Remote closing is basically a commission-based sales job. You’re on the phone for hours, handling rejection, working on someone else’s schedule, and earning a percentage of what you sell. It’s not passive. It’s not location-independent in the way the marketing suggests. And the income is variable — you might earn $5,000 one month and $500 the next.
Student testimonials claim earnings of $4,000 per month within 45 days. These may be genuine, but they represent motivated individuals with natural sales ability, not the average person who watches a 7-day training series.
Profit Singularity (Promoted, Not Created)
Mike heavily promoted Profit Singularity, a $2,500 course created by Gerry Cramer, Rob Jones, and others. This program teaches affiliate marketing using YouTube ads to drive traffic to ClickBank offers.
The program teaches a legitimate approach to affiliate marketing. However, the focus on ClickBank products is a concern. ClickBank’s marketplace is notorious for low-quality products with aggressive sales pages and high refund rates. You’re essentially learning to sell products that many consumers wouldn’t buy without high-pressure marketing.
I’ve covered ClickBank-adjacent programs extensively. Check out my reviews of click-based systems and automated commission programs for more on this model.
What Reddit and Review Sites Say About Mike Vestil
Reddit is not kind to Mike Vestil. Here’s what years of threads reveal:
Multiple users have called him a “fake guru” who makes money from YouTube views rather than from the methods he teaches. His repetitive catchphrase “Does that make sense?” has become a meme in entrepreneur subreddits. Former students of Internet Lifestyle Academy reported getting basic, outdated content. Some users note that his ClickBank-focused advice leads beginners toward promoting low-quality products. His constant pivoting between business models is seen as trend-chasing rather than expertise.
Independent review sites are similarly critical. Multiple reviewers note that Mike’s content is heavy on lifestyle marketing (travel footage, income screenshots, motivational talk) and light on actionable business guidance. The consensus: Mike is a skilled content creator and marketer, but the actual business education in his paid programs is thin.
On complaint platforms like DirtyScam.com, users have described feeling misled by Mike’s webinar marketing — attending what appears to be free training only to receive a sales pitch for an expensive program.
For balance, some reviewers acknowledge that Mike’s free YouTube content does introduce people to legitimate business concepts. The criticism isn’t that everything Mike says is false — it’s that the depth of instruction in his paid products doesn’t match the price or the promises.
Mike Vestil’s Marketing Playbook: How the Content Machine Works
Understanding how Mike’s YouTube channel operates helps explain why his content is so effective at attracting viewers — and why that effectiveness doesn’t necessarily translate into education for the viewer.
The thumbnail formula: Shirtless or fit lifestyle shot + income number + emotional trigger word. This is a proven formula for YouTube CTR (click-through rate) optimization. Mike has mastered it over 7+ years of content creation.
The video structure: Hook with a bold claim (first 30 seconds) -> personal story about struggle (builds relatability) -> introduce a “simple method” in vague terms -> direct viewers to a webinar, free training, or link for “the full details.” The actual method is rarely explained in full within the YouTube video. The video is the ad; the linked resource is the sales funnel.
The webinar model: Mike’s free trainings follow a standard marketing funnel format — provide some value in the first 60 to 75 percent of the presentation, then pitch a paid product (either his own course or an affiliate program) in the final segment. This is standard practice in online marketing, but many viewers don’t realize they’re watching a sales presentation disguised as free education.
The “new method” cycle: Every few weeks or months, Mike releases a video about a “new” or “untapped” method for making money online. This creates urgency (act before it gets saturated!) and keeps his content fresh for algorithm purposes. In practice, many of these methods are repackaged versions of existing business models — the framing changes, but the underlying concept is often similar.
This isn’t unique to Mike. It’s the standard playbook for make-money-online YouTube channels. But understanding it helps you consume his content more critically. When you watch a Mike Vestil video, you’re watching a marketing asset designed to move you through a funnel — not a comprehensive business education.
Compare this to creators who deliver the full education in the free content and monetize through implementation services, premium tools, or advanced coaching. That model aligns the creator’s incentives with your success. Mike’s model aligns his incentives with your attention and your clicks.
The Trend-Surfing Content Creator Pattern
Mike Vestil represents a specific type in the make-money-online ecosystem: the trend-surfing content creator. The business isn’t any particular method — the business is making YouTube videos about whatever method is trending this month.
This type of guru survives because there’s always a new audience discovering online business for the first time. They don’t know that the “new method” Mike just posted about is the same basic concept he promoted last year under a different name.
The value you can extract: awareness of what opportunities exist. The danger: confusing entertaining content with actual education, and confusing the guru’s income (from content creation) with the income potential of the method they’re teaching.
I’ve reviewed programs across this spectrum — from the push-button systems promising automated income to the 7-minute daily programs claiming effortless wealth to various affiliate systems and AI income programs. The ones that work long-term teach a specific, proven model where the instructor earns primarily from that model, not from teaching it.
Mike Vestil’s Net Worth: Separating Fact From Fiction
Mike doesn’t publicly disclose his net worth, but we can estimate based on available data:
YouTube earnings (44M+ lifetime views at ~$25 CPM): approximately $1.1 million in total YouTube ad revenue over his channel’s lifetime. Current monthly YouTube revenue is likely $5,000 to $15,000 depending on recent view counts (his views have declined from peak levels).
Course sales (Internet Lifestyle Academy, 7 Day Remote Closer): probably $500K to $1M+ over several years of active sales.
Affiliate commissions (Profit Singularity and others): potentially $500K to $1M+, given that each sale of a $2,500 course with a 30 to 40 percent commission generates $750 to $1,000 per referral.
Total estimated career earnings: $2 to $4 million over roughly 8 years. Net worth is likely lower after lifestyle expenses (international travel, content production, taxes, team costs).
The reason this matters: when Mike implies his income comes from “methods” he teaches, the reality is that the majority comes from YouTube and affiliate marketing of other people’s courses. If you follow his methods exactly but don’t have a 700K subscriber YouTube channel, your results will look very different.
Mike Vestil vs. Other MMO Gurus
| Guru | Main Revenue Source | Transparency | Content Quality | Worth Following? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Vestil | YouTube ads + affiliates | Low | Medium (entertaining, low depth) | Free content only |
| Iman Gadzhi | Courses + agency | Medium | High (specific tactics) | Maybe paid content |
| Dan Koe | Courses + content | High | High (writing-focused) | Yes, especially free |
| Liam Ottley | Courses + AI agency | Medium-High | High (AI-specific) | Free content is excellent |
| Tai Lopez | Courses + ads + affiliates | Very Low | Low (mostly hype) | No |
Mike sits in the middle tier — more substance than Tai Lopez-style pure hype, but significantly less depth than educators like Liam Ottley or Dan Koe who actually practice their specific business model alongside teaching it.
Is Mike Vestil a Scam?
No. Mike Vestil is not a scam. He’s a real person who has genuinely earned significant money online. His YouTube channel is real. The business models he teaches are real activities that people can earn money from.
But Mike is more of a content creator and marketer than a business educator. His strength is packaging trending topics into engaging videos, not providing expert-level instruction on any single business model.
Mike Vestil might be worth following if you enjoy motivational content, want exposure to various online business models at a surface level, or are looking for free YouTube ideas without paying for courses.
Mike Vestil is NOT worth paying if you need deep step-by-step instruction, are uncomfortable with ClickBank-style marketing, want transparency about how your teacher earns their money, or are looking for a mentor with deep expertise rather than broad exposure.
Frequently Asked Questions About Mike Vestil
Is Mike Vestil’s 7 Day Remote Closer worth it?
Remote closing is a legitimate business model, but Mike’s course provides basic-level instruction that you can find through free resources. If you’re interested in remote closing, consider more specialized training programs, or start by applying directly to high-ticket coaching programs that train their closers in-house.
How much money does Mike Vestil actually make?
Estimates suggest $1 to $4 million in total career earnings from YouTube, affiliate commissions, and course sales. His current monthly income likely comes primarily from YouTube ad revenue and affiliate marketing rather than from active participation in the business models he teaches.
Is Profit Singularity worth the $2,500 price?
The course teaches a real (if expensive) approach to affiliate marketing. However, the focus on ClickBank products, the $2,500 price point, and the ongoing cost of YouTube ads make this a high-risk investment for beginners. Many free and lower-cost resources teach affiliate marketing fundamentals without the ClickBank dependency.
Why does Mike Vestil keep changing business models?
Because his real business is creating YouTube content about making money online. The specific method changes based on what’s trending and what generates the most views and engagement. This is a YouTube content strategy, not a business education strategy.
Has anyone actually succeeded following Mike Vestil’s advice?
Some students have reported earning money through remote closing and affiliate marketing after following Mike’s content. However, these results typically come from individuals who already had sales skills or marketing aptitude. The average viewer who watches Mike’s videos and buys his courses is unlikely to replicate the income levels shown in testimonials.
What I’d Recommend Instead
After 15+ years in this space, the clearest lesson I’ve learned is this: follow people who make their money doing the thing they teach, not people who make their money teaching the thing.
The best online business models don’t need a new YouTube video every week to explain them. They’re simple, proven, and boring. Local lead generation is exactly that. You build a website. It ranks in Google. It generates phone calls for a local business. That business pays you $500 to $1,200 per month for as long as the site generates leads.
No ClickBank. No closing calls. No chasing whatever AI method is trending this week. Just real digital assets producing real recurring income.
If you’ve been going down the Mike Vestil rabbit hole and looking at his various recommended programs, you might also want to check my reviews of Social Sale Rep, Paying Social Media Jobs, or Affiliate Automation Academy — they share similar characteristics.
Before you go…
If you’ve read this far, you’re clearly skeptical enough to do your research before buying — and that’s exactly the right instinct. The online business world rewards people who think critically, not people who buy impulsively.
After 15+ years testing online business models, the best method I’ve found for building recurring income is local lead generation. I build simple 2-page websites that show up in Google and generate leads for local businesses. Each site pays $500 to $1,200 monthly, recurring, with 92 to 97 percent margins. No guru required. No trend to chase. Just proven assets that pay.
Go here to see the exact system I use to do this
Mark is the founder of MarksInsights and has spent 15+ years testing online business programs and tools. He focuses on honest, experience-based reviews that help people avoid scams and find real, sustainable ways to make money online.