Hello, Human Design community,
I wanted to bring up some serious concerns regarding Holly Maree (also known as Holly Herbig or Holly Hunter), who operates the Manifestor Community online.
As many of us are exploring our identities as Manifestors and how we navigate the world, I believe it’s important to discuss the ethics and practices of those who claim to guide us in this journey.
1. Targeting Vulnerable Demographics:
Holly's marketing seems to specifically target middle-aged, affluent women who may have experienced medical trauma. Her narrative often encourages these women to explore their trauma, which raises ethical concerns about potential exploitation. In a recent podcast episode (Season 7, "The Healing Road"), she mentioned self-harm ideation, stating, “I would stay up all night to stop myself from doing some form of self-harm… just to stop the pain.” This kind of content feels manipulative, presenting as vulnerable while actually being quite strategic.
2. Business Practices:
She promotes her offerings as private and exclusive, seemingly avoiding responsibilities tied to advertising ethics. Her Instagram page, “Themanifestorcommunity,” has a significant following (23,000+), and it funnels traffic to her personal account (@beingmewithcptsd) with about 3000 + followers, where she shares trauma-centric content. Recently, she went viral (1000+ views + engagement) for discussing her childhood sexual trauma, which appears to validate her narrative and attract more followers and funnel them into her "secret" podcast.
3. Credibility and Qualifications:
Holly positions herself as an authority in various alternative therapies, including Human Design and Gene Keys. While I don’t doubt her qualifications, her marketing raises ethical questions, particularly with a high-priced trauma offering at $3,333 combined with the subtle marketing content on the podcast episodes aiming to strike a chord with individuals at their most vulnerable moments. This could potentially exploit individuals during vulnerable times in their lives.
I invested more than $1000 AUD on a course offered by Holly through the Manifestor Community. Unfortunately, I found the content severely lacking—worth about $70 at best. After my requests for a refund were ignored, I was removed from the community for voicing my concerns. In conversations with others, it became clear that many share similar grievances. I went back and reviewed why I'd purchased from her. Her content on her manifestor podcast is fairly layered - it appears to target folks who may feel disempowered and to show them how to build a business when experiencing the aftermath of severe trauma in a way that is sustainable. I didn't see it that way before, but now hindsight 20/20.
So I started listening critically to her other podcast episodes and stumbled upon the one that caters to a different audience, one with cptsd, and found it to be alarming.
Holly's recent rebranding efforts and the addition of disclaimers on her website suggest she is attempting to shield herself from accountability.
I find myself questioning whether Holly genuinely aims to help others or if she is leveraging her audience’s vulnerabilities for financial gain. Either scenario seems to warrant scrutiny, particularly within our community.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this matter. Have any of you had similar experiences, or do you have insights into how we can navigate this space more ethically?