Episode 29: Mackenzie Fultz and The Dating Detectives

Liss’N Kristi

When Mackenzie Fultz's college professor doubted her ability to crack the male-dominated world of Private Investigators, she took it as a challenge that would define her life.

After teaching herself how to trail suspects ranging from cheating husbands to alleged pedophiles, she spent 18 years as a qualified Florida P.I.

In this episode, Mackenzie tells Liss'N Kristi about the people she exposed, the dangers she faced from online and physical threats, and the hours she spent alone in cars carrying out surveillance (while experimenting with makeup).

Eventually, she was talked into launching the Dating Detectives Podcast, and a direct-to-consumer makeup business, based on her experiences. She discusses abuse in her family growing up, her transformations through weight loss therapy, and how her career as a PI has impacted her life and marriage.

STORIES:-

00:00 - Start

00:11 - Being a PI, Losing a crazy amount of weight and being hot as hell, and having an amazing podcast

01:22 - "I want to be on the SWAT team"

02:01 - "You'll never be on the SWAT team because you're a girl"

02:25 - Becoming a Private Investigator

03:26 - "The very first day I got busted"

04:10 - 18 years in surveillance

05:30 - Building a podcast following

06:58 - Podcast partners

07:50 - "My current husband"

08:40 - No one wanted to date a PI

09:28 - "Growing up I was the ugly fat girl - eating food didn't hurt me"

11:00 - Losing the weight and Mackenzie's relationship with food

12:03 - "You don't realize you need therapy"

14:08 - "None of us are perfect. We all know what pain feels like"

16:34 - Alissa almost gets her license suspended

18:10 - Catfish on MTV, and creating the term "dogfish"

21:03 - Integrity Shot (where you were at that time)

21:50 - How long is the average PI case?

23:02 - Separating yourself from the case

24:10 - What if your client doesn't believe the evidence?

26:55 - Being strategic and persistent about investigations

27:23 - How you pass the time during surveillance

29:45 - "Do you want to be my 'suspect':-)"

32:40 - "That was not on my bingo-card"

34:45 - Busting a pedophile ring

36:10 - "Pulled out of the car by my ponytail"

37:15 - Always backing into parking spaces

37:51 - "What are you really going to do?"

39:00 - Looking up the badasses behind the keyboards

40:49 - Kristi's non-profit K9s4cops and the online combat

42:01 - School trip threats - Kristi asks the FBI to call

44:01 - 'Direct to consumer' sales

45:50 - "The makeup looks good"

48:01 - Pyramid Schemes

49:54 - Starting to tell PI stories online

51:30 - How makeup artistry tells personal stories about challenges

53:32 - "Strangers online are now my friends"

57:01 - Being a PI is great for women - you're underestimated

57:36 - Dating and Safety Tips

58:05 - "They prey on unmet needs"