June 21, 2023 - 7:00am

The recent indictment against manosphere influencer and former pro kickboxer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan, issued by Romanian prosecutors, hints at the start of a downfall for numerous self-proclaimed “alpha male” influencers. Accused of serious crimes, including rape, as well as conducting a human trafficking and organised crime operation, the Tate brothers allegedly deceived at least seven women into a controlling and abusive situation under the guise of romance. The women were reportedly manipulated into creating explicit videos and suffered from intimidation, forced servitude, and occasional violence. The case, held in an inquisitorial-style judicial system where experienced judges, not juries of one’s peers, arbitrate, suggests a difficult road ahead for the Tates.

In fact, the stability of the entire manosphere industry — which expanded significantly after 2016 — seems increasingly uncertain. For instance, the Utah-based alpha-male entrepreneur Jeremiah Evans, a former Brigham Young University quarterback who nicknamed himself “The Bull”, is experiencing the collapse of his grift-oriented business empire. Alpha Influence, one of his enterprises, faces mounting accusations of fraud after promising lucrative Amazon e-commerce ventures for a hefty $40,000 investment.

Despite Evans’s claims of untapped earning potential, hundreds of clients reported only negligible returns, frequent account closures due to policy violations, and a lack of communication. Numerous complaints have been lodged against Evans’s associated companies in the state of Utah, where his various alpha-branded businesses are based, tarnishing his image of promised success and wealth.

Manosphere figures may also face public shame or irrelevance as the truth about their operations emerges, or might tread the same path as the Tates, with charges relating to sexual misconduct or other sex-related offences. These influencers sell a high-status facade, often resorting to paying women to appear in their photos to depict a glamorous lifestyle that’s largely fictional.

Twitch streamer Ivy Wylder confirmed this phenomenon, revealing that many alpha males hire sex workers to appear in social media photographs, thus perpetuating the lie that these methods will attract women without the promise of pay for services rendered. More than that, allegations of using these rent-seeking “sugar babies” without compensation — while passing them off as women attracted via alpha male seduction tactics — have already been made against Myron Gaines, the host of the Fresh&Fit After Hours podcast.

Men like Tate, Gaines, and Evans all leveraged the alpha male myth to sell their offerings. However, the looming transparency might finally expose their questionable practices and ultimately lead to the downfall of their operations: Tate’s Hustler’s University, Gaines’ Patreon-backed podcast, and Evans’s numerous alpha-branded businesses. These self-proclaimed conmen, entrapped in their own hubris and delusion, might finally receive their just deserts. In the course of trying to “get theirs”, to paraphrase the NFL running back Marshawn Lynch, they will end up “getting got”.


Oliver Bateman is a historian and journalist based in Pittsburgh. He blogs, vlogs, and podcasts at his Substack, Oliver Bateman Does the Work

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