LONELY teenager Sam was just 13 when he was drawn into the toxic online world of the ‘manosphere’, where vile influencers like Andrew Tate share twisted views on women.
By the time he was 16, he had quit school to dedicate himself entirely to a dangerous ideology where cultish influencers charge hundreds of pounds for training school subscriptions and endorse bizarre sexual challenges they claim will turn their devotees into ‘real men’.
Sam is just one of thousands of young British lads being sucked in by greedy social media stars who peddle sick theories that women are a threat to masculinity, can’t be trusted and only have relationships with rich, super-fit wealthy men.
Some even advocate withholding sperm to make themselves ‘stronger’.
It is a murky online underworld familiar to journalist James Blake, who has investigated the manosphere in a new documentary and tells The Sun how he too was sucked into the orbit of sick figures like Tate when his own relationship fell apart.
These toxic influencers promote the idea that feminism has gone too far, men are losing out on jobs to the fairer sex and women would rather be housewives and have kids than have a career.
Despite his tender age, Sam has already been brainwashed into believing women should stay at home.
In BBC documentary Men of the Manosphere, he tells James: “For most women, when they are forced to go down the same path as men, being forced to study and forced to get a job and provide for themselves and everything, it really takes away from their authentic femininity.
“They are being indoctrinated to think they have to be a lawyer or doctor, even if they don’t want to do that.
“I would say that the system nowadays, with school and everyone given the same jobs, I do believe it’s making women unhappy.”
Harmful content pushes the idea of ‘looksmaxxing’ – telling men they can date multiple women if they are willing to perfect themselves through hard work in the gym, bundles of cash, flash cars and luxury flats.
Sam tells producers how he posted his first ‘self-improvement’ video aged 14, which led to kids at school mocking him.
He said: “I was very, very lonely I think. I don’t have any friends in real life anymore.”
Sam and his online community follow Brit YouTuber Hamza Ahmed, who has 248,000 Instagram followers.
He gives controversial tips on dating, health and making money and claims that men are ‘more feminine than ever’ and that women need ‘masculine’ men.
He charges as much as £770 for a lifetime subscription to videos on how to become a content creator, with his online community, called Adonis School, claiming to help followers become a “top 1 per cent man”.
By the end of the documentary, however, Sam has turned away from Ahmed’s shameful ideology.
Down the rabbit hole
Disgraced influencer Tate is the poster boy of the misogynistic manosphere, with horrified British teachers earlier this year warning how they are fuelling sexism in schools and amongst young people.
The consequences can be truly dangerous, with the trial of triple killer Kyle Clifford hearing in March how the crossbow-wielding coward was under the influence of the 38-year-old’s deranged online rants.
Presenter James tells of his own flirtation with the manosphere when he split from his girlfriend of five years.
He started sharing sexist content created by Tate for a short spell around four years ago – giving him a unique insight into the online world.
James told The Sun: “Post break-up I came across this type of content, which kept being served up by the algorithm.
“At the time it spoke to me because I’ve personally been interested in self-improvement from when I was Sam’s age – but the difference is, I was reading it in books.
“It wasn’t a case of influencers popping up on my phone, in my face constantly.
“The stuff I posted wasn’t very nice but I was feeling down, struggled to get out of bed a bit more than unusual and didn’t feel I had a lot of support.
“I was just hurting and this content gave that hurt a voice. I look at it now and it’s almost like a different person posted it. It’s like, ‘wow, I wouldn’t like that guy’.
“Unfortunately for men, we don’t have that network that women have where they rally to support each other. I didn’t get calls from friends asking if I would be okay, just everyone expected that I would be because I was a man. It was the same when my dad died.
“I think if there was a better support network for young men they might be less vulnerable to the manosphere.”
‘Red pill’ brainwashing
James also talks to Shayne, 27, who has taken the ‘red pill’ – the phrase used in the manosphere to describe ‘waking up’ to anti-feminist views.
He struggles to find his way after falling for a woman, but is being told by ‘influencers’ that he should be seeing several at the same time after working hard on his physique to become an ‘alpha male’.
Shayne, 27, who lives in Liverpool, ends up dumping his girlfriend – despite having strong feelings for her.
He says: “The way I see it is, if you are at the level of man where you can have multiple women at the same time then it’s fair game.”
Asked why women can’t behave the same way, Shayne says: “It can seem like double standards but it’s not because, as a man, you need to build yourself up to attract the girl, whether that be in the gym, in business, fashion, or looking better or looksmaxxing.
“With women, the men want to chase them already.”
100-day ‘challenge’
Irish lad Jack, 22, has been denying himself sexual pleasure for over 100 days in the belief that it helps his masculinity.
Copying the Andrew Tate pose of placing his hands in a triangle in front of him, he says his decision shows discipline.
He clearly idolises Tate, 38, who faces sex charges in Romania along with his brother Tristan, 37.
The pair deny charges of rape, human trafficking and actual bodily harm.
Jack says: “I listen to all the good messages (when he’s talking) about men, building themselves up to be respected and have status.
“I wouldn’t focus on some of the other stuff he’s saying, but it’s still his opinion. The man can say what he wants.
“The other things on the (police) investigations, he’s not guilty of anything, he hasn’t been convicted.”
Frighteningly, Jack adds: “I believe everything is about tarnishing his name because he’s guilty of going against the norm, making men start standing up and fighting back against a society that wants to keep men weak.”
Men of the Manosphere is on BBC iPlayer now
5 ways parents can protect children online
THE NSPCC shares advice for parents to support safe internet usage in children:
- Create an open, judgment-free environment: Ensure your child feels comfortable discussing their online experiences without fear of punishment or device removal. This encourages them to come to you when they encounter concerning content or situations.
- Be curious about their digital world: Take an interest in the apps, games, and platforms that your children use. Ask them to show you how they work and what they enjoy about them. This creates natural opportunities for safety discussions.
- Address harmful content directly: Have age-appropriate conversations about the types of content they might encounter online, including violent, pornographic, or hateful material. Discuss what to do if they come across something concerning.
- Help manage the content they see online: Parental controls and privacy settings can help you manage how your child spends time online and help to keep them safe. Make sure to talk to your child first before implementing any new settings and explain to them how they help to keep them safe.
- Share youth facing help and support: Make sure your child knows about services that can help like Childline. You could start by sharing the online safety advice content and the Report Remove tool created by the IWF and Childline.
