Dissecting the Andrew Tate Phenomenon
Not since the Donald Trump presidency has any man attracted such panic, derision, adulation and polarising attention as Andrew Tate. The former kick boxing world champion and entrepreneur has truly mastered the art of instrumentalising social media platforms to direct attention towards himself and his ideas. The result being an entire generation of teenage boys are now devout Tate fans, chanting his slogans and promoting his views, much to the ire of school teachers and parents everywhere. In this piece, I would like to explore why Tate is so appealing to his target audience and why his online marketing strategy has been so effective. The answers are more complex than one may initially assume.
Tate has styled himself as a self-help guru for young men, encouraging them to get in shape, develop discipline, avoid drugs, learn about entrepreneurship and focus on developing wealth. All of this is much needed in the modern age and his ability to deliver it in an easy to understand way is quite remarkable. Tate talks in easy to digest sound bites which combine humour, boastfulness and aspiration in a way that entertains an audience who feel they are being empowered with unique knowledge and wisdom that they are not getting from elsewhere. As such, male self-empowerment is being offered as a form of rebellion and punk rock for a generation that are glued to their phones, have a diminishing interest in actual sex, drugs and rock and roll and in many cases are more socially conservative than their parents.
His style is very much suited to the modern age in which information is consumed in ever shorter segments, through 20 second TikTok clips or Instagram reels. A short motivational quote from a hip and flashy influencer that appeals to the male ego is more likely to go viral than a 40 minute presentation by a stuffy and verbose professor at a university. In this way, Tate has become a sort of TikTok philosopher, a wannabe Socrates of modern times corrupting the male youth with ideas that excite them and terrify the rest. His dress sense, extensive car collection, sporting accolades and multiple sexual partners only adds to his appeal and credibility with teenage boys.
There is nothing new or novel about anything Tate is saying, virtually all of his key arguments have been made before by other self-help types and those who root their understanding of human behaviour in evolutionary psychology such as the Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson. Putting aside the limitations of evolutionary psychology, and the need to marry innate human impulses with socially evolved morality, what Tate is doing very successfully is packaging this content to a younger audience. He is able to achieve this by using less academic language, references to popular culture and a liberal use of urban street slang. In that style his content becomes a weapon a teenage boy can use to wind up his teacher and push back against liberal orthodoxy and that is a key part of the appeal.
However, like all demagogues there is a sinister interior that lurks behind the glittery veneer. With constant references to a metaphoric ‘Matrix’, Tate encourages a siege mentality, conspiracy theories and a sense of powerlessness in the face of an all -mighty establishment that is insidious, out to control and exploiting the masses. In his view, a shadowy elite of powerful figures control the world and want to keep the rest of us enslaved in dead end jobs, high taxation and with ever limited freedoms. As such, life is misery for the average man unless he can also become a multimillionaire, escape the matrix, live a playboy lifestyle and drive a Bugatti.
The obvious problem with the above is that it is not actually very empowering and can be counter-productive. Encouraging a strong anti-establishment sentiment amongst teenage boys who are still developing, both socially and psychologically, is actually very unhealthy. It leads to a generation who don’t trust their teachers or parents, have disdain for the education system and shun conventional careers, all of which are ingredients for failure in my view. By offering an alternative that is unattainable for 99% of people, Tate is actually encouraging young men to turn their backs on that which will genuinely empower them, namely a good education and a career. Arguably, this aspect of his message is more about offering a form of entertainment that panders to fears and insecurities rather than genuine self-help.
Tate also places a very strong emphasis on material possessions, flashy cars, clothes, watches and holidays. True empowerment is about discovering yourself, your purpose and a life philosophy which allows you to derive satisfaction and pleasure from family, friends, relationships and hobbies, rather than aspiring to drive a Bugatti and wearing a Rolex watch. Offering a hollow and vacuous version of empowerment can only lead to a shallow existence in which you only care about the opinions of others and how you are viewed by your peers.
On the theme of shallowness, the one aspect of Tate’s worldview that has attracted the most controversy is his attitude towards women. On multiple occasions he has presenting women as yet another material acquisition to augment the male sense of achievement and an ‘asset’ that can be exploited for monetary gain. Tate has openly talked about his use of what is known as the ‘lover-boy method’, i.e. when a man seduces a girl and then exploits her sexually for material gain. In his case, he set up a webcam business which employed current and former girlfriends who subsequently generated a lot of money for him.
One does not have to be a child psychologist to know that encouraging such an attitude towards women can only have a deleterious effect on teenage boys, especially when many of them spend a lot of time with their mother and female teaching staff. An integral aspect of being successful and empowered as a man is being able to form and maintain healthy and productive relationships with women as friends, partners and colleagues. Yet again, we find that Tate’s content seeks to entertain and pander to prejudices rather than offer genuine self-empowerment and improvement. Therefore, it is difficult to view Tate as little more than an unscrupulous entrepreneur who views male self-improvement as his latest business venture.
However, the real question for me is why his content is able to garner such appeal?How did this former Big Brother contestant become the most googled man on the planet and what helped to create the vacuum he was so easily able to exploit? In an age where there is a lot of emphasis on female empowerment, young men can often feel that they are being left behind and side-lined. With suicide, alcoholism, drug-use, homelessness rates being highest amongst young men, talk of an all-powerful patriarchy can ring hollow in the minds of teenage boys who are struggling to adapt to the world and find meaningful relationships with the opposite gender.
Furthermore, with out of control house prices, a global financial crisis and little to none financial literacy being taught at schools one can start to understand why a self-help guru, who dispenses feel-good wisdom which can be consumed from the comfort of one’s bedroom, can have such widespread appeal. Recent culture wars and gender wars, which are often being fought on social media platforms, also offer a channel through which teenage boys can channel their energy and frustration. Society often feels like a set of warring tribes rather than a single cohesive unit, so a charismatic preacher offering a path and a team to join has obvious appeal for many who are directionless and seeking purpose.
In my view, the real issue is our collective failure to offer all young people real self-help and empowerment in a manner that resonates and uplifts. It seems modern societies are not built to meet our social needs for purpose, identity, belonging and self-esteem. Without an overarching narrative or religion to unite us, many are simply adrift in sea of online soundbites and feel-good content they come across as they engage in mindless scrolling. Ultimately, when we have a form of capitalism that lacks benevolence and does not nurture the human spirit, that much needed nurture becomes subject to exploitation for capital.