FONTANA, Calif. – Arthur Espinoza spends most evenings learning to pummel, kick and grapple in “Super” Betiss Mansouri’s no-frills mixed-martial-arts gym in the industrial outskirts of Fontana, California.
The 17-year-old joins a steady stream of fighters on mats spattered with sweat, blood and occasional tears to spar under the watchful eye of Mansouri, a former professional MMA fighter who founded the space in 2020. Actions speak within these four walls: clean hits, hard knocks, tight holds.
The gym is central to Espinoza’s life and the man he is becoming.
It’s where he says he’s building his muscles, his courage, and his self-control. But like millions of young men around the country, Espinoza has also found another guide to life: His phone.
Online, influencers in what is known as the “Manosphere” spread fitness, lifestyle and get-rich-quick advice alongside a toxic blend of misogynistic and anti-feminist rhetoric while insisting they are respectful of women — and Espinoza is a big fan.
