Mononymously-named and bodybuilding-sculpted, Kyle — the tanned and chiseled face of Kyle University (tagline: “Teaching boys how to be men”) — looks and sounds like many of those populating the so-called manosphere. At least, he does on the first glance of his social media videos (and perhaps even the second or third).
Assuredly describing himself as a “high-value man” and boasting bulging pecs that appear in danger of not just escaping his ludicrously tight shirt but setting up their own nation-state across the room, Kyle serves up pearls of misogynistic wisdom similar to various other Andrew Tate-style gurus.
“London 7, Miami 5” he unflinchingly rates a girl across the table during a date. “How would you sell yourself to me?” he asks another. “If I’m sending an eggplant emoji and she’s not sending nipple pics, I’m out,” is one of the various rules of dating he offers to the camera, while on a podcast video he’s described by another as a “gigachad.” For those unaware of the lingo, a “gigachad” is considered the ultimate, idealized version of a highly masculine and attractive man.
And yet, for anyone whose algorithms have even accidentally scratched the surface of the online world where Patrick Bateman-idolising alpha male influencers peddle toxic hypermasculinity, preposterous goal-oriented lifestyle advice and the extreme appearance optimisation known as looksmaxxing, even this feels a little too absurd after a few views.
