Award-winning documentarian Louis Theroux’s latest Netflix release, Inside the Manosphere, has quickly become one of the most talked-about documentaries of the moment, and has been making headlines since its release in early March. Known for his disarming interview style, Theroux steps into a digital subculture that thrives on toxic masculinity, controversy, influence, and a pliable audience.
In the documentary, he engages with prominent figures such as HSTikkyTokky, Myron Gaines, Sneako, and Justin Waller, individuals who have built massive followings by promoting ideologies centred around masculinity, power, and control. While some critics argue that Theroux didn’t push hard enough, his approach allows these figures to reveal the contradictions and cracks in their narratives on their own.
But this isn’t the first time this topic has entered mainstream conversation.
Netflix’s 2025 limited series, Adolescence, explored similar themes, highlighting how exposure to these ideologies can shape behaviour, identity, and perception, particularly among younger audiences. The series didn’t just present the content; it demonstrated the consequences.
Together, these releases point to a much larger issue: what begins online rarely stays there.
“The Manosphere is an online ecosystem that repackages misogyny, anti-feminism and male grievance as self-improvement and hustle.” - Steven Roberts
Key Terms & Definitions
Source: UNWomen.org
- Manosphere: A loose network of communities that claim to address men’s struggles – dating, fitness or fatherhood, for example – but often promote harmful advice and attitudes. These communities share anti-feminist and anti-women ideologies, believing women and gender equality are to blame for the struggles men face in today’s society, and that this needs to be corrected.
- Red Pill; In reference to the movie, ‘The Matrix’. Red pill ideology (or to have taken the red pill) means to wake up to the reality that the world favors women over men.
- Alpha, Sigma, Beta; The hierarchy in the manosphere culture: “alphas” - dominant and desirable, “betas” - weak and unsuccessful. Sigmas - “lone wolf” archetype, embodying independence and dominance.
- Pick-up artist (PUA): Refers to individuals within a core manosphere ideology that teaches members how to coerce women into sex, as if a game, and mocks the idea of sexual consent.
- Soy boy/Soya boy: A derogatory label for men seen as effeminate or progressive.
- Incel (involuntary celibate): A person who believes that men are entitled to sex and that women purposefully deprive them of it; a core manosphere ideology. Extremist incel culture promotes rape and assault and brings together other ideologies, including racism and homophobia. Incels have been linked to acts of mass violence.
- Looksmaxxing/Statusmaxxing: Attempting to increase sexual attractiveness, including through exercise and surgery. Looksmaxxing communities often subject men and boy’s photos to brutal comments and scrutiny.
Packaged as Advice, Driven by Algorithms
One of the most concerning aspects of Manosphere content is how it is presented.
It rarely introduces itself as harmful. Instead, it is framed as:
- Dating/ Relationship advice
- Financial guidance
- Self-improvement
- Confidence-building
These are topics that young men are actively searching for, often during vulnerable or formative stages of their lives, making them greatly susceptible to manipulation.
From there, platform algorithms take over.
Content that sparks outrage, controversy, or emotional reaction garners greater engagement, which then leads to amplification. The result? Users are quickly funnelled into echo chambers where increasingly extreme content is normalised.
What starts as a video about “improving your confidence” can rapidly evolve into messaging rooted in resentment, entitlement, and hostility.
This is due to a system that rewards engagement over accuracy, and influence over accountability.
40 percent of adult U.S. men surveyed, and half of younger men, say they trust one or more “men’s rights,” anti-feminist, or pro-violence voices from the manosphere. - Equimundo's State of American Men 2023
The Faces Behind the Influence
The individuals featured in Inside the Manosphere are not anonymous users, they are highly visible, highly influential content creators that have amassed huge followings and dedicated fan bases. Throughout the Manosphere documentary, all the featured influencers were met by enthusiastic fans when out in public. Most of whom were young boys and men.
- HSTikkyTokky (Harrison Sullivan) leans into shock-value content and large-scale content farming, using provocation and controversy to capture attention and drive engagement. His content is curated to position him as a fitness, dating, and crypto expert, while promoting services and platforms that directly financially benefit him. Louis Theroux decided to test the crypto advice for himself, and by the end of filming had lost nearly all the money he had invested, leading to a hypothesis that raised questions about Sullivan’s credibility.
“Call me a misogynist, call me homophobic, call me a scammer - I am all those things.”
“I’d disown my own son if he was gay.” HSTikkyTokky
- Myron Gaines (born Amrou Fudl), a former special agent for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and co-host of the Fresh & Fit podcast, positions himself as an authority on relationships, often framing his views as “logic over emotion.” Gaines’ content focuses on financial literacy, physical fitness, and his perspective on gender roles in relationships. In the documentary, he stated that women should be “subordinate” and “deserve less,” and shared his goal of having “multiple wives.”
"I do whatever the f**k I want to do and she's loyal to me. It's monogamous on her end, open on my end."
“I actually understand women… I know what’s best for them” - Myron Gaines
- Sneako (Nicolas Kenn De Balinthazy) has been banned from multiple social media platforms due to his uncensored and polarising right-wing political and social commentary. His content has been widely criticised and flagged for antisemitism and misogyny. His content style and overall messaging have cultivated a highly loyal and reactive audience.
Young Fans approaching Sneako on the streets of New York: “f**k women and gays must d*e”.
- Justin Waller, a successful steel magnate, has become a prominent figure in the manosphere space due to his ties to Andrew and Tristan Tate, as well as his success coaching business, where he instructs his followers on how to be ‘alpha males’. Waller promotes hyper-traditional views of masculinity, tying male value to dominance, wealth, and control. His content provides followers with guidance on what behaviours in business, romantic relationships, and life will secure them success and power. He is also an ambassador for Andrew Tate’s ‘The Real World University’.
“Men invent, build, and maintain society. And that’s a fact. Look around, can you name anything a woman has invented and built in our plain sight? Nothing… It is a fact.” - Justin Waller
While their styles may differ, their messaging often converges, reinforcing a worldview that is exclusionary, hierarchical, and deeply resistant to equality.
More importantly, they are not operating in isolation or in private. They are shaping narratives, influencing behaviour, and building communities around these ideas.
The statements highlighted (all from Inside the Manosphere) are said publicly, confidently, and to audiences that are listening, engaging, and, in many cases, adopting the same beliefs.
Beyond the Screen: Real-World Impact
It’s easy to dismiss online content as “just the internet.” But the impact of manosphere ideologies is increasingly visible offline.
In schools, there have been growing reports of boys refusing to respect female teachers and peers, behaviour that manifests as harassment, intimidation, dismissal, and, in extreme cases, physical altercations and violence.
And it doesn’t stop there.
If both preventative measures and post-exposure education are not made mandatory, these attitudes will follow young individuals into adulthood, creating a perpetual cycle in which these beliefs and the harm that comes with them are passed down through generations.
The impact is not limited to those on the receiving end of this behaviour. It also takes a significant toll on the men who follow and internalise these ideologies. The standards set by these communities are often rigid and unrealistic, defining worth through dominance, wealth, and control.
For followers of these groups, the message is clear: meet these standards or be seen as inferior, unworthy, and undeserving of respect. This creates a cycle of pressure, insecurity, and dissatisfaction, where self-worth becomes tied to an unattainable, toxic, and often performative version of masculinity.
Many followers of Manosphere communities are already grown men. They may not wear a badge to signify their views publicly, but their online behaviour and activity can paint a far more accurate and often shocking picture.
These men are active participants in society, where their attitudes and beliefs play a role in shaping organisational culture, workplace behaviour, and team dynamics, and are directly tied to the reputation of their employers.
When digital footprints go unchecked, this can lead to:
- Overlooked risks across both the hiring stage and existing teams
- Hostile work environments
- Erosion of respect and collaboration
- Drop in performance and output quality
- Gender-based discrimination and harassment
- Breakdown in company culture, team cohesion and trust
- Poor employee wellbeing
- Further discriminatory behaviours and actions
- Potential damage to brand reputation
- Legal blind spots leaving organisations vulnerable
The result goes beyond just a cultural issue, becoming a malignant business risk.
The behaviours formed and reinforced online do not switch off when the workday begins.
Why This Matters for Organisations
Understanding how individuals think, behave, and engage, both online and offline, has never been more important.
The reality is that digital spaces often provide a more unfiltered view of a person’s beliefs, attitudes, and behavioural patterns. And in cases like this, those insights can be critical.
In this context, Social and Digital Media Screening plays a crucial role in identifying:
- Patterns of harmful or discriminatory behaviour
- Engagement with extremist or toxic communities
- Indicators of potential cultural misalignment
- The overall risk a candidate's digital footprint poses
When it comes to these kinds of checks, it isn’t about policing opinions, but more importantly, recognising risk.
This is because the same behaviours that thrive in online echo chambers, often reinforced by a false sense of security within these communities, can surface in workplaces, impacting people, culture, and reputation.
The Manosphere extends far beyond just a trend or online noise. It is a growing, evolving ecosystem of influence that is shaping how individuals think, interact, and behave in the real world.
And as the line between digital identity and real-world impact continues to blur, ignoring it is no longer an option.
Sources:
Harris, P. The Mirror UK, 2026 https://www.mirror.co.uk/film/who-justin-waller-louis-therouxs-36854795
Karasin, E. The Standard, 2026 https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/louis-theroux-myron-gaines-girlfriend-manosphere-b1274810.html
UN Women, 2025 https://www.unwomen.org/en/articles/explainer/what-is-the-manosphere-and-why-should-we-care
Plan International UK, 2026 https://plan-uk.org/our-work/girls-rights/what-is-manosphere-what-are-impacts
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