The manosphere is going into business

Online influencers are targeting young men with tips on how to walk, talk and breathe.

- Josh Gabert-Doyon

Mike Skrypchyk wants you to walk more like a man. Mr Skrypchyk, a “body transformation expert”, has also perfected a method for the correct, manly way to retrieve a folder and sit down on a chair.

In one of the videos he has uploaded to Instagram, he instructs his near 50,000 followers to maintain eye contact rather than look at the ground. “Look effortless. Make that chair service you,” he says, staring straight at the camera.

The manosphere is growing up. Once the sole purview of misogynists and trolls, a new type of business influencer has appeared on the websites, accounts and online forums aimed at men. Styling themselves as professional coaches and productivity hackers, they target young men looking to get ahead in the world of work by improving their “male confidence”.

In its browbeating adherence to ritual, this advice could easily find itself at home in a Victorian-era etiquette guide. Take Grant Mitt, a square-jawed influencer whose videos touch upon time-tested male paranoia (“How to catch a gold digger”) and professional guidance (“Never drink at work events”).