Ex-Real World member explains misogynistic tactics of Andrew Tate’s online cult
They’re too young to even shave but a former member of this notorious online group says these boys are easy pickings for toxic men pretending to help.
SA Weekend
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*Michael isn’t even a teen yet but he’s paying $50 a month to unlock the door to wealth, power and sexual mastery.
“Hello Andrew Tate, I’m currently 12 years old and in 8th grade and my name is *Michael. I joined The Real World last summer,” he writes in a chatroom post.
“No matter how much I try I don’t seem to get any money and I struggle with watching pornography and masturbating.
“I know you will probably not respond to this and I understand but if you have a chance can you help a brother out?”
Another user is 15 years old. He is so porcelain-faced that he’s probably never even shaved.
“I am paying for The Real World by my own because my family don’t like you,” he writes.
“They are telling me you use some pyramid effect and that you are an abuser. I am getting punishments for supporting you.”
Another user, who looks no older than 16, asks: “Where should we store our money so that it can’t disappear or be siezed (sic) by our government?”
These are just a few of hundreds of messages posted daily to The Real World website, an exclusive online “self-help” community that’s garnered 250,000 members from across the globe since it launched in 2022.
At first glance, the website has all the telltale signs of being a positive platform. Motivational messaging, like “gain real-world experience promptly”, and promises of offering a sense of community and teachings to elevate health, happiness and wealth.
But dig beneath the surface and the promise of working with “like-minded individuals” to achieve “personal goals” veils a more sinister community that has been labelled the breeding ground of modern day misogyny and even a cult.
The Real World was founded by kickboxing champion, self-proclaimed life coach and alleged sex trafficker Andrew Tate. He is currently unable to leave the European Union, awaiting trial in Romania for charges related to human trafficking, rape and forming an organised crime group.
But over the past two years, the tough-talking mega misogynist has laid the groundwork that has ensured his anti-feminist messaging continues to influence young boys globally, especially through social media.
A snapshot of his well-versed phrases recycled by his followers are, “I think the women belong to the man” or “18 to 19-year-old women are more attractive than 25-year-olds because they’ve been through less d*ck”.
And while Tate fights the charges, all of which he denies, the money keeps pouring in from men who are convinced the secrets of success can be found inside Tate’s head – all for a considerable monthly fee. Get rich or lose sleep trying.
There is one man who is going against the Tate tide, however, and that’s Adelaide man Nathan Pope who is single-handedly taking on the tech giants who spread the influencer’s message to the male masses.
Over the past two years, he has successfully pushed for The Real World app to be removed from the Google and Apple stores, and has lobbied social media companies to take down profiles used by recruiters.
He also creates educational videos on YouTube that expose the techniques Tate uses to attract young men into what he calls a cult-like scheme, with many of his videos attracting thousands upon thousands of views.
“These boys are being told that the world is against them and against men, and Tate wants them to think he is the solution to that,” Pope tells SA Weekend.
“They’re often from broken families or poverty, which is why they become attracted to these get-rich-quick schemes and this victim narrative he’s selling.
“I think it’s a message that seems empowering because they feel like they’re being knocked down. But someone needs to tell them that just because a woman is allowed to be a CEO doesn’t mean that you can’t be one as well.
“The bigger issue I think is how big tech companies seem to be benefiting from this.
“I have sent screenshots, messages, all of this evidence to Google, YouTube, TikTok but the messages are still out there on social media.
“I think they are so under equipped to actually do anything about this content spreading on their platforms that they will do the bare minimum until someone forces their hand.”
As business models go, Tate’s is unquestionably an impressive one. His message is crystal clear and tailored to an audience of young, impressionable teenage boys. His recruiters do the hard yards to spread the word, enlisting new members each week.
In fact, members are encouraged to recruit others and are promised a cut of the profits – but only after securing 2000 online followers.
For a one-off $8000 payment, they can even gain entry to an inner circle called the War Room, with first-hand access to Tate himself.
A video put together by Pope shows Tate’s business partner and promoter Jason Waller giving advice to a 14-year-old about how to grow his wealth.
“If you’re going to make money, I would consider joining The Real World. It’s only $50 a month – you can cut a couple of lawns and make that.”
His advice to a 12-year-old who recently joined the community is equally to the point. “Go listen to all the professors and listen to what they say, and work your little ass off.”
In another video created by Pope, he delves into the professors that work for Tate in sharing his tailored teachings on growth mindset. It features Real World professor Dylan Madden answering the question of whether the program works for kids: “Absolutely.”
“I’ve got a guy who’s 14 years old making $1500 a month all applying a side hustle that was taught in the freelancing campus,” he explains.
“On top of that, you’re going to be around a bunch of positivity that’s going to fix your mindset,” he adds. “So instead of all your friends going out and just playing video games, you’re going to be learning actual skills that make you a better person.”
A quick calculation of 250,000 members paying a $50-a-month subscription lands at a neat ballpark figure of $12.5 million a month.
That’s $150m a year. And the overheads? Well, they’re very little if the message continues to stay solid – get rich, be famous, surround yourself with beautiful women and drive fast, luxury cars. But most of all, be the envy of your friends. Be a real man.
That’s what attracted Kanta Vault. He’s a 26-year-old engineer who joined The Real World when he was struggling with mental health issues in 2023. “I had depression and some family problems in the background,” Vault says. “I was partying a lot, I felt like I didn’t have any purpose in life.
“In the span of a week, (Tate) became famous and some friends told me to watch him because he was against everything that I was like.”
Vault, who is from Egypt but connected with Pope in Adelaide after finding his videos on YouTube, admits there were benefits to his monthly subscription. He got to work on the prescribed learning, quitting alcohol and joining the gym, which he said brought him closer to his strict Muslim family.
But he also began recruiting straight away, and said during his five-month stint he made more than 150 videos across different social media platforms, all sharing the Tate message.
He never made a dollar from his work. To keep up, the advice he received from The Real World mentors was to “sleep less” and essentially work harder. It would happen if he put real time into getting new members.
“At first, I felt like it was a supportive group where people help each other and give each other validation,” he says. “But there were people there saying that they were buying sports cars and houses at, like, 15 or 16 and there was no proof. It just couldn’t be true.”
The speed and pitch at which Vault threw himself at the program meant he lost friendships and neglected his university studies.
“I realised it wasn’t good for me,” Vault says. “I was making videos pretty much every day and nothing else really changed in my life.
“Then I found out about Tate being arrested in Romania and I started to view everything more objectively.”
While Vault is one of a few that have turned their back on Tate and his views, his following is still strong. Beyond the matrix, authorities in Australia are now recognising that Tate’s message has resonated clearly with many young men.
A 2022 survey by not-for-profit The Man Cave found a quarter of boys aged up to 15 looked up to Tate and a third found him relatable.
And earlier this year, researchers from Monash University conducted interviews with female teachers to examine the influence of Andrew Tate in Australian classrooms. Their findings were published in the journal Gender and Education.
Dr Stephanie Wescott, one of the authors of the report, remarked, “The consistency of our findings is truly remarkable. We spoke with teachers from both rural areas and metropolitan schools, and they all reported that Andrew Tate’s presence was evident in various ways within their classrooms.”
The study included a limited sample size, with 30 female teachers interviewed for durations ranging from 30 to 75 minutes.
The research uncovered “widespread incidents of sexual harassment, sexism, and misogyny directed at female teachers by male students, with Andrew Tate’s influence contributing to these behaviours.”
Wescott noted, “The teachers in our study are indicating that the behaviour of their male students is being shaped by the influence of Andrew Tate.”
And worryingly, there’s no quick fix to the problem to the rise of misogyny as Tate continues to grow in influence. He now appears to be leapfrogging into the role of social commentator as well, despite his alleged crimes.
Over the past two weeks, he has weighed in on the anti-immigration protests engulfing the UK in response to three young girls killed by the child of Rwandan refugees.
Unloading on Piers Morgan’s talk show, he said the riots were a “failure of leadership” on the part of British governments to address unchecked migration.
“Without political solutions being offered, I don’t know how hubristic you must be to sit and expect anything other than what we’ve seen,” he said.
Tate is still talking and the world is still listening. Social media platforms are still allowing the misogyny to be spread. And, most concerning, young boys are continuing to be recruited.
According to Pope, the consequences of inaction will be devastating.
“If it keeps going this way, we’re going to see young lads saying and doing things that are more extreme, and spreading this message that they’ve been converted to,” Pope says.
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