Becoming Alpha

There’s a lot of pressure on young men to become “alpha” these days, and no shortage of greasy snake oil salesmen willing to offer them a solution. In an age of incel-fluencers like Andrew Tate, it’s easy to see how the burgeoning male mind in a confusing time of life can become sucked into the noise.

The similarities of this 3 day experience to Marine Corps bootcamp are no accident, as one of the chief architects of the most infamous of these programs  is a Marine veteran himself. Who else would know better than a Marine the drifting angst of lost young men.

I do think there’s a real conversation to be had around the ideas of manhood and the struggles that young men face today, but these “alpha male” courses, workshops, books, brands and faces are not after that. They are after a few bucks in any way they can make it. Grifters that can smell blood in the water. Podcasting and influencer culture have given rise to an entire economy of men seeking men to preach and to listen.

For what it’s worth to any young men reading this, sweaty influencers yelling at you for 3 days isn’t going to make you an alpha. It may, however, make you a few pounds lighter after losing $18,000 from your wallet.