KSI’s brand of masculinity is more benign. KSI is not Tate, nor is he quite the anti-Tate: online he has mocked him, without directly repudiating him. A Tate impersonator was there – black T-shirt, dark glasses, trimmed beard – and people queued for selfies with him, presumably with varying degrees of irony. There were younger kids there with their parents too, another generation lining up to be influenced. APĪt Wembley, the crowd was mostly teenagers and young men, a generation brought up on KSI. His extreme message has resonated with some boys, perhaps in particular those who felt that society frowned on masculinity, and by extension, themselves.Īndrew Tate, right, with brother Tristan, after they were released from a Romanian jail on March 31. “As a man you have to outcompete the other men.” He tried to justify violence against women, labelling himself a misogynist and claiming he was too rich to suffer any consequences. Tate had been the worst type of role model, a poster boy for toxic masculinity. KSI’s fight was happening a few weeks after Tate had been arrested in Romania, on charges of organised crime, human trafficking and rape, which he denies. To a chunk of his 24 million YouTube subscribers, KSI is inevitably a role model.

He’s now 29, but his YouTube videos appeal to many boys aged 11 or younger.Īround the world, some boys feel confused and uncertain about what they should be aspiring to. But what interested me was the most basic: he is a man. KSI – “Knowledge Strength Integrity”, real name Olajide Olatunji – is many things: a musician, an influencer, a drinks promoter, a boxer. “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m on a different level!” he roared. It was so easy that KSI added some jumping press-ups. He beat his chest and his opponent, a hapless Brazilian with the stage name FaZe Temperrr. He was undefeated in his five previous fights. He wore a pink outfit and sang the national anthem. APĪt 10.30pm, after several other YouTubers-cum-boxers had taken their turns in the ring, KSI appeared. KSI celebrates victory in the cruiserweight bout against FaZe Temperrr in London earlier this year. And that evening, most of all, they wanted to see KSI box. They’d heard about Prime, the drink that KSI helped launch in the UK and that was so in demand some shops charged £20 ($37) a bottle. They’d seen his beefs with other internet personalities and the scorn he’d thrown at the misogynistic influencer Andrew Tate. But one Saturday in January, a 12,500-strong audience at Wembley Arena had no doubt. Do you know who KSI is? When I asked my friends this question, most of them looked blank.

Hate by tate james read online