Last week “Secretary He called “War of War” Pete Hegseth “provincial” in America’s military. Every “warrior” will now have to train every day and pass a fitness test twice a year. Likewise, you won’t see provincial generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon.”
Equating physical appearance with combat-ready courage became a consistent talking point in Hegseth and other Republican circles. In August, Hegseth and U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. started the “Pete and Bobby Challenge” on their social media feeds, completing 100 push-ups and 50 pull-ups with the goal of finishing in five minutes. (Within hours of publication left wing account started making fun of kennedy pull up form And it makes me question his decision to wear denim while working out.)
Young Men After Voting turned over With nearly 30 points going for Trump in the last election, the fight for their attention has taken center stage in the culture wars of American politics. The two parties are competing for half of the men. Most fitness-focused generation in recent memory.
There’s nothing inherently right-wing about weight lifting, but fitness influencers have been at the forefront of the right-wing shift among young people in recent years. The content of the movement represents the main block of the so-called aspiration. But a small but rapidly growing subset of their progressive gym brethren are moving into the online fitness space, and influential figures on the left are taking note.
Colin Davis, 24, from North Carolina, is one of them. In a series of videos shared to Tiktok and Instagram, Davis highlights his massive biceps under Dim Lighting and performs dumbbell bench presses to heavy metal music. He also posted about his left-wing beliefs.
Davis Captions one video Almost 60,000 likes. From Tiktok posts you liked 187,000 timesHe leans against a squat rack as he discusses the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. and the value of political protest.
Davis first went viral when she published it in April. own video Sitting on a lawn chair in the middle of the woods, I mock the “warrior” culture that has grown to dominate many male-oriented fitness spaces. “You’re not a warrior, you’re not a protector, you’re not a defender of your homeland. You’re a guy who lifts weights and runs a few times a week,” he says as the camera deadpans.
Aesthetic but The similarities between Davis’ content and the one that comes from the flood of “Trad” fitness flooding the Instagram and Tiktok feeds of many young people are undeniable. Often includes compilation video From men flexing their muscles, we cut between clips mocking partying women, body positivity influencers, and gay men. “Embrace Masculinity,” one such video emblem in the center of the screen.
