Unpacking ‘Fascist Fitness’ & Reclaiming Gym Culture from the Far Right - Colin Davis | Rapid Response #15

In many ways, the big story in the aftermath of the 2024 election in the U.S. was: young men. Mainstream media was aflurry in conversations about how the Dems lost boys, how the manosphere and male-centric podcasters swung the election in favor of Donald Trump. Correlated to this phenomenon was the fact that gym culture, weightlifting in particular, because an online vector through which young men developed communities within the right-wing ecosystem. Ideas about power and “being a man” became key talking points in these groups.

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Note: I’m sorry for my blown-out audio. Substack, it seems, did me dirty in how it processed my audio during this live conversation. I’ve never had this problem in the past, but I’m trying to get to the bottom of it for future Live episodes. Fortunately Colin does most of the talking.

But it didn’t—and doesn’t—have to be this way. I’m reminded of country music’s deep roots in working class struggles, and how genre has drifted rightward over the past few decades. We may take for granted that weightlifting will breed toxic masculinity, but this is not a given. Today’s guest, Colin Davis, a fitness coach based in North Carolina, is testament to this. I found his work through some banger short-form videos where he thoughtfully (and punchily) shows how strength and masculinity might be unapologetically otherwise. And there’s an appetite for it too—over the past few months his Instagram account exploded from a few hundred followers to over 50,000. In this, I saw (and continue to see!) a major opportunity for leftists to build bridges, leading boys and men away from harmful, outdated ideas toward liberatory ones.

So I had him on the show to get into all of it.

BIO: Colin Davis is a fitness coach and content creator from North Carolina. Colin has been a coach for 6 years and makes content focused on gym culture and its connection to politics. Colin’s work centers around creating a voice for left leaning individuals in the fitness community and combatting gym bro stereotypes.

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