“Hustler’s University is the greatest thing that exists on the planet for people who are trying to escape the Matrix. I will show you how,” says Andrew Tate, standing beside the world’s most expensive car, a Bugatti Veyron.
“It makes it impossible to not make money”, adds a recent graduate. “When you’re surrounded by millionaires money just falls into your bank account”.
“You are finally in the right place at the right time. You are the only person who can make this work. And you are also the only person who can f*ck this up”, says Tate, pointing at the camera.
I paused the video. I had enrolled in the online business course set up by the controversial influencer accused of human trafficking and rape.
For those unaware Andrew Tate is a former kickboxer, reality TV contestant and social media influencer, who gained notoriety over the years for peddling misogynistic views.
Originally called Hustler’s University, his online course is sold as an ‘academy’ where members pay a monthly membership fee in exchange for advice on how to make a passive income from several online industries.
The course was rebranded to Hustler’s University 2.0, then 3.0 and then briefly shut down after Tate’s social media ban.
It has since been relaunched, again, as ‘The Real World’.
When you enter the site you are met with the slogan “Join us. Amass wealth. Escape Slavery.”
After clicking through, you are asked to enter your bank details and ‘escape slavery’ for £40 a month.
Upon entering, users are given a choice of online courses including cryptocurrency, e-commerce and drop shipping for Amazon – where you make money by acting as a middle-man between buyers and sellers without selling an actual product.
The idea is members of the course will learn to make money through ‘side hustles’ or having a ‘passive income’, where you can escape working the nine-to-five – or as Andrew Tate calls it, ‘escaping the Matrix’.
Tate frequently refers to the world of the Matrix, the alternate, fake reality of the Keanu Reeves film where computers control people through an intricate web of lies.
There is also the option of the ‘freelancing’ course, where you are encouraged to make fake Tiktok accounts and post videos of Tate.
These videos, in turn, ask viewers to join ‘The Real World’ with a small percentage of the course fee paid back for successful signups.
A man stands outside the Court of Appeal during the hearings for the Tate brothers
Newly enrolled members of the course repeat this process.
Despite being arrested for sex trafficking and being banned from multiple social media platforms, Tate’s misogynistic views continue to circulate – just a scroll away from anyone with a smartphone.
The ‘Real World’ is run through the online instant messaging platform Discord, which has numerous channels where members of the course talk to each other about making money or their ‘big wins’.
One member claimed he had as many as 1,000 fake Tate Tiktok accounts. Another said he had been posting videos of Tate on Instagram for months without success, until one of his videos eventually went viral and a viewer signed up to the course using his affiliated link.
Police officers escort Andrew Tate outside the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) where prosecutors examine electronic equipment confiscated during the investigation in their case, in Bucharest, Romania
