Introduction
In November 2016, white nationalists gathered in Washington, DC for their movement’s first major US conference following Trump’s election victory. The National Policy Institute (NPI) event attracted “almost 275” participants according to The Washington Post, and would make further headlines once footage surfaced of conference participants giving Nazi salutes after a “Hail Trump” speech. One defender of NPI leader Richard Spencer–whose racist and anti-Semitic speech provoked the salutes–was Twitter personality “Fascist Fitness”/@FashyFit, who wrote with the authority of someone who was there.
This article exposes Twitter user FashyFit as Patrick Nelson Sharp, one of the attendees of the November 2016 “Become Who We Are” NPI conference in Washington, DC. Patrick Sharp is best known for his attempt, in mid-2013, to form a White Student Union at Georgia State University (GSU) in Atlanta, where Sharp was starting his bachelor’s degree. We also drew attention to Sharp in our article about the white power propaganda campaign during Fall Semester 2015 at GSU. (Our article noted that Sharp traveled to DC for the NPI conference that year also.)
We’re spending time establishing that FashyFit is Patrick Sharp for two reasons. First, establishing that Sharp is responsible for FashyFit (plus an earlier, now-banned Twitter account) provides insight into Sharp’s offline activity. For example, Georgia State University newspaper The Signal suggested in a 2013 article that portraying Sharp as “fascist” was excessive, a sign that students had started “to lose patience.” If Patrick Sharp publishes on an explicitly “Fascist” account, however, this implies that calling him “fascist” is completely reasonable. (The Signal should have known this from the beginning however, since Sharp’s “White Student Union” was at first with the racist and fascist Traditionalist Youth Network — a fact The Signal also covered.)
The second reason for publishing this documentation is that online activity matters. FashyFit, with over 2,000 followers, is a modestly successful figure on “Alt-Right” Twitter. Knowing that FashyFit is white power activist Patrick Sharp may be useful to those studying far-Right online communities. However, this article limits itself to establishing that Patrick Sharp is FashyFit–we will draw out conclusions from this fact elsewhere.
The Accounts
- “Agree&Amplify”/@AgreeAndAmp
The “Agree&Amplify” Twitter account was established in June 2013. Before being suspended from Twitter in November 2015, it had grown to approximately 4,000 followers. Prior to suspension, AgreeAndAmp’s account had an icon of an outstretched white hand (reminiscent of a Nazi salute) next to its name. The page’s neon-color “vaporwave” profile picture incorporated a statue by Arno Breker—a sculptor favored by the Third Reich whose works have been described as “physical images of Nazi ideology”—in addition to a celtic cross, a symbol used by white nationalists.
The account’s profile stated: “Middle schooler (7th grade) beginning my journey within the Alt-Right and the PUA-sphere.” The acronym “PUA” stands for “Pickup Artist.” The phrase “agree and amplify” (the source of the Twitter account name) is a technique promoted in the pickup artist/“Game” subculture.
The claim that the user is in 7th grade is a running joke, clearly contradicted by other profile posts.
Finally, “Agree and Amplify” is the name of a track by “fashwave” artist Xurious, which may be a reference to the Twitter personality.
The account was suspended by Twitter in November 2016.
- “Fascist Fitness”/@FashyFit
The FashyFit account was launched in September 2016, originally posting a mixture of white nationalist, “Alt-Right” and fascist content with strength training/fitness memes. The account name satirizes the Planet Fitness franchise. The FashyFit account logo also rips off the Planet Fitness trademark, replacing the Planet Fitness “thumbs up” with a hand giving a Nazi salute, replacing the “Judgement Free Zone” motto with “The Judgement Zone.” The larger masthead for the Twitter account replaces a Planet Fitness building with an image of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. The masthead also includes the price $14.88 – “14” is shorthand for the “fourteen words” white power motto coined by terrorist David Lane, while “88” is alphanumeric code for “H.H.” or “Heil Hitler.”
With the end of the AgreeAndAmp twitter account, FashyFit started to include more general content, beyond the fascism – strength training theme. While the account biography has subsequently been changed, in late 2016 and early 2017 the account explicitly stated that it was “Formerly Agree&Amplify.” With the end of the AgreeAndAmp account, FashyFit asked on November 23, 2016 “Do I re-brand back to Agree&Amplify, or stay Fascist Fitness?” Evidently, the decision was to remain as “Fascist Fitness.”
While the FashyFit account shares Third Reich imagery and reposts material from neo-Nazi organizations, its true ideological center is “Alt-Right” white nationalism, with the influence of “Identitarian” ideas from the European New Right particularly strong.
Identity of AgreeAndAmp/FashyFit and Patrick Sharp
We now set out the extensive evidence that Patrick Sharp is responsible for the “Agree&Amplify” plus “Fascist Fitness” Twitter accounts.
- Hometown and Family Life
Patrick Sharp grew up in Birmingham, Alabama and is the child of divorced parents. Indeed, Sharp published on the white supremacist website Stormfront.org that his father was a “really sort of a race traitor” for remarrying with a Filipino woman.
FashyFit bemoans being the child of divorced parents.
The person behind the Twitter account is also familiar with Birmingham.
- College Graduation & Classes
Patrick Sharp graduated from Georgia State University at the end of 2016, with a bachelor’s degree in Economics.
On November 30, 2016, FashyFit wrote about completing college.
Patrick Sharp attended an Advanced French Conversation and Composition class in his final semester at GSU [1]. The AgreeAndAmp online account demonstrated some level of comfort with the French language. For example, a screenshot from AgreeAndAmp reposted on the Chateau Heartiste blog (which covers the pickup artist/“Game” scene but also white nationalism) shows an exchange of messages that begins in French before switching to English.
FashyFit posted in December 2016 about completing a “12-page research paper” on the Spanish Civil War as part of his final semester. We do not presently have Patrick Sharp’s complete class schedule and cannot verify that Sharp attended a class where this would be an appropriate final paper (although at least one such class was offered to GSU undergrads during Fall.) However, Patrick Sharp has listed history as one of his key interests online, so such a class may have been attractive to him. Further, a strange online comment from Patrick Sharp writing under his “frozenpie77” moniker makes it clear that he has been fantasizing about the Spanish Civil War for years (we mentioned this online comment in a previous article about Sharp.)
(Note: a bachelor’s degree at Georgia State involves several classes taken outside of one’s major field, so none of the classes mentioned here are inconsistent with a degree in Economics.)
- Travel
- NPI Conference 2016
Patrick Sharp traveled to Washington DC for the National Policy Institute’s conference in November 2016. (Sharp was also filmed attending the NPI conference in October 2015.) While in DC last year, Patrick Sharp was photographed at an NPI pre-conference event posing with Hitler-loving, conspiracy-mongering reality “star” Tila Tequila.
Before the NPI conference, AgreeAndAmp tweeted that he would be there.
AgreeAndAmp also tagged Tila Tequila in a series of joking Twitter posts in the months before the NPI event.
As mentioned earlier, the FashyFit Twitter account also commented on the 2016 NPI salute controversy.
- European Trip, December 2016-January 2017
As documented in a memo obtained by our group, in mid-October 2016 Patrick Sharp discussed an upcoming trip to Germany while chatting with another nationalist in the Georgia State Library Courtyard [2].
FashyFit documented his travels to Europe on Twitter, a trip which lasted from December 21, 2016 to January 24, 2016. While FashyFit’s travels were not limited to Germany, Germany is where he spent most of his time.
- Atlanta-area Alt-Right Activity
Patrick Sharp is known to have increased his participation in face-to-face Alt-Right networking in the metro Atlanta region during 2016. For example, Sharp was recorded taking part in an Alt-Right outing to Stone Mountain Park outside Atlanta on September 10, 2016.
On October 3, 2016, FashyFit boasted of a different “Alt-Right meet-up that just happened in Atlanta” and posted a photo with faces obscured. Patrick Sharp appears in the right foreground of the photo, holding a cigar and kneeling on one knee.
- Common Interactions/Associations
The FashyFit account has interacted online with Jared Taylor, who heads the white nationalist American Renaissance project; National Policy Institute leader Richard Spencer; and Sam Hyde of Million Dollar Extreme comedy troupe and the now-canceled “World Peace” comedy show on Adult Swim network.
Patrick Sharp has known Jared Taylor since at least 2013, when they were introduced at that year’s American Renaissance conference. Sharp has also submitted comments on the American Renaissance website under several user names.
At the 2015 National Policy Institute conference, Patrick Sharp was pictured standing close to Richard Spencer, who was speaking at the podium. While it is too distant to make an identification with certainty, a photo from NPI in 2016 appears to show Patrick Sharp standing behind a table while Spencer (back turned) chats with others.
Patrick Sharp has interacted with Sam Hyde on Facebook, for example the comment below which Sharp posted to a longer rant by Hyde. Sharp has also posted to the Million Dollar Extreme page, again getting a reply.
While each of these interactions carries little evidential weight on its own, cumulatively the fact that FashyFit relates to several of the same personalities as Patrick Sharp, provides some reason to believe that they may be the same person.
- Political Inspirations
On at least two occasions, FashyFit has shown his support for French far-Right organization Action Française by retweeting their materials. The monarchist organization, which has its origins in the anti-Dreyfusards, is little-known in America. Nevertheless, FashyFit appears to be a fan.
Patrick Sharp has demonstrated his appreciation for Action Française–he has “liked” at least two images posted to a Facebook page for Action Française student militants (one of which seems to glorify violence against antifascists and LGBTQ individuals).
Coincidentally, an Action Française sticker was discovered on Georgia State University campus in September 2016, at a spot where other far-Right materials have appeared in the past.
Another inspiration is the “Identitarian” organization Generation Identitaire in France, which is the youth wing of the overall Bloc Identitaire movement. FashyFit has cited Generation Identitaire as a model for North American nationalists to emulate, and retweeted an image of Generation Identitaire street propaganda in France.
On Facebook, Patrick Sharp “liked” a photo of a Generation Identitaire anti-immigrant sticker, suggesting that he is familiar with and supports the movement. More importantly, when Bloc Identitaire president Fabrice Robert visited the United States in 2013 at the invitation of American Renaissance, Patrick Sharp expressed his appreciation on Facebook.
- Other Enthusiasms
In addition to racism and far-Right politics, AgreeAndAmp/FashyFit appears to have four main enthusiasms: the pickup artist/“Game” subculture, weight training, smoking cigars, and wearing short shorts. The “Game”/white nationalist website Chateau Heartiste cited AgreeAndAmp’s Twitter (and posted a screenshot) in an article on “Fash Game”–in other words, integrating fascist references within a pickup artist routine. References to weight training are ubiquitous on the FashyFit profile.
FashyFit has also posted about smoking cigars and wearing short shorts multiple times.
Patrick Sharp has left much evidence of his interest in the “Game”/Pickup Artist subculture. Using his “frozenpie77” moniker, Sharp commented numerous times on Return of Kings and Chateau Heartiste, two “Game” websites, during 2013. These comments are still easily retrievable via Google searches.
Sharp’s interest in weight training is evident partly from his appearance–his physique reflects some trips to the gym. But Patrick Sharp has also been explicit about his interest in weightlifting, for example writing about this on the Stormfront white power website in 2013.
Patrick Sharp can be seen smoking cigars in several photos, including one of Sharp and Jared Alexander Huggins (visible in a 2016 group shot of white nationalist Identity Evropa members, and therefore presumably a member) relaxing together in an Atlanta cigar lounge.
Patrick Sharp’s fondness for short shorts is well-known.
- Social Networking Imagery and Physical Appearance
During 2015, the profile image for Patrick Sharp’s Facebook account was Lewis Hine’s famous photograph “Power house mechanic working on steam pump” (1920).
On Feb 10, 2017, FashyFit posted an ugly “fashwave” remix of the same photo, redone to incorporate the “black sun” symbol used by esoteric fascists.
On December 11, 2016, FashyFit posted a physique pic, although with the head obscured to avoid identification. The photo was soon removed. The picture is consistent with Patrick Sharp’s physique.
Patrick Sharp is shorter than average (see the earlier photo of Sharp with the 4’11” Tila Tequila for reference.) It is possible that FashyFit is too, and alluded to this in a December 2, 2016 post.
- Musical Tastes
Finally, FashyFit has posted about his love for ‘80s musical acts Depeche Mode and New Order.
The FashyFit account also has a strange obsession with George Michael, and pretending that this musician was some sort of Alt-Right icon (and not a generous, gay man.) A small sampling of George Michael-related posts is below.
Patrick Sharp displays New Order and Depeche Mode as favorite musical acts on his Facebook profile.
Patrick Sharp’s step-mother also mentioned Patrick Sharp’s fondness for George Michael, after news of the singer’s death.
Conclusion
AgreeAndAmp/FashyFit has divorced parents and is knowledgeable about Birmingham, Alabama; he completed college in 2016 and wrote a history paper on the Spanish Civil War; he knows some French; he traveled to the National Policy Institute gathering in Washington, DC in November 2016, and to Germany in December 2016 and January 2017; he participates in Atlanta-area Alt-Right gatherings; he has interacted online with Jared Taylor, Richard Spencer, and Sam Hyde; he has circulated online materials from Action Française and Generation Identitaire; he likes the Pickup Artist subculture, weight training, cigars, and short shorts; he posted a remixed version of the famous “Powerhouse Mechanic” photo to Twitter; the physique pic he posted looks quite similar to Patrick Sharp, and he posted a comment to Twitter suggesting that he may be short; musically, he appreciates Depeche Mode, New Order and George Michael.
Patrick Sharp has divorced parents and grew up in Birmingham, Alabama; he graduated college at the end of 2016 and is interested in history, particularly the Spanish Civil War; his French is good enough to take an Advanced French Conversation and Composition class; he traveled to the National Policy Institute gathering in Washington, DC in November 2016, and in late 2016 was talking about an upcoming trip to Germany; he participates in Atlanta-area Alt-Right gatherings; he has met Jared Taylor and Richard Spencer, and at minimum has had internet exchanges with Sam Hyde; his Facebook history demonstrates clear sympathy for Action Française and Generation Identitaire; he likes the Pickup Artist subculture, weight training, cigars, and short shorts; the famous “Powerhouse Mechanic” photo was his Facebook profile pic in 2015; he has a similar physique to the photo posted by FashyFit to Twitter in December 2015, and his is less than average height; musically, he appreciates Depeche Mode, New Order and George Michael.
Fewer than 275 people attended the National Policy Institute gathering in November 2016. It strains the imagination to believe that multiple attendees shared all these similarities with AgreeAndAmp/FashyFit.
We conclude that only one does. Patrick Sharp is FashyFit.
NOTES
[1] Information from campus organizer at Georgia State University, name withheld.
[2] Memo from Georgia State University student (name withheld), records of Atlanta Antifascists.