Yet again, “Fratagonia bros” and polyamorous tech couples have proven to be easy targets. Comedian and actor Chris Fleming, known for his viral YouTube series Gayle and thought-provoking stand-up shows, took aim at Patagonia-clad “elder millennial couples” on Twitter and TikTok this week.
Speaking through a curly-haired, googly-eyed puppet, Fleming staged a series of conversations with three hypothetical (and presumably, hetero) couples, mocking the demographic’s proclivity toward “ethical non-monogamy.”
CEO of Patagonia pic.twitter.com/R1OL7AnczT
— Chris Fleming (@chrisfluming) January 8, 2023
The puppet was a floppy stand-in for Patagonia's founder—or, as Fleming put it, “the old guy who gave all of his money to rabbits, or whatever.” The former billionaire and founder of the outdoors brand decided to donate the company’s profits to fight climate change in September 2022.
Showing off a wardrobe of Patagonia puffers, Fleming’s puppet remarks that the peak-millennial outerwear brand is perfect for a couple to wear while hiking and discussing “opening things up.” When the male expresses interest in a threesome, his partner hems and haws: “You've been kind of busy, right, babe? Over at work at Dropbox?”
The next his-and-her set belongs to a couple who got married in 2018 and “walked down the aisle to Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.” They have an open relationship, but “only at tech conferences.”
The third and final Patagonians simply can’t stop kvelling about their gentrification fortress. Donning what else but another puffy jacket, they fawn over each other.
“Pinch me, am I dreaming? Is this really where I live? Still feels like a dream,” they say, at which point Fleming finally breaks character, remarking, “Well, it’s been like six years, dude, so maybe pull it together.”
Fair enough.