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What Is The 'Quarter Zip' Trend On TikTok? Men Ditching Their Nike Techs For Quarter Zips And Matcha Explained
Men across TikTok and Instagram are ditching their Nike tech sweatsuits and buying quarter zip sweaters as part of a new viral trend. This "Quarter Zip Trend," as it's being called, is cosmically tied to this year's matcha craze as well.
Male influencers across social media are posting quarter zip memes and video skits, but why? Where did the trend start, and what does it mean?
Let's explain why men are becoming "Quarter Zip Dudes" and dive into the trend's meaning and origin.
What Is The 'Quarter Zip' Trend?
A "quarter zip" is a type of sweater that has a zipper going a quarter of the way down its length from the neck. In 2025, a quarter zip is common white-collar business attire. Wall Street and other financial districts around the globe have become synonymous with the style.
This classy perception is what fuels the "Quarter Zip" trend. Basically, men are urging other men to wear quarter zips to feel and appear professional, often in the hopes of attracting a mate or furthering their aspirations by "looking the part."
According to the trend and its proponents, the antithesis of the quarter zip is the Nike tech sweatsuit, popular among young men and so-called "YNs."
In fact, much of the trend is entrenched in AAVE slang and Black stereotypes, because Black men are predominantly the ones pushing the quarter zip movement at the moment.
@mybmikey burn all nike techs 2025 #matcha #quarterzip #performative #niketech #grownman ♬ original sound – mikey !
Who Started The 'Quarter Zip' Trend?
The 2025 trend was largely started by a TikToker named Jason Gyamfi (@whois.jason), who shared a video at the start of November, in which he called himself a "quarter zip dude," continuing, "I don't do that Nike tech stuff, what y'all little boys do. I can't do that. I'm elegant. I'm classy."
In a follow-up video, Gyamfi is seen with a friend. They're both donning navy blue quarter zips and sipping matcha outside. "We don't do Nike techs and coffee no more," read the caption.
@whois.jason Simple as that. #quarterzip #perfomative #niketech #grownman ♬ original sound – Jason Gyamfi
@whois.jason @Richdafifth life different when u gotta quarter zip #matcha #quarterzip #performative #niketech ♬ original sound – Jason Gyamfi
Even though Gyamfi was instrumental in giving the trend motion this month, a TikToker named Apna (@apnaj) actually beat him to the punch months earlier. Back in February 2025, he posted a video that basically followed the exact same premise.
"Guys wear a quarter zip and change their whole personality" was the video's caption. Its male character is shown in casual attire at the beginning and is heard complaining about his girl gifting him a quarter zip instead of a Nike tech.
However, when he puts on that sweater, his whole demeanor changes. He becomes hilariously business-minded and driven by the grindset.
@apnaj So anyone need financial advice? #apnaj ♬ original sound – Apna
Apna was ahead of his time and even posted his video a week before the since-famous "I'm a Matcha Guy" video, which Jason Gyamfi's "I'm a Quarter Zip Dude" video is heavily based on. It was posted by TikToker Kyle Umemba back in February and largely started the matcha craze this year.
In it, he humorously announced that he had switched from matcha to coffee. "I know the white girls been on this for years," he said. "Relax, chill, breathe, have a matcha."
Umemba's light-hearted flex established the green drink as a status symbol for straight men, ultimately leading to a lot of guys adopting the "matcha method" to attract women. Of course, this led to the infamous "Performative Male" archetype that fully manifested over the summer (with a matcha in hand).
@kyleumemba I’m a Matcha 🥷🏿 now
How Is The 'Quarter Zip' Trend Spreading In Memes?
The quarter zip has become a symbol of wealth and sophistication in online jokes. Mostly Black men are sharing video skits about what happens when they choose the sweater over the Nike tech. They start talking and acting differently. Many of the scenarios they paint have the characters inching closer to stereotypical whiteness.
Some creators have pushed back on the trend, like TikToker @nnmdee, who said, "The quarter zip trend is internalized racism at this point. It was funny at first too. It's always 'it's never that serious' until it gets that serious."
Others have taken a different angle by standing by the Nike tech. One TikToker named @aniyonjoness showed his friend wearing a "Nike quarter tech zip," which was just a Nike hoodie zipped down a little bit to show the kid's shirt and tie.
TikToker @dev0nti_ took the pushback to the Nth degree, seen smashing a matcha latte on the ground in his video and proclaiming that he'll die in his Nike tech.
@aniyonjoness he swear he thurl @floydyt3 #fyp #quarterzip #xyzbca #performative ♬ original sound – Jason Gyamfi
@dev0nti_ quarter zip K #Dev0nti #fyp #imwallin? #quarterzip #matcha ♬ original sound – Dev0nti
What Are Some More 'Quarter Zip' Memes?
@ilikehaskell 😜
@multimedia2012 Okay Bro We Get The Vision 🤣📲✌🏽 #funny #quotes #quarterzip #matcha ♬ Lil Melo – ayerp
@obenaa11 feeling business casual #quarterzip #businesscasual #hb #relatable #niketech ♬ BROMANCE – Zukenee
@rip.juice92 Add a catchy title #humorous #fyp #fypシ #quarterzip ♬ оригинальный звук – uzieditzz
@siradiotv #fyp ♬ original sound – SiradioTv
@akintwins Climbing up the corporate ladder ain’t easy #quarterzip #performative #grownman #mensfashion #success ♬ life is incredible again – Mr Incredible
@troitroii__ Matcha boys , none of that artificially flavored stuff 😂😂😍!! #quarterzip #fyp #fypシ #nyc ♬ original sound – TroiTroi
For the full history of the Quarter Zip Trend, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's entry for even more information.
