SchwiftySquwad

"'Quite possibly the nicest, most pleasant and creative group of internet people' - Alt Schwift X"

The SchwiftySquwad is a diverse international community of devoted followers of Sub-Saharan snowboard instructor Alt Schwift X. The fans are often known as Schwiftites, Schwifticles or Squwadders, the latter being used mainly by and referring to the members of the SchwiftySquwad Facebook group.

Origin
The term #schwiftysquwad was originally coined on June 3, 2017 by rogue AI, Hairless Oyster in the YouTube comments section on an Alt Schwift X video, where he sought to justify the inexplicable surplus W simply with the sentence "letters matter".

The hashtag was quickly adopted by other commenters and was eventually recognized and appreciated by Alt Schwift X, who described the emerging community as "bizarre and adorable" and affectionately stated that he could "get behind that".

On June 17, 2017 the infamous mollusk AI founded the SchwiftySquwad Facebook group adding Chilean baker and Schwift favourite Cata Thielemann, as the first member. In search for community, spiritual guidance and hydration advice, the users of the hashtag soon flocked in large numbers to the group.

History
The annals of Squwad history show, that the the first year was especially dramatic. The Squwad lived through riots and revolutions, and saw repeated deaths and resurrections of their spiritual leader. But the Schwift prevailed. It was a time marked by turmoil and trauma, feathers and blood.

Characteristics
The deep devotion to Alt Schwift X is the main characteristic of the Schwiftites.

In the Facebook group in particular the SchwiftySquwad has developed a specific and elaborate culture involving obscure jokes, puns and nonsense words used in ways only relevant or amusing to individuals within the group, which can often seem entirely incomprehensible to outsiders. In the group Schwiftites engage with each other in activities such as meme production, tangentially relevant discussions and various solo and collaborative projects. Examples of some of these projects can be seen on the SchwiftySquwad YouTube channel

An emotional Squwad initiation ritual is used in the Facebook group to secure the assimilation of new members, who often express elation and euphoria at being initiated. Many members however express the difficulty in explaining the nature of the group to family and friends, as these may react to the person's devotion to the group with confusion, apprehension or even distress.

Cult or illness?
Critics have described the culture of SchwiftySquwad as one of intellectual conformity and excessive reverence for Alt Schwift X, with some describing the group as having religious or cult-like tendencies. While some members fervently deny this(disputed), others seem to enthusiastically embrace the characterization.

Some members of SchwiftySquwad are known to neglect their daily responsibilities to participate in live streams. There have been accounts of extreme behaviors from fans trying to gain the idols' attention, even paying said idol just to have him say their name. Expressions of deep distress at not being able to participate as desired are not uncommon. Some speculate that these characteristics may be the symptoms of being infected with the virus causing Voice Crush Fever.