How a group of Japanese business men in suits became a beloved cheerleading squad

While in the U.S. you might see your fair share of men in suits driving to work, getting coffee, or riding the subway, in Japan you’ll also see them flying through the air, especially as Cheer Re-Man’s continue to make their mark.

Cheer Re-Man’s is a Japanese all-male cheerleading squad made entirely of Japanese “salarymen,” as they’re known, which “includes all white-collar male employees, whether newly recruited graduates or seasoned middle-managers,” according to Venture Japan. Salarymen work in corporate jobs, often fields like tech, real estate, and banking. They’re known in particular for the suits they wear to work. What’s different about Cheer Re-Man’s, however, is that they also wear suits when they’re done with work for the week–the squad’s name is “a mash-up of ‘cheerleading’ and ‘salaryman’,” Reutersshares–and they rehearse routines specifically in Uniqlo’s stretch suits so they can easily execute the gymnastic feats they’ve become known for since the squad began in 2023. There are no pom-poms here, but tons of tumbling, intricately synchronized dance moves, and stunt after stunt after stunt as these men leap–or get thrown!--into the sky, all while wearing suits and ties.

Cheer Re-Man's on Britain's Got Talent, Semi Finalswww.youtube.com

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Cheer Re-Man’s is made up of alumni from Waseda University in Shinjuku, Japan. Waseda has a lauded all-male cheerleading team called Shockers, which even travels all the way to the U.S. for competitions. For example, the latest team of Shockers recently competed in the 2025 National Cheerleaders Association All-Star National Championship event “Battle in the Arena.” But when a particular group of Shockers graduated, they still missed the sport, and decided to start their own cheerleading squad while working their office jobs. Now numbering at about 30 people, they’re aged between 22-31. Cheer Re-Man’s have since become so beloved they were even in a Uniqlo commercial wearing the very suits they perform in, not to mention a recent out-of-this-world performance on Britain’s Got Talent that left judges delighted, in awe, and speechless. They also auditioned for Spain’s Got Talent in 2024.

Salarymen are known for their dedication and loyalty to a company, and this group of men live regular salarymen’s lives during the week– “commuting in crowded trains, working late and going out drinking with colleagues,” as Reutersshared–but on the weekends they rehearse in a gym they share with a local college women’s cheerleading squad, and perform all over Tokyo. So yes, they’re dedicated to their jobs, but they also make time for joy, suits and all.

“We want to show the world that everyone can chase a dream,” they said on Britain’s Got Talent, where they ultimately made it to the semi-finals. Cheer Re-Man’s ultimate dream is to perform all over the world. Everywhere they go they seem to enchant and amaze–during their Britain’s Got Talentaudition, for example, they performed for a crowd's gleeful uproar in part to the James Bond theme song, no less.

And what’s not to love? They’re a high-flying (sometimes up to 23 feet in the air), original, athletic, acrobatic, and talented group that’s full of life. Every time they perform, airborne in a suit and tie, they show us what it looks like to shoot for the stars.

Cheer Re-Man's on Britain's Got Talent, Auditionwww.youtube.com