It starts simply enough – a new skincare routine and, perhaps, a haircut, an investment in a gym membership, and maybe a loose promise to become the best version of yourself. Easy.
But now, for a growing number of young men, both here and overseas, that’s no longer enough.
Today, boys as young as 10 are being swept into the world of “looksmaxxing” – a global online movement built around the relentless pursuit of physical perfection.
What was once considered a niche corner of the internet has “exploded” into the mainstream, reaching millions of “vulnerable males” through TikTok, YouTube and Instagram feeds, says Krista Fisher, a research fellow at the Movember Institute of Men’s Health in Melbourne.
She is researching the movement and says the fallout is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
“Looksmaxxing was a sub-community that originated and is tied to the manosphere,” Fisher tells The Detail.
“It once was a closed group of people online who discussed things related to physical appearance and optimising one’s physical appearance.
“But we’ve now seen the looksmaxxing community and looksmaxxing content reach mainstream social media platforms. It’s now much more accessible and reaching millions more young men than it once was.”
Among them are children.
“We’re seeing men as young as 10, 11 now engaging with some of this content on social media,” Fisher says.
The movement is built around the belief that a man’s appearance determines his success, happiness and value.
Followers talk about “softmaxxing” and “hardmaxxing”.
The “soft” end of the spectrum is relatively harmless – better sleep, healthier eating, exercise and self care, but the “hard” end encourages increasingly extreme behaviour.
Fisher says some young men are attempting to alter their appearance through dangerous and unproven methods, including injecting peptides and “bone-smashing”, which involves repeatedly striking parts of the face, particularly around the jawline, with a hammer, in the hopes of creating a more chiselled appearance.
The theory has gained traction online despite medical experts’ insistence that there is no evidence it works.
“No, there’s not,” Fisher says. “And in fact, there are risks associated with that.”
Those risks range from swelling and skin damage to potentially significant structural injuries.
Others are experimenting with unregulated substances and self-injected compounds in pursuit of the so-called ideal male face.
Leading the way is 20-year-old influencer ‘Clavicular’ – American Braden Eric Peters – who has amassed millions of followers and become one of the most recognisable faces of the movement, appearing on the cover of GQ magazine and modelling at Paris Fashion Week.
He recently told a podcast he makes up to NZ$350,000 a month, streaming on Kick, alone.
“Clavicular is a really good example of how looksmaxxing and looksmaxxers have now reached mainstream pop culture,” Fisher says.
“He often talks about looksmaxxing, tells his young male audiences about the things and behaviours that they should be doing to ascend as a man, to optimise their physical appearance, and talks about and pushes this idea that men’s physical attractiveness is the most important feature and most critical part of their worth and value to society.”
Alarmingly, she says, Clavicular has been open about drug use to achieve the perfect look, and during a livestream to fans in April, he suffered a reported overdose and was hospitalised.
“It is definitely cause for concern. It really is,” Fisher says.
Despite the incident, questions remain about whether the controversy has discouraged followers or simply fuelled his notoriety.
And therein lies the challenge, says Fisher, who notes that looksmaxxing taps into both appearance and vulnerability.
She says many of the young men drawn into these communities are already struggling with insecurity, low self worth and body image concerns.
“Body image insecurity is something that hasn’t really been talked about and is still heavily stigmatised for a number of men,” she says.
“We know that mental health challenges like anxiety or depression also lead them to be particularly vulnerable to finding guidance and community in these looksmaxxing online spaces.”
The danger, she says, is that the content doesn’t simply attract vulnerable young men; it can worsen those vulnerabilities.
“It’s definitely a cyclical effect,” she says. “There are vulnerabilities like personal insecurity or body-image concerns that may lead young men to engage with this content.
“But we also know that this content and looksmaxxing influencers are feeding and fuelling those insecurities and that sense of low self-worth.”
For many followers, the promise is seductive – be more attractive, gain more attention, find love, secure a job, and become successful.
In some ways, Fisher acknowledges, society has always rewarded certain physical traits, but she laments that social media has weaponised that reality.
“What we need to be encouraging young men to do is to accept themselves in the way that they are and be compassionate to themselves,” she says.
“You can strive to look after your health, and exercise. We know there are positive benefits to that.
“But the narrative that you are only worthy or successful or lovable if you look a certain way is incredibly harmful.”
The algorithms driving the trend are also under scrutiny.
Fisher says young men are battling a system designed to keep them watching, clicking and consuming.
“These tech companies, they have tremendous responsibility and power, and it’s so critical for us to remember and be aware of the fact that these young men are up against a billion-dollar system that is fuelled by an algorithm pushing this content towards them,” she says.
While greater regulation is needed, she says there are steps users can take immediately – from resetting algorithms to actively rejecting harmful content and influencers.
At the same time, she says men need to know that while there is nothing wrong with wanting to look their best, there is concern when their pursuit of perfection becomes relentless.
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