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Another day, another insane(ly concerning) internet trend you ought to know about: this time around it’s ‘looksmaxxing’ content, an offshoot of the self-improvement genre with a few key players. One of whom is known as ‘Clavicular’ (real name Braden Peters), a 20-year-old content creator who discusses smashing his bones to get a better jawline, seems to treat women like objects and who was recently seen partying in Miami with far right influencer Nick Fuentes and mega misogynist, Andrew Tate. Of course, they were dancing to Ye’s ‘Heil Hitler’. Seemingly without consequences.
Ok, so we appreciate that’s a lot to digest. But given that this content is on the rise – and extremely incel adjacent – and can have very real-world implications, and appears to be getting normalised, we reckon it’s time we all give it pause for thought…
Here’s what you need to know about looksmaxxers and one of its chief purveyors, Clavicular.
What is looksmaxxing?
You know how women have been subjected to impossible beauty standards for, like, ever? Well, unfortunately similarly unhealthy standards are now hitting men – hard. The pressure for young men to have sculpted jawlines, bulging bank accounts and a physique that wouldn’t look out of place on a Ken doll is well and truly on. There is a fixation on the traits and attributes that a certain flavour of male influencers claim all women are obsessed with, but which, in our experience, the majority of women aren’t actually that bothered about.
The proposed silver bullet to said beauty and life standards has been crowned ‘looksmaxxing’. The suffix ‘maxxing’ is now everywhere (see: sleepmaxxing for those working on an improved bedtime routine), but it first began in niche online incel communities, the largely male internet subculture built around resentment over perceived sexual rejection, and blossomed in self-improvement forums.
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Looksmaxxing essentially means aggressively optimising your appearance, with influencers happily cashing in on self-conscious boys and men, trying to shill them courses full of advice on the best methods to glow-up. It’s sort of akin to the way Andrew Tate’s Hustler’s University sold courses on how to be a professional toxic male (sorry, we mean lessons on financial independence and adopting serious self-discipline along the way).
In its softest form, looksmaxxing might mean gym routines, skincare tips, teeth whitening, hair transplants or saving up for cosmetic tweaks like fillers or jawline contouring – some of which, in moderation, can be fine! Who doesn't want white teeth and the buzz of exercise endorphins! But the darker corners of looksmaxxing culture go much further. We’re talking ‘bone smashing’ (yes, allegedly hitting your cheekbones or jaw in the belief it will stimulate growth), extreme calorie restriction to hollow out cheeks, dubious supplements, DIY orthodontics and obsessive facial measurements based on pseudo-scientific ideas about ‘canthal tilt’ or skull ratios. If it sounds like bullshit, that’s because it largely is.
Much of this ideology is rooted in the so-called ‘blackpill’ worldview, which claims that dating success is determined almost entirely by genetics and that women are biologically programmed to chase only the ‘top tier’ of men, who must all look and act a certain way. In these spaces, women are often reduced to status markers, prizes to be won once a man has ‘ascended’ and basically viewed as being on earth solely to provide sex, or become a submissive partner.
Cue: Clavicular.
Who is Clavicular and what is his vibe?
“Tired of being invisible to women? Tired of rejection? Tired of watching other guys who won the genetic lottery take what’s yours? Then pay attention,” Clavicular (real name Braden Peters) urges in one recent YouTube video, before going on to flog his “private community made for dedicated individuals seriously willing to do whatever it takes to ascend”. It costs just $49 per month to join.
In a recent GQ interview (one of many high-profile pieces on Clavicular that have dropped of late), the 20-year-old recalled growing up in a pretty normal American family, but having had various obsessions throughout his life (from specific toys to working out) – over time, this, he says, is how his fixation with self-improvement took hold in his teenage years. In large part thanks to a website, Looksmax.
Clavicular has described himself as a “lab rat of the [looksmaxxing] community”, willing to try anything in order to ascend and now claims he is infertile owing to the cocktail of drugs he has tried along the way.
First, Clavicular says he began by examining body ratios, consuming endless online content about muscle growth, facial symmetry and more, before moving on to prescribing himself (and others) with alleged cures. He then housed this type of content under an online alias, Clavicular, inspired by the collarbone (also called a clavicle).
His content is shockbait to a tee (like clickbait, only… more confronting), algorithm-friendly and engineered to prey on insecurity, and regularly amasses hundreds of thousands of views. Think hyper-edited TikToks analysing male celebrities’ bone structure, muscle flexing videos, and issuing blunt (in his opinion) ‘truths’ about what women supposedly want. He frequently frames empathy, softness or emotional intelligence as weaknesses, instead pushing dominance, detachment and aesthetic perfection as the route to power.
Clavicular has also courted controversy for appearing alongside – and seeming to publicly align himself with – far-right and openly misogynistic figures. Clips of him socialising with Nick Fuentes and Andrew Tate, chanting along to Ye’s ‘Heil Hitler’ have prompted backlash over the company he keeps and the ideologies that bleed into his messaging.
Critics argue that while Clavicular markets himself as a self-improvement coach, his rhetoric often mirrors talking points common in extremist online spaces: that feminism has ‘ruined’ dating, that men are owed access to women’s bodies, and that what some label his cruelty is actually just realism.
He has, at various points, brushed off criticism as simply being people unwilling to face hard truths. But detractors point out that what he’s really doing, when it all boils down, is monetising young men’s body dysmorphia – and encouraging risky, unproven physical practices – in the process. Oh, as well as just relentlessly saying anything to game the algorithm, harmful or not.
Why should we be worried about this?
There’s a few concerning things to consider here:
- The harm this whole mindset is causing men and boys (physically, mentally, emotionally and financially)
- The normalisation of casual misogyny and viewing women as objects who owe men sex (and encouraging disdain towards them)
- The numbing and dumbing down as a whole, plus acceptance of shockbait content and which then softly becomes normalised
On the first point: repeatedly striking your own face, crash dieting, taking supplements without consulting a medical professional or obsessively scrutinising your features can have very real health consequences. Add to that the psychological toll of constantly believing you are genetically inferior, and you’ve got a recipe for anxiety, depression and body dysmorphia.
On the second: when influencers frame women as gatekeepers withholding something men are entitled to, it feeds a culture of resentment. Research into incel communities has repeatedly highlighted links between online misogyny and offline hostility. Even if most followers never act violently, normalising contempt chips away at empathy.
And finally, shock sells. The more outrageous the claim – “women only want Chads [Chads meaning classically handsome men]” or “smash your bones to ascend” – the more likely it is to be shared, stitched and debated. Platforms reward engagement, not nuance. Which means teenage boys and men scrolling for gym tips can quickly find themselves in an echo chamber telling them their worth is measured in millimetres of jawbone or by their financial status.
This isn’t about mocking insecure young men – as women and girls, we know how hurtful it is to have your appearance scrutinised to the nth degree and to feel you can’t live up to an impossible standard. It’s about asking why a generation raised on filtered perfection is being told the solution is self-inflicted pain and misogyny wrapped up as discipline, and how we can stop it.
Looksmaxxing might be packaged up and sold on by some as empowerment, but scratch the surface, and it looks a lot like the same old toxic beauty culture women have been battling for decades. Only rebranded for boys... which it benefits neither gender.
Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK's multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She's grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published author, documentary consultant (helping to create BBC’s Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women’s Health, ELLE and numerous other publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.
