Your teen is likely seeing ‘looksmaxxing’ content online. Here’s what you need to know

Sam Pratt was around 13 when he first saw people talking about “looksmaxxing” on YouTube.

The philosophy behind it seemed “pretty logical,” said Pratt, now 17 and attending high school in Constance Bay, Ont., a suburb of Ottawa.

“Attractive people are treated better in society,” he said. The idea is “just taking care of yourself and improving your looks as much as possible to gain a social advantage.”

Looksmaxxing is an online subculture based around the idea that, in order to be successful in romantic partnership and life in general, boys and men should work actively to improve their appearance.

On the more moderate side of things, “softmaxxing” looks like normal self-care efforts — getting a decent haircut, treating acne, eating better and working out.

But on the extreme, some “hardmaxxers” inject peptides and steroids, get plastic surgery or engage in “bone smashing” — hitting themselves in the face with knuckles or even hammers in the hope microfractures will heal over to create more well-defined bones.

Aidan Walker, a culture writer based in Arlington, Va., said looksmaxxers call the process of improving their appearance “ascending.”

“They’ll often post these videos that’ll be like pre-ascension and it’ll be a pimply faced teenager,” he told Front Burner host Jayme Poisson, whereas the “fully looksmaxxed” person will have clear-skin, a muscular physique and a sharper jawline.

If a child who is engaging in looksmaxxing also displays signs of anxiety, excessive worry and depression, or if they begin to withdraw from school, friends and activities they normally enjoy, parents should seek medical assessment, said Vancouver psychiatrist Dr. Shimi Kang, author of The Tech Solution: Creating Healthy Habits for Kids Growing Up In a Digital World.

Here’s what parents and other concerned adults need to know about looksmaxxing and how to talk about it with youth.

Where looksmaxxing came from

Alhough the term was coined between 10 and 15 years ago — and may draw its nomenclature from a combination of gaming and incel culture — it’s gone much more mainstream these last few years, said Walker.

That’s largely in parallel with the rise of well-known looksmaxxing influencer Braden Peters, a 20-year-old from Hoboken, N.J., who goes by the nickname “Clavicular.”

Since he was 14, Peters has posted about his own looksmaxxing efforts on platforms that have changed with the evolution of the internet.

“He went from the forums to Reddit to X to TikTok and now to livestreaming platforms like Kick and Twitch,” said Walker.

Peters has not only bone-smashed and worked out, but also taken hormones to the point that his body apparently no longer produces testosterone, said Walker. Peters talks openly about being on testosterone replacement therapy as a result.

Peters has also said in various interviews in late 2025 that he’s taken meth to suppress appetite, and that he plans to get a $35,000 US jaw surgery.

The attention stemming from these and other actions have netted big financial gains, including a reported $100,000 US from streaming platform Kick in January alone. On his website, Peters also sells a membership to a private academy where he purports to teach his looksmaxxing methods.

Peters has been seen partying with Nick Fuentes, who openly praises Adolf Hitler and pushes a white Christian nationalism on his livestream America First, and with Andrew Tate, a self-described misogynist influencer charged with a range of crimes in multiple countries including Romania, where he and his brother remain under indictment for rape and human trafficking. 

But parents who want to engage their kids on looksmaxxing may not want to start by mentioning these more alarming associations. For example, Jonathon Reed cautions against bringing up connections to involuntary celibate (incel) culture in initial conversations with teens who are curious about looksmaxxing.

Reed is the director of programs at Next Gen Men, a Canadian nonprofit that works with middle- and high-school aged boys and aims to change how masculinity is viewed.

“People remember the Toronto van attack that was perpetrated by a self-described incel,” said Reed, “and it doesn’t really do me any favours to have a young man who’s thinking about or engaging in different looksmaxxing beliefs or behaviours thinking I’m judging him with the same level of vitriol or negative thinking that we think of someone would who would perpetrate mass violence.”

Average teen may not agree with ‘Clavicular’ 

Pratt said many teenagers like him also draw a line between moderate efforts to looksmaxx and Clavicular-style rhetoric.

“It’s the philosophy that, you know, if you’re not at the top percentile, you should be pursuing every method available to achieve your perfect looks, which I don’t necessarily entirely agree with.”

Pratt said Peters “promotes a lot of division among people.” 

Consuming looksmaxxing content just made Pratt more proactive about his own appearance and wellness, he said.

“Initially it simply inspired me to go be more active, take care of myself, better hygiene, that sort of stuff.”

Pratt said he’s since become more devoted to a healthy diet and working out, and to the science behind those subjects.

Maxxing, mewing and mogging?

Your teen may use some mystifying vocabulary to describe looksmaxxing practices, like “mewing,” which — despite the name — does not involve making cat-like sounds.

It’s an exercise that involves pressing the tongue firmly to the roof of the mouth for intervals such as 20-seconds, done primarily for a stronger jaw, a practice without much evidence to support it, especially in adults.

However, in a similar vein, looksmaxxers may also talk about the importance of avoiding mouth breathing, which research has shown negatively impacts dental and facial development and has other health risks. 

“Mog” is a term used in the context of extreme looksmaxxers who aim to outdo one another in order to be considered the alpha male of the group.

“So to mog is to look better than somebody in some public environment,” said Walker. “Frame mogging” is to look better than someone else in the frame of a photo, video or livestream.

WATCH | What goes down on looksmaxxing forums:

How looksmaxxing can harm young men and boys

What’s behind this

Kyle T. Ganson, an assistant professor of social work at the University of Toronto whose research areas include muscle dysmorphia among boys and young men, said he’s currently analyzing interviews conducted with looksmaxxers. 

That research is in its early stages and not yet peer reviewed. But Ganson, who has a PhD in social work, said his subjects reported a range of motivations from enhancing career prospects to attracting partners. Among them there’s no one definition or set of behaviours that defines looksmaxxing.

But he said there’s an undercurrent, especially among young men, of feeling like they’re being left behind in a changing world where it appears their economic and romantic prospects are diminished compared to previous generations.

Looksmaxxing is a way to “regain some level of control and social capital in a world that feels like it’s sort of slipping between their fingertips,” Ganson said.

Noting that gay men have long held each other to a high standard of physical appearance, Amin Ghaziani, a professor of sociology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, said it’s unsurprising boys and men would seek to “perform” a version of their gender that’s explicitly masculine. 

“Even in gay male communities, masculinity is something that’s highly valued, and effeminacy as a result carries stigma,” saif Ghaziani, who is also Canada Research Chair in Urban Sexualities. 

He also said that as 2SLGBTQ+ visibility increased over time, men felt a more “liberty to experiment with how they present themselves as gendered beings in ways that maybe were less permissible in the past.” 

Ghaziana said the rise of the “metrosexual” — a term coined in the mid 1990s to describe a well-groomed straight man — made it more permissible for straight men to care about their appearance in ways that were stereotypically associated with queerness before.

Navigating the conversation

As for how to talk about looksmaxxing with kids, Ganson said parents may be most successful if they approach with “respectful curiosity” instead of emphatic warnings to steer clear.

He said parents could open the conversation by mentioning reading an article on the topic or try something observational like: “I noticed you really have been focusing on your looks lately.”

Kang said sharing something about your own experiences with body image issues — or with being influenced — can also be a good way in. 

As for how to tell if your own kid’s interest in looks is becoming unhealthy, Kang said it’s good to keep in mind that children with emerging or already established mental health issues “are more likely to get into that rabbit hole … spending more time online and being influenced.”

She suggests parents seek medical assessment for their child if they display signs of anxiety, excessive worry and depression or if they begin to withdraw from school, friends and activities they normally enjoy.

Same goes for excessive time in front of the mirror, critical comments about their appearance and substance abuse, including excessive use of ADHD medications for unhealthy weight loss, said Kang.

If you or someone you know is struggling, here’s where to look for help: