Popular "looksmaxxing" influencer Clavicular has become the poster boy for the dangerous trend targeting young boys and men. Photo / Instagram
An American influencer known for the dangerous techniques he used to “maximise” his appearance has stormed out of a televised interview with a 60 Minutes reporter.
Braden Eric Peters, an American content creator who goes by the moniker “Clavicular” – named after the favourite part of his body, the clavicle (collarbones) – has amassed a following after sharing the questionable and even dangerous methods he used to achieve his chiselled look.
Dubbed “looksmaxxing”, the trend targets adolescent and young men who are trying to improve their physical appearance.
It also advocates for the use of drugs and surgery, with some even turning to self-harm to change their facial features.
Some men who take part in looksmaxxing will rely on “bone smashing” – taking a hammer and repeatedly striking their cheeks and jaw bones to create micro fractures, which they believe can help reshape the face.
The trend first sparked mainstream attention in 2023, with Clavicular being one of the most well-known and outspoken in the space, amid a flurry of warnings from experts who say the dangerous substances and methods used could cause serious harm.
Sunday night’s episode of 60 Minutes Australia decided to delve “inside the dangerous trend taking over the feeds of young men”, and spoke to the 20-year-old who lives in Florida.
But during a tense on-air moment with reporter Adam Hegarty, Clavicular walked out of the interview after being challenged on the looksmaxxing community’s link to a range of misogynistic subcultures, including incels, also known as involuntary celibates – men who blame women for their non-existent sex lives – and Andrew Tate.
“I’m not linked to that group in any way,” Clavicular said, visibly disgusted at the idea of being associated with incels.
“Looksmaxxing is self-improvement, right? So it’s about potentially ascending out of that category and so that would be one of the goals, to disassociate from being an incel and overcome that.”
Hegarty continued with his line of questioning, with the young man abruptly ending the interview when he mentioned Tate, a self-proclaimed “misogynist” influencer who is set to stand trial for alleged human trafficking in Romania.
“You’ve obviously shared company with Andrew Tate and others, dare I say, rather controversial figures. Why do you spend time with people like that?” Hegarty asked.
“All right, have a nice day,” Clavicular replied, before adding: “I see you want to make this political.”
After attempting to claim Hegarty – who isn’t married – had been “cheated” on by his wife, he stood up and walked over to his livestream set-up.
Before the interview was derailed, Clavicular had discussed how he turned to bone smashing and drugs, be it injecting steroids or taking methamphetamine, to achieve his desired look.
Clavicular, whose parents are former bodybuilders, claims to have started taking steroids at 14 years old.
“There’s no reason for me to go to the gym and work out in any way other than the most efficient one, and that was with anabolic steroids. So it’s sort of like a cheat code,” he said.
Another “looksmaxxer” featured on the episode was 21-year-old Queenslander Nocturnal Ken, who takes part in bone smashing, eating 500g of sugar every day and wears makeup. He said he learned about the controversial and dangerous method from the internet.
“A lot of people don’t understand how it works,” he told 60 Minutes.
“Bone smashing. What a horrible term. What it really is, is applying a controlled mechanical stress to bone tissue to grow it.”
However, these claims have been shot down by aesthetic surgeon Angie Taras, who described the practices as “shocking”.
“There’s just absolutely no scientific evidence behind most of the things that they are talking about,” she said.
Taras said bone smashing was also an unhelpful method in changing the shape of the face, as it leads to temporary swelling and bruising, not permanently changing the shape of the skull.
She also argued many of the before-and-after pictures used in looksmaxxing posts were likely down to puberty and secret aesthetic treatments.
“Well, puberty’s happened. So their faces changed anyway,” she said.
“Sometimes you … wonder if they’re getting other treatments as well that they’re not talking about. So it could be a combination of both those things.”
Clinical psychologist Zac Seilder said the looksmaxxing trend was “really concerning” and “nihilistic”.
He said the online movement was “telling young guys that life is hopeless” and they wouldn’t be able to succeed in their careers, get a romantic partner or make friends without looksmaxxing.
“It’s all about winning and competitiveness and, really, sadly, what it leads to is self-destruction,” he said.
Seilder said the dangerous online trend provided an opportunity to unpack the psychology behind the young men taking part in looksmaxxing.
“We know that lots of them come from trauma backgrounds,” he told 60 Minutes.
“Like, what is driving a 14-year-old to start to inject steroids, use meth, smash themselves with a hammer?”
He said young boys and men who follow in Clavicular’s footsteps were “victims” and in desperate need of empathy.
“They are being played at an extremely vulnerable age when all they want is to fit in,” he said.
“It just so happens that it is supercharged because of our tech platforms.”
While Clavicular is best known for his dangerous and severe methods, he also peddles many opinions which have been labelled misogynistic.
The influencer was arrested on battery charges in South Florida in late March, with police alleging he and his 24-year-old girlfriend were involved in an attack against a 19-year-old woman at a rental property.
Police later determined he “instigated the fight”, which he filmed and posted online to “exploit the two women”.
Sign up to Herald Premium Editor’s Picks, delivered straight to your inbox every Friday. Editor-in-Chief Murray Kirkness picks the week’s best features, interviews and investigations. Sign up for Herald Premium here.