Your teen is probably viewing ‘looksmaxing’ content online. Here’s what you need to know

Sam Pratt was about 13 years old when he first saw people talking about “luxmaxing” on YouTube.

The philosophy behind it seems “very logical,” said Pratt, who is now 17 and attends high school in Constance Bay, Ontario, a suburb of Ottawa.

“Attractive people are treated better in society,” he said. The idea is to “simply take care of yourself and improve your appearance as much as possible to gain social benefits.”

Looksmaxing is an online subculture based on the idea that, to be successful in romantic partnerships and in life in general, boys and men must actively work on improving their appearance.

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

But at the extreme, some “hardmaxers” inject peptides And take steroids, get plastic surgery or engage in “bone breaking” – hitting themselves in the face with knuckles or even hammers, in the hopes that the microfractures will heal and more well-defined bones will form.

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

“They would often post videos that would be like before the rapture and it would be of a pimple-faced teenager,” he said. front burner host Jaime Poisson, while a “fully Maxxed” person would have clear skin, a muscular body and a sharp jaw.

Dr. Shimi Kang, a Vancouver psychiatrist and author, said parents should seek medical evaluation if a child who engages in luxemaxing also shows signs of anxiety, excessive worry, and depression, or if they begin to withdraw from school, friends, and activities they normally enjoy. Tech solutions: Building healthy habits for kids growing up in a digital world.

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

Where did Luxmaxing come from?

Although the term was coined 10 to 15 years ago — and may be named from the combination of gaming and incel culture — it has become more mainstream in the past few years, Walker said.

This largely parallels the rise of well-known lookmaxing influencer Braden Peters, a 20-year-old from Hoboken, NJ, who goes by the nickname “Clavicular.”

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

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

Peters has not only broken bones and worked out The hormones were taken to such an extent that his body was apparently no longer producing testosterone.Walker said. Peters talks openly about being on testosterone replacement therapy as a result.

Peters also said various interviews at the end of 2025 that he has taken meth to suppress his appetite, and that he is planning to undergo $35,000 US jaw surgery.

The attention generated by these and other actions has yielded large financial gains, including a reported $100,000 US from the streaming platform Kik in January alone. On his website, Peters also sells membership to a private academy where he intends to teach his luxemaxing methods.

Peters has seen partying with Nick Fuentes, who openly praises Adolf Hitler and promotes white Christian nationalism on his livestream America Firstand with Andrew Tate, a self-described Misogynistic influencer charged with multiple crimes in multiple countries Including in Romania, where he and his brother are under indictment on rape and human trafficking charges.

But parents who want to keep their kids engaged in luxmaxing may not want to start by mentioning these more dangerous relationships. For example, Jonathan Reed cautions against bringing connections to involuntary celibacy (incel) culture into early conversations with teens curious about luxmaxing.

Reid is the director of programs at Next Gen Men, a Canadian non-profit that works with middle and high school aged boys and aims to change the way they view masculinity.

Reid said, “People remember the Toronto van attack that was carried out by a self-described incel, and it really doesn’t do me any favors that if I’m thinking about a young person who has different appearances, beliefs or behaviours, or engaging in it, I’m judging them with the same level of vitriol or negative thinking as we think about someone who would commit mass violence.”

Average teen can’t agree with ‘clavicular’

Pratt said many teens like him also draw a line between LookMax’s liberal efforts and clavicular-style rhetoric.

“There’s this philosophy that, you know, if you’re not at the top percentile, you should follow every method available to achieve your perfect look, which I don’t completely agree with.”

Pratt said that Peters “promotes too much division between people.”

Consumption of lookmaxing content has made Pratt more proactive about her appearance and health, she said.

“Initially it motivated me to be more active, take care of myself, have better hygiene, things like that.”

Pratt said he has since become more dedicated to healthy eating and working out and the science behind those topics.

Maxing, meowing and mooing?

Your teen may use some mysterious terminology to describe luxmaxing practices, such as “meow,” which – despite the name – does not involve making cat-like sounds.

It is an exercise that involves pressing the tongue firmly to the roof of the mouth for an interval of 20 seconds, which is primarily done for a stronger jaw. A practice without much evidence to support itEspecially in adults.

However, similarly, lookmaxers can also talk about the importance of avoiding mouth breathing, as research has shown Negatively impacts teeth and facial development And have other health risks.

“Mog” is a term used to refer to highly visible people who aim to outdo each other in order to be considered the best. Alpha The male of the group.

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

what is behind this

Kyle T. Ganson, an assistant professor of social work at the University of Toronto, whose research areas include muscle dysmorphia in boys and young men, said he is currently analyzing interviews conducted with Luxmaxers.

This research is still in its early stages and has not yet been peer-reviewed. But Ganson, who has a PhD in social work, said her subjects reported a range of motivations, from enhancing career prospects to attracting partners. There is no single definition or set of behaviors that defines lookmaxing.

But he said there is a tendency among young men in particular to feel that they are being left behind in a changing world, where their economic and romantic prospects appear to have diminished compared to previous generations.

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

Amin Ghaziani, a sociology professor at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, said that while gay men have long held each other to a higher standard of physical appearance, it is not surprising that boys and men would want to “perform” a version of their gender that is distinctly masculine.

“Even in gay male communities, masculinity is highly valued, and as a result femininity is stigmatized,” says Saif Ghaziani, who also holds the Canada Research Chair in Urban Sexuality.

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

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

Navigating the Conversation

As for how to talk about luxmaxing with children, Ganson said parents may be most successful if they approach it with “respectful curiosity” rather than offering blunt warnings.

She said parents can start the conversation by mentioning reading an article on the topic or trying something observational: “I’ve noticed you’ve been really focusing on your looks lately.”

Kang said It can also be a good way to share something about your experiences with body image issues or being affected.

How to tell if your child’s interest in appearances is becoming unhealthy Kang said it’s good to keep in mind that kids with emerging or already established mental health problems “are more likely to go down the rabbit hole … spending more time online and being influenced.”

She suggests parents get a medical evaluation if their child shows signs of anxiety, excessive worry, and depression or if they begin to withdraw from school, friends, and activities they normally enjoy.

The same applies to spending 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, Kang said.

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