How far would you go to become a “Chad” — or even just a “high-tier normie”?
Spend five minutes scrolling “looksmaxxing” forums and you’ll see users trading tips on how to escape being deemed “subhuman” at any cost.
Welcome to “hardmaxxing,” the outer edge of the internet where physical attractiveness is treated as something to be optimized, and risky, sometimes irreversible interventions are framed as the path to “ascension.”
While it has existed since the 2010s in niche circles online, looksmaxxing has recently spilled into the mainstream.
Influencers like Kareem Shami (@syrianpsycho), dubbed the “godfather of looksmaxxing,” have built large followings, mostly consisting of young men looking to change their appearance in pursuit of higher status, success and “sexual market value.”
Though often framed as self-improvement, research suggests these online spaces can also foster toxic masculinity, body shaming and humiliation.
Most newcomers start with “softmaxxing,” a set of relatively safe, accessible tweaks that often resemble self-care, including exercise routines, skincare regimens, grooming habits and personal style upgrades.
But further down the pipeline comes hardmaxxing, where things turn far more extreme.
One of the most visible figures in the space is Braden Peters, a 20-year-old known online as Clavicular, who has documented his rapid physical “ascension” through increasingly controversial methods.
While the New Jersey native doesn’t encourage followers to attempt many of the techniques he shares, online influence rarely translates into control over real-world behavior.
The Post spoke to six experts to break down how five popular hardmaxxing techniques can backfire on your health and appearance — leaving users far from a “True Adam.”
Roidmaxxing
Anabolic steroids, synthetic derivatives of testosterone, have legitimate medical uses but are often promoted in looksmaxxing spaces as a fast track to a more muscular physique.
“This is different from these kids’ dads being on testosterone and doing it to replace low levels,” said Dr. Aram Loeb, a urologist at University Hospitals Cutler Center for Men. “Anabolic steroids are really pushing it to the max and going four or five times the normal kind of therapeutic dose.”
In the short term, users may see increases in muscle mass and libido. But long-term risks include hormonal shutdown, fertility issues, acne and hair loss.
In young men, anabolic steroids can also cause premature closure of growth plates, leading to reduced height. They may also trigger gynecomastia, or “man boobs,” that don’t go away even after drug use stops.
“You need to really understand that decisions you make in your teens and twenties can have some serious long term implications,” Loeb said.
Compounding the danger, illicit steroids are often sourced through unregulated channels, raising concerns about contamination and inconsistent dosing.
Without medical oversight, users also face a higher risk of severe organ damage, including damage to the heart, liver and kidneys.
Leanmaxxing with fat dissolvers
Fat-dissolving injectables like Aqualyx and Lemon Bottle are also circulating in looksmaxxing circles, with fans touting them as a way to achieve a sharper jawline or more hollowed cheeks.
“People can buy purported fat-dissolving products online, but there is no guarantee they are FDA-approved, authentic, sterile, or even what the label says they are,” said Dr. Rian Maercks, a plastic surgeon and founder of the Maercks Institute.
“Your skin is going to die. Then you’re going to have big ulcerated wounds that take months to heal.”
Dr. Masoud Saman
“The FDA says it has received reports of permanent scars, serious infections, skin deformities, cysts and deep painful knots after unapproved fat-dissolving injections.”
Even with a “clean” vial, at-home use can still go wrong due to the precision and anatomical knowledge required for proper administration.
“In the wrong hands, it can be very dangerous,” said Dr. Gevork Tatarian, a cosmetic surgeon at Elevé Cosmetic Surgery.
Injecting too deeply can damage underlying muscles and nerves, resulting in numbness, tingling or facial paralysis. Incorrect technique can also lead to cysts, contour deformities and facial asymmetry.
“If you injected in a blood vessel, you can get a vascular occlusion and your skin is going to die,” Tatarian said. “Then you’re going to have big ulcerated wounds that take months to heal, and you’re going to get a very bad, ugly scar.”
DIY threadmaxxing
Forums are also filled with how-to guides for using polydioxanon threads at home, with users claiming the absorbable sutures can quickly alter facial features.
In aesthetic medicine, these threads are placed under the skin to create a subtle, temporary lifting effect in areas like the cheeks, jawline, neck or brows.
But many providers have moved away from them due to often “mediocre” results, according to Dr. Masoud Saman, an NYC facial plastic surgeon.
“These are tools we now use very cautiously, if at all, in a controlled medical setting,” he said. “Buying them online and doing them at home is not ‘hardmaxxing,’ it is ‘riskmaxxing’ with your face.”
Complications can include skin dimpling, inflammation, contour irregularities and threads becoming visible, protruding through the skin.
“DIY thread use can absolutely make someone look worse rather than better,” Maercks said.
But the risks aren’t just cosmetic, Tatarian added: “If you pull your eyebrows too much, you won’t be able to close your eyes. So then you’ll have dry eyes and problems with your vision.”
“Wolff’s Law is about bones slowly adapting to normal, healthy forces … not about repeatedly hitting yourself in the face with a hammer.”
Dr. Masoud Saman
People doing PDO threads at home often fail to account for the network of fine nerves just under the facial skin, experts warn.
“If you injure these nerves, it can cause things like chronic pain, it can cause paralysis, it can cause facial asymmetry,” said Dr. Sheina Bawa, a cosmetic surgeon specializing in aesthetic procedures.
Bonesmashing
Perhaps the most viral hardmaxxing trend, the horrifically named “bonesmashing” is exactly what the name sounds like: It involves repeatedly striking the facial bones with a blunt object like a hammer to obtain sharper cheekbones and a more defined jawline and chin.
Proponents often cite Wolff’s Law, which suggests bones gradually change in response to forces placed on the body. But experts say the trend misrepresents the science entirely.
“Wolff’s Law is about bones slowly adapting to normal, healthy forces like walking or chewing, not about repeatedly hitting yourself in the face with a hammer,” Saman said. “It has no scientific basis as a beauty hack; it is trauma, not controlled bone shaping.”
The dangers are both immediate and lasting.
“Risks include bruising, swelling, pain, fractures and injury to delicate facial structures,” Maercks said. “From an appearance standpoint, the real danger is trading an insecurity for a permanent problem: post-traumatic asymmetry, contour deformity and other visible changes that can persist even after healing.”
Methmaxxing
A small but disturbing subset of hardmaxxers has turned to methamphetamine as a cutting tool to lose weight.
“My goal was not only just for the productivity and the psychoactive benefits of methamphetamine. It was also for the appetite suppression,” Clavicular said on Bradley Martyn’s “Raw Talk. “I know it’s bad, but I haven’t done meth in awhile … I don’t plan on restarting.”
Last week, the influencer told fans he’s quitting substances, “hopefully forever,” following a suspected overdose during a livestream earlier this month, which resulted in his hospitalization.
But others are jumping on the methmaxxing train, with troubling consequences.
“I started meth like a week ago because I wanted to get hollow cheeks but now my heart has been acting really weird,” one user posted on a popular looksmaxxing forum. “I’m kinda worried, should I get myself checked by a doctor or something?”
They later followed up with a stark update: “I’m actually serious, I need genuine help.”
In the short term, meth use can cause elevated heart rate and blood pressure, along with irritability, restlessness, paranoia and anxiety. In some cases, it can also trigger aggressive or violent behavior.
Long term, methamphetamine is linked to severe weight loss, malnutrition, mood swings, depression, weakened immune function and addiction. It also increases the risk of stroke, heart attack, seizures, kidney and liver damage, and overdose.
The physical toll is just as visible.
“I can recognize someone who is taking meth just by looking at them,” said Dr. Daniele Piomelli, distinguished professor of anatomy and neurobiology at the University of California, Irvine.
Users often develop wrinkles, sagging skin and a gaunt appearance that can make them look 10 to 20 years older. Dental decay is also common, along with skin damage caused by compulsive picking.
In earlier research, Piomelli and his team found that meth use accelerates tissue breakdown in the body in a way that resembles rapid aging. This, he noted, is “completely against the idea of looking good.”
The effects appear quickly. In animal studies, signs of premature aging emerged after just a week of use, and in humans, Piomelli said similar changes could be expected within about a month.
“If you use methamphetamine, the chances of you having a very rapid deterioration of the very parts of your body that you want to show off is high,” he warned.
