Dangerous ‘looksmaxxing’ trend causing young Aussie men to smash their face with hammers

Aussies have been warned about an online trend targeting young and self-conscious boys, relying on dangerous substances and methods that could cause serious harm.

Dubbed “looksmaxxing”, the trend targets adolescent and young men who are trying to improve their physical appearance.

The trend advocates for the use of drugs and surgery, with some 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.

Queensland 21-year-old, Nocturnal Ken – who takes part in bone smashing, eating 500g of sugar every day and wearing makeup – 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.”

The trend first sparked mainstream attention in 2023 and has been promoted by popular American influencer Braden Eric Peters, who goes by the moniker ‘Clavicular’ – named after the favourite part of his body, the clavicle (collarbones).

The 20-year-old, who lives in Florida, has been leading the charge in looksmaxxing, and turns to bone smashing and taking 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.

However, these claims have been shot down by aesthetic surgeon Angie Taras, who described the practices as “shocking”.

Dr 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.”

While Clavicular is best-known for his dangerous and severe methods, he also pedals 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 “insitgated the fight” , which he filmed and posted online to “exploit the two women”.

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.

Dr 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.”