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Earlier this year, so-called “looksmaxxing” influencer Braden “Clavicular” Peters was rushed to the hospital after suffering a suspected overdose.
The incident, which left him with scarring on his face, reignited a heated conversation about the dangerous trend, which encourages young and impressionable men to go to extreme lengths to purportedly improve their physical appearance.
In addition to everything from smashing his face with a hammer to taking methamphetamines, Peters has also revealed that he’s been injecting the hormone testosterone since the age of 14, drawing plenty of concerns from experts.
While there are legitimate — and safe — ways to supplement or replace the hormone, particularly at an older age, using it as a medication to alter one’s appearance could have an ironically emasculating side effect. As Vox reports, testosterone supplementation can lead to low sperm count, shrinking testicles, and impaired fertility. In other words, Peters may be doing anything but enhancing his masculine side by over-relying on the hormone.
Testosterone is the primary male sex hormone, and drives male physical characteristics including muscle growth, bone density, and body hair. It also plays a major role in sex drive and sperm production.
Experts told Vox that older men can benefit from testosterone replacement therapy to treat low energy or sexual dysfunction. However, without the oversight of a medical professional, treatments can have the opposite effect. Supplementing it can cause the testicles to stop producing sperm, causing them to atrophy.
It’s a pertinent topic as testosterone treatments are becoming easier and easier to obtain thanks to the emergence of direct-to-consumer clinics that often prey on the insecurity of men like Peters.
As the New York Times reported last month, the Trump administration has only made things worse, with health secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. celebrating the president for having the “highest testosterone levels that he’s ever seen for an individual over 70.”
Kennedy has called declining testosterone levels worldwide an “existential” threat to humanity, and has gone as far as to advise people to administer testosterone replacement therapy to stay in shape, despite the Food and Drug Administration advising that it should only be prescribed to men with medical problems.
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