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They’re seeing gains — but at what cost?
Amid the “looksmaxxing” boom, young men are bulking up by “testosterone-maxxing,” which refers to using testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) or natural testosterone boosters to increase levels of the muscle-building hormone.
“I just wanted to get more jacked,” Joseph Wells, 23, told Dazed.
The personal trainer and content creator, who shares his fitness progress online, started the therapy when he was only 18 out of “insecurity.”
“I was really lanky — I’m six foot three — and very skinny before,” he explained.
Now, Wells boasts some 200 pounds of rippling muscle and that’s all thanks to TRT, he claimed. He takes 1,000 milligrams of testosterone every week — more than six times the standard dosage for men with clinically low levels of the hormone naturally produced in their body, per Dazed.
“I’m really pushing the boundaries with it, to be honest,” he said.
“But quite frankly, it’s not something I regret.”
And he isn’t alone. According to Business Insider, TRT prescriptions soared 20% from 2016 to 2019, and Wells is just one of the many young men singing praises of testosterone-maxxing on TikTok.
James Manteit, a 27-year-old fitness influencer with over 75,000 followers, preaches about the numerous ways men can supposedly increase testosterone levels naturally, while also sharing his progress on TRT.
“I’m getting looks all the time from chicks,” Manteit said in a now-deleted video, according to Fast Company. “They can just smell the testosterone in the air.”
Meanwhile, Kade Martinelli, a 25-year-old content creator who has been on TRT for over four years, claimed that “high-level” and “alpha” men use the therapy, citing celebrity examples such as Joe Rogan, who revealed in 2021 that he started TRT when he was 40. Around the same time, actor Dax Shepard that his use of “heavy testosterone injections” helped him pack on 24 pounds of muscle, according to Fast Company.
“I spent my whole life as a medium boy,” Shepard said, “and now I’m a big boy and I like it.”
The male body needs testosterone to develop sperm, regulate fat distribution, build muscle and is associated with what is referred to as “secondary male characteristics,” such as facial and body hair, a deeper voice and increased bone size, according to Very Well Health.
Clinically, low testosterone in men can result in a reduced sex drive, erectile dysfunction, smaller testicles, infertility and loss of hair in the armpits or pubic regions.
Culturally, having “low T” is hurled as an insult between men, a result of the societal pressures for men to look and behave a certain way.
Debbie Ging, a Dublin City University professor of digital media and gender, told Dazed that “there has traditionally been an onus on men to be physically strong.”
“The manosphere is explicitly about pushing back on what they would see as emasculated ‘soyboys,’ and the focus on physical strength and prowess – under the guise of wellness – is a key part of this,” she said.
Dr. David Kelly, a biochemistry lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University, told the outlet he is concerned that “predatory” companies will take advantage of men’s insecurities as a result, and is worried about the mental health effects of the aesthetics trend.
“It can lead to unattainable ideals of manhood – which is dangerous,” said Kelly, who cautioned that TRT should only be used for older men who demonstrate a need for the therapy.
“It’s a bit like what we saw with size 0 female models some years back, with promoted ideals actually leading to detrimental health behaviors.”
