They are seeing profits – but at what cost?
Amidst the boom of the “maxxing look,” young men are growing up with “testosterone maxxing,” which refers to the use of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) or natural testosterone boosters to increase levels of the muscle-building hormone.
“I just wanted to be pissed off more,” Joseph Wells, 23, told Dazed.
The personal trainer and content creator, who shares his fitness progress online, started therapy when he was just 18 out of “insecurity”.
“I’ve been really skinny – I’m six foot three – and really skinny before,” he explained.
Now, Wells boasts about 200 pounds of rippling muscle, and it’s all thanks to TRT, he claimed. He takes 1,000 milligrams of testosterone every week — more than six times the standard dose for men with clinically low levels of the hormone produced naturally in their bodies, per Dazed.
“I’m really pushing the boundaries with it, to be honest,” he said.
“But honestly, it’s not something I regret.”
And he is not alone. According to Business Insider, TRT prescriptions increased by 20% from 2016 to 2019, and Wells is just one of many young men singing the praises of testosterone maximization on TikTok.
James Manteit, a 27-year-old fitness influencer with over 75,000 followers, preaches about the many ways men can increase testosterone levels naturally, while also sharing his progress on TRT.
“I’m constantly looking at the birds,” 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 with TRT for more than four years, claimed that “high-end” and “alpha” men use the therapy, citing famous examples such as Joe Rogan, who found out in 2021 when he started TRT when he was 40 years old. Around the same time, actor Dax Shepard said 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 middle boy,” Shepard said, “and now I’m a big boy and I love it.”
The male body needs testosterone to develop sperm, regulate fat distribution, build muscle, and is associated with what are called “secondary male characteristics,” such as facial and body hair, a deeper voice, and size bone growth, according to Very Well Health. .
Clinically, low testosterone in men can result in decreased libido, erectile dysfunction, smaller testicles, infertility, and hair loss in the armpits or pubic regions.
Culturally, having “low T” is thrown around as an insult among men, as a result of societal pressures for men to look and behave a certain way.
Debbie Ging, a professor of digital media and gender at the University of Dublin, told Dazed that “traditionally there has been a duty for men to be physically strong”.
“The manosphere is explicitly about pushing what they would see as the skinny ‘guy type,’ and the focus on physical strength and fitness — under the guise of wellness — is a key part of that,” she said.
Dr. David Kelly, a lecturer in biochemistry at Sheffield Hallam University, told the newspaper 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 aesthetic trend.
“This 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 therapy.
“It’s a bit like what we saw with the size 0 female models a few years ago, with ideals being promoted that actually lead to harmful health behaviors.”
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Image Source : nypost.com