In recent months, Haifa-based content creator Tom Abraham has gained attention as a guru of the carnivore diet. His popular TikTok account, with nearly 40,000 followers, promotes eating raw meat as part of a “natural” lifestyle he says improves his appearance. But he is not stopping there. Abraham actively encourages the trend among his followers, most of them teenage boys.
Abraham, 27, is part of the looksmaxxing subculture, which has taken shape in recent years among young men worldwide. With a chiseled jaw, lean muscular body, thick eyebrows and full hair, he describes himself as a “looksmaxxer.” On the website he founded, “Looksmaxxing Academy Israel,” he charges $24 a month to teach young men “how to grow taller naturally, improve dating life and reach peak health,” according to the ad.
Besides handing out raw steaks to passersby, Abraham advises teenage boys and young men on how to look better, or at least more like him. “Do you have a girlfriend, bro?” he asks a teen at Tel Aviv’s Savidor Central train station, who answers 'No'. “So let’s change that a bit,” Abraham replies, adding, “Your appearance is critical for attracting women,” and suggesting dietary changes to clear acne.
In another video, he tells two teens to improve their look by shaping their eyebrows and “sleeping better” to avoid dark circles. In nearly every video, he stresses the importance of low body fat, a practice he follows himself. It is important to note that Abraham is not a licensed nutritionist or professional, and the “tips” he shares are based solely on his personal experience. For many teens, that is enough.
“I’ve always been interested in appearance and health. Usually, a healthy person looks better than someone who isn’t,” he told Ynet in an interview. “I was exposed to looksmaxxing in junior high school, more than a decade ago, through YouTube videos from abroad. I learned about male hygiene, grooming eyebrows, smelling good and so on. In recent years, I took it more seriously, and now I teach others.”
What drew you to it? Was it the desire to look better?
“I’m not sure, because as a kid I looked good. I think it comes down to the word itself. I wanted to see how far I could reach, not to do things halfway. If I want to look good, I want to take it as far as possible. There’s a reason the phenomenon has become extreme. The world today is much more competitive than before. In the past, women met men from the neighborhood or through friends. Today, it’s through social media, and you’re competing for attention with men from all over the world. Standards are very, very high.”
You mean competition on dating apps?
“Yes. On Tinder, for example, you compete first of all on looks. Appearance is the most important thing. You’re judged by it. If you’re overweight, people assume you lack discipline or you smell worse than someone with a low, ‘ideal’ body fat percentage.”
Did it start for you with rejection from girls?
(Silence.)
Sorry if that was too direct.
“You’re the first to ask that.”
“I started pushing it more intensely in recent years after realizing how much it affects the way people treat me, not just in dating. If I look good, more opportunities will come my way because people will assume I’m a better person. A few years ago, there was that story about a good-looking criminal who was in prison, and the moment he got out, modeling agencies rushed to sign him", he says, referring to Jeremy Meeks, dubbed the “world’s hottest felon.”
To achieve his look, Abraham maintains low body fat, enhances his eyebrows and lashes with mascara, uses minoxidil for hair growth and eats raw meat, which he says improves his appearance. “I haven’t done more aggressive things,” he said. “I always explain that procedures like jaw surgery or cheekbone sculpting should only be done if they would significantly change your life.”
Explain.
“If someone has an underdeveloped jaw that noticeably affects their appearance, surgery can raise their attractiveness considerably.”
In women’s eyes?
“Not only. It signals health and attractiveness. When a woman looks at a man, she sees his genes. If he’s tall and strong, she believes he can protect her.”
Do you think your appearance affects your confidence?
“Two hundred percent. When I look good and smell good, I feel that way inside too. You get immediate positive feedback. If someone drops to a low body fat percentage and their face becomes more defined, they get positive reactions. If they used to approach women and get rejected, and then suddenly succeed after a major change, that’s where the confidence comes from.”
And what if it still doesn’t work?
“Appearance opens the door and you’re no longer invisible. Then status, money and other factors come in. Every woman has her own ‘good enough’ threshold, and if you don’t meet it, you’re invisible to her. Women rule you out from the start.”
Appearance as a tool of power, comparison and control
The new micro-celebrities of male adolescence are no longer rappers or soccer players but lean young men livestreaming facial procedures. Looksmaxxing emerged in online male forums in the 2010s and has since moved into mainstream social media.
Unlike the “metrosexual” trend of the early 2000s, looksmaxxing promotes a more radical idea of self-improvement focused solely on appearance. Beauty is framed not just as an advantage but as social currency that can be systematically maximized through grooming, fitness, fashion and sometimes surgical procedures.
5 View gallery
A model for the looksmaxxing beauty ideal: Sean O’Pry
(Photo: Roy Rochlin2018 /Getty Images)
The difference between a “metrosexual” and a “looksmaxxer” is less about appearance and more about worldview. The former describes an urban, consumer-driven aesthetic identity. The latter operates in a competitive, metrics-driven online culture where looks are treated as capital.
Beauty ideals in this space often center on models like Sean O’Pry, Jordan Barrett and Francisco (Chico) Lachowski, who share a similar aesthetic: sharp jawlines, smooth skin, lean muscular bodies and thick hair and a complexion that signals success. The three feature prominently on inspiration boards for many men who admire them, as also seen in the British Channel 4 documentary “The Toxic World of Perfect Looks: UNTOLD.”
While participants present looksmaxxing as empowerment and a path to confidence and success, critics point to risks: declining self-esteem, internalization of rigid beauty hierarchies and spillover into toxic online cultures, including incel communities (Involuntary Celibacy, men who struggle to form romantic or sexual relationships with women and often express frustration and extreme views that can lead to misogyny).
5 View gallery
A defined jawline and hairless face: model Francisco Lachowski
(Photo: Cindy Ord/Getty Images)
“Looksmaxxing is about improving your appearance to the highest level possible,” said Dean Robertson, founder of Looksmaxxing.com, which has about 70,000 members. “What’s changed is that now it has a name, a shared language and a large online community. It’s no longer just a trend.”
How do you view the responsibility of a platform like yours, especially when dealing with issues related to the body, health and self-image?
“There is responsibility, and I take it seriously. Appearance is a sensitive topic, and the audience tends to be young. We try to limit harmful content and encourage a healthier approach, focusing on what can realistically be improved and accepting what cannot, without letting the pursuit turn into an obsession. That said, no forum is perfect, and we try to maintain balance."
Critics of looksmaxxing argue that its beauty ideals draw from incel communities or problematic gender narratives.
“There is some historical overlap in online origins. The term ‘looksmaxxing’ did first appear in early incel forums, so I won’t pretend there’s no connection. But the mindset today is fundamentally different. Incel culture is rooted in fatalism, the belief that nothing can change and outcomes are determined by genetics. Looksmaxxing, as it is more broadly practiced today, is based on optimization: you can’t change everything, but you can significantly improve certain aspects of your appearance.”
Is it a confidence-building tool or something that can also create insecurity?
“It can be both. For many, it’s positive, building discipline, improving habits and boosting confidence through measurable progress. Based on my personal experience, the changes I made had a significant and positive impact on my life, especially when it comes to relationships and self-confidence.”
"But for younger users, it can lead to overanalyzing appearance and increased insecurity. When you combine a young age, social media and constant comparison, that risk exists in almost any self-improvement space. That’s why I strongly believe people should focus on what they can actually change, rather than becoming obsessed with what they can’t.”
‘Black pill’ thinking and extreme surgical measures
It is tempting to frame the phenomenon as a subculture, with its own style, community, jargon and lifestyle that bind its members. Most young teens emulate the community’s influencers, known as “Chads,” men seen as the ultimate ideal of beauty and masculinity. The hierarchical nature of online spaces also drives many young men to purchase self-improvement packages for dozens of dollars a month, offering guidance on diet, clothing and more.
Although the term “looksmaxxing” has developed under the radar for more than a decade, it is now gaining momentum on social media platforms like TikTok and through documentaries, including Louis Theroux’s film Inside the Manosphere, where the topic has resurfaced on Netflix. This is not just a grooming trend but a reflection of the digital age among young men, roughly ages 14 to 30, where identity and self-worth are increasingly measured by appearance alone.
5 View gallery
Harrison Sullivan and Louis Theroux in “Inside the Manosphere”
(Photo: Courtesy of Netflix)
The movement has its own language, which plays a significant role in understanding how members of the group interact. The “black pill” refers to a deterministic belief that genetics largely dictates success in dating and social life and creates a pessimistic narrative for those seen as lower in the aesthetic hierarchy. Terms like “mog” (asserting visual dominance) or "Y-pilled" (identifying with a dominant ideal of masculinity), reflect the competitive, hierarchical nature of the discourse, where appearance is not just personal but becomes a form of power, comparison and social control.
Alongside the promise of self-improvement, this subculture amplifies feelings of inadequacy and constant competition, sometimes pushing young people toward unattainable standards such as limb-lengthening surgery to appear taller or breaking jaw and cheekbones in an attempt to reshape them. Just search the hashtag #bonesmashing on social media.
One of the figures associated with the trend is Clavicular, the online alias of Braden Eric Peters, an American streamer and influencer born in 2005 who has gained wide attention online, with more than half a million Instagram followers and nearly 900,000 on TikTok. He is considered a controversial figure for promoting facial bone-breaking on social media, yet fashion brands have still partnered with him for sponsored content and invited him to walk in their shows.
Clavicular’s Instagram page, the alias of Braden Eric Peters
Clavicular models in a fashion show
Another online figure in the looksmaxxing space is British influencer Austin Wayne, who resembles a Western K-pop star. The content he shares with his hundreds of thousands of followers is minimal, mostly photos showcasing his lean, muscular physique alongside musings about money and relationships with women. On his Instagram page, he promotes discreet height-increasing shoes for men looking to add about three inches without it being noticeable.
Austin Wayne shows off his physique on Instagram
“You get one chance, and it’s only through a photo”
More than a cultural phenomenon, looksmaxxing is also a commercial arena, where men persuade other men to buy products, undergo invasive treatments, promising better lives through improved looks.
What has long existed among women as part of the “beauty myth” is now being aggressively adapted for men, with a distinction between “soft maxing” and “hard maxing.” The former refers to changes such as fitness, grooming, haircuts and facial exercises to enhance the jawline, while the latter involves far more extreme measures, from medical procedures to radical attempts at reshaping the body.
Looksmaxxing figure Johan Drumev
The popular “mewing” technique is named after orthodontist Dr. Mike Mew, who developed the method of pressing the tongue against the roof of the mouth to shape and define the jawline. Mew argued that modern life, including processed foods, mouth breathing and poor posture, negatively affects facial and skull development.
A lecture he gave on orthotropics, palate expansion and maintaining lip closure was uploaded to YouTube about seven years ago. Incel communities picked it up, dubbed the practice “mewing” and spread it online, despite the lack of scientific evidence supporting the theory.
Alongside these exercises, including facial yoga, plastic surgeons say that in recent years more men have been seeking aesthetic treatments. The options include breast reduction, removal of excess skin after significant weight loss, eyelid surgery, brow lifts, jawline contouring and facelifts.
Prof. Eyal Winkler, an expert in aesthetics and plastic surgery, says the men seeking treatment tend to fall into two groups: younger men looking to sculpt their cheekbones and jawlines, and older men aiming to refresh their appearance, some in a second chapter of life alongside younger partners.
This is not a fringe trend on social media but a deeper shift among young men. “If in the past men were expected to be strong and successful, today how a man looks has become far more important,” said Prof. Winkler. “Dating often begins and ends with a swipe. You get one chance, and it’s only through a photo.”
"You cannot look perfect all the time"
Critics argue the darker side lies in the belief that bone structure determines destiny, leaving those who feel genetically disadvantaged to either alter their bodies or accept social invisibility. Dating apps are seen as arenas where looks alone determine success, with social hierarchies shaped by facial features, especially the jawline. The result is a troubling culture in which a person’s value and opportunities are judged largely by appearance.
At the same time, these young men can be seen as radical figures seeking to challenge the genetics they were born with and push back against the limits of human evolution. “Humans have always been concerned with their appearance and have gone through various processes, from neck elongation with rings to plastic surgery in the Western world,” explains Shay Shpitzen, a clinical social worker and sex and couples therapist.
“This phenomenon doesn’t necessarily need to be viewed negatively. It’s simply human,” he says, urging a more compassionate perspective. “With the welcome rise of gender equality and feminism, expectations of men have also increased. Many of them, I think, feel powerless or disadvantaged. The demands on them are growing, including in the realm of appearance.”
But it doesn’t stop at skincare or hair removal.
“Many of the men drawn to looksmaxxing want to increase their chances of success with women. It may come from a place of trying to boost self-worth through what’s known as ‘body count,’” he says, referring to the number of sexual partners a person has had. “But from my experience with people in therapy, it’s also a way for businesses and influencers to exploit these men, feeding them the idea that this is what will solve their problems with women.”
These men argue that appearance also boosts their Sexual Market Value, or overall attractiveness. From your experience, does it actually affect how people experience attraction and relationships?
“They’re not entirely wrong. A well-groomed or good-looking man will generally have more success with women. It depends on the subculture you’re in, your age and what kind of women you’re trying to attract. I’d say in your 20s, for casual sex, it may be more relevant, but in reality, most men are looking for closeness and a relationship. Their appearance won’t solve deeper issues. You can’t look perfect all the time.”
But he cautions against seeing appearance as a cure-all. “Many of these men want to increase their success with women. But improving your looks won’t solve deeper issues. You can’t look perfect all the time.
“Second, when self-worth is lacking, then yes, you may look a bit better and even feel better, but in practice you still see the world as a place of victims and aggressors, and your appearance won’t change that. In other words, you accept that as reality instead of saying: these aren’t the kind of women or relationships I’m looking for, and I’d rather be valued for who I am or what I bring to a relationship.
“Often it can create a momentary high of self-satisfaction or even change how women perceive you, but the underlying sense of emptiness and the fear of approaching women don’t always go away.”
Have you ever suggested to a patient that they change their appearance?
“I might point out to someone that they’re neglecting their appearance, usually in response to a question, but I don’t have expertise in aesthetics, and I don’t see that as part of my therapeutic role.”