Maxwell: A gator-shooting ‘Looksmaxxer.' A disturbing new breed of Florida-man.
The Orlando Sentinel recently carried this headline: "‘Looksmaxxing' Clavicular faces charge in South Florida after video shows alligator shooting."
I'll be honest. I barely understood that sentence. I'm guessing many of you were confused as well. So I spent some time trying to understand the subculture of ‘looksmaxxing.'
And let me tell you: I want my time and brain cells back. Because this is one whacked-out world.
It's all about physical appearances, but with hearty doses of misogyny, nonsensical medical advice and cultism. Throw in a gun and a gator, and you have pretty much the most Florida story ever.
Looksmaxxing had its birth on streaming platforms and then gained traction on platforms like Twitter. Which is now X. Which is apparently the letter you use when you're A) Trying to be edgy; and B) Otherwise out of ideas.
"Looksmaxxing" is doubly edgy, because it has two X's, a linguistic phenomenon that used to be reserved for discussing chromosomes. Even Merriam-Webster.com now has a lengthy section on looksmaxxing, which it defines as the practice of trying to make yourself as physically attractive as possible. Basically maximizing your looks … so looksmaxxing.
That concept alone doesn't sound too weird. But looksmaxxers - primarily young men and teenage boys - can take this to the extreme.
It can start with face cream and gym trips. (OK.) But then it can also involve steroids and facial reconstructive surgery. (Less OK.) And sometimes talk of smashing the bones in your face to create a better jawline. (What the actual …?)
Just as disturbing are the philosophies embraced by looksmaxxers who have rating systems for everyone else's appearance that range from "subhuman" at the lowest end to "normie" in the middle to "chad" at the top.
It seems safe to say that any system that classifies entire groups of people as subhuman is, well, dehumanizing. As are the philosophies some of these young men express about women. There's a lot of railing against "feminism" with some looksmaxxers equating most any woman who has independent thoughts as a "feminist."
By this point, some of you are probably thinking: Is this really more than a blip on anyone's radar? Well, that depends upon whom you talk to. Some of the looksmaxxers themselves will say they're just gaslighting the boomers. And some younger folks just use the language to mock everyone, including the looksmaxxers. (Like satirically saying they decided to looksmaxx today by swapping their pajama bottoms for sweatpants.)
But the looksmaxxing culture and linguistics are catching on - even in our nation's Department of Defense - which is why everyone from NPR and the BBC to GQ and The New York Times has been documenting the phenomenon's rise over the past year.
And perhaps not surprisingly, part of the looksmaxxing community is based in Florida, a streaming-ground of our aforementioned gator-shooter.
Clavicular, whose real name is Braden Peters, is a 20-year-old looksmaxxer with about 1 million followers on TikTok. He was arrested after a livestream showed him shooting an alligator - that may or may not have already been dead - in a wildlife management area of the Everglades.
Peters ended up pleading no contest to a misdemeanor charge of unlawfully firing a gun in a public place. He was sentenced to six months probation and 20 hours of community service, none of which he can stream or monetize. That's how he ended up in our newspaper.
‘Looksmaxxing' influencer Clavicular gets probation after alligator shooting video
Basically, the internet is spilling over into real life. Young men watch guys like Clavicular stream their everyday thoughts for hours on end. And politicians and even entire industries have stepped up to cash in.
Multiple companies now manufacture tough-to-chew gum that looksmaxxers believe will strengthen their jawlines. A New York Times piece entitled "Why Are Gen Z Boys Chewing on Rock-Hard Gum?" featured gum brands with names like "Rockjaw." (The piece also felt compelled to note that virtually every person who has ever studied human anatomy has concluded that chewing gum probably won't change your facial structure.)
Looksmaxxers also have their own language.
"Mogging" means to assert dominance over another person, based on their appearance.
"Ascension" is what looksmaxxers do when they successfully make themselves look better.
"Red hot pokers" are what I wanted to jab into my eyes after reading all this.
It's tempting for many adults to dismiss all this as nonsense that's of no concern to them. But while some adults ignore, others see opportunities to connect or sway. Pete Hegseth's renamed "Department of War" recently tweeted that it's now "locked in" on "Lethalitymaxxing." That prompted the The Guardian to write that, "With the rise of influencer Clavicular and ‘looksmaxxers', sexist language from niche memes has infiltrated official government accounts and NYT headlines."
Watchers of antisemitism also say there's a pretty consistent overlap between looksmaxxers and White Nationalists. In fact, the Jewish-American site, The Forward, included Clavicular on its list of "right-wing extremists we're watching out for in 2026."
Still, Clavicular upset some Republican pundits when he appeared on conservative podcast and predicted that Democrat Gavin Newsom would beat Republican J.D. Vance in a presidential race. Why? Because Newsome is a "6-3 Chad" while Vance is a "subhuman" with a "recessed side profile."
Of course it's ridiculous that anyone would give such nonsense a second thought. And my instincts are still to mostly roll my eyes and ask for my brain cells back. But I've also learned that we ignore emerging trends at our own peril.
Because while you're rolling your eyes, others are salivating over a population they see as young and susceptible. And they're ready to wink, nod and even embrace them while peddling their own wares - whether it's a political ideology or rock-hard chewing gum.
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