When asked how the looksmaxxing space had changed since he first joined, content creator Androgenic pointed to one defining shift: virality. Before 2023, he explained, the community largely operated out of public view and was intentionally kept that way.
“It used to be gatekept highly,” he told Sam Hyde in a recent interview. “People didn’t want you talking about it. It was like Fi ght Club type s**t. If you spoke about it anywhere, you would be berated, doxxed at worst. You know, that happened to Dillon Latham. He got unfairly doxed.”
Androgenic recalled that even as recently as mid-2022, when he began posting on TikTok, he was hesitant to use the terminology associated with the movement in public.
“I was terrified that looksmaxx would conflict with real life,” he said. “I wanted to say things like I’m mogging, but I’d be like, ‘No, I can’t say maxxing. That sounds so autistic.’ And now it sounds mainstream.”
According to him, 2023 marked a clear turning point, when the language and ideas that once circulated in niche online spaces began spilling into everyday conversations.
“By 2023, I had people who were saying things like, ‘Yo, Chico, you know, looksmaxx, mogging,’ a bunch of s**t,” he said. “So that’s when it became mainstream, and it’s just gone up year by year.”
He framed the shift as irreversible, describing it as a moment when the subculture crossed a threshold and could no longer be contained.
“Pandora’s Box was opened,” he said. “We reached critical mass, and there’s no hiding it now. So people don’t give a s**t anymore. That’s probably the main thing that’s really changed.”
Reflecting on his time in online forums, Androgenic did not distance himself from the culture he once participated in. He said he stopped posting on looksmax.org around mid-2022 and now views much of the behavior there as counterproductive and rooted in insecurity.
“Some people spend all day on there just hating on others, calling other people ugly, trying to hurt people’s feelings as much as possible,” he said.
He described the behavior as part of a predictable pattern driven by internal struggles rather than confidence.
“The majority of people that are in those kind of forums, they just have a bunch of self-doubt, and all they want to do all day is project that onto others for their own ego,” he said.
When discussing his own past involvement, Androgenic offered a more introspective explanation, pointing to personal experiences and unmet expectations that fueled resentment.
“I think the reason for me was probably the micro traumas and negative reinforcement that I got growing up,” he said. “Then kind of being indoctrinated into the idea of the Chad, jock, bullies, the incel and that’s like the cycle of life.”
He explained that even after improving his appearance, the outcomes he expected did not materialize, which deepened his frustration.
“When I became better looking, and especially since I didn’t have the things that I still wanted, I didn’t have money, status, or women despite increasing my looks a bunch, that kind of put me into a position where I expected them to change even more,” he said. “So that put me in a position where I had this resentment that I felt like I had to project on other people in order to satisfy my own ego.”
He ultimately concluded that the dynamic he experienced was not unique to looksmaxx forums, but reflective of a broader pattern across the internet.
“I feel like that’s representative of pretty much everyone on those forums,” he said. “Every person who posts a ha te comment anywhere, really.”
