Eli Thompson
View all posts by Eli Thompson April 21, 2026
Braden Peters, also known as Clavicular. Cassidy Araiza/The New York Times/REDUX Clavicular’s rise was not just fast. It marked a shift in how a lot of young men see themselves. Over the past year, the streamer and social media personality became one of the most prominent figures in the world of looksmaxxing, a subculture built around the idea that every part of a man’s appearance can be improved and perfected through discipline and effort. That world had existed mostly in smaller forums and niche communities, but Clavicular brought it into the mainstream. What had once seemed extreme or obsessive now felt socially acceptable.
A major reason his content was so popular was because of how he explained his processes. Clavicular did not just show results or post before and after pictures. He broke everything down into clear steps. His videos explained routines, habits, and daily choices in a way that made self improvement feel structured and achievable. His content — whether it was about crystal meth, peptides, anabolic steroids, or even bone smashing, which is a pseudoscience that involves hitting your face with a hammer to improve your looks — was fascinating even if it fell outside of the bounds of what’s recommended by doctors or even considered to be safe. Though some viewers may have been hate-watching, I saw many of my friends and fellow college students begin to take him seriously.
Clavicular’s content landed at a time when a lot of young men were already searching for direction. Many of my friends feel uncertain about where they stand socially, financially, and romantically. There is a constant sense of comparison online, where it feels like everyone else is ahead. In that environment, Clavicular’s message was simple and direct. If you improve yourself, especially your appearance, everything else will follow.
What stood out to me was not just how many people watched his content, but how many people I knew acted on it. My friends told me that watching him encouraged them to go to the gym more consistently. I also saw many of those same friends change their diets, their routines, and the way they talked about their bodies. In group chats, people would send his videos and debate about whether things like bone smashing, which only a few friends tried, worked. The term “looksmaxxing” was sometimes used jokingly, but in reality, they were trying to optimize their appearance in very specific and intentional ways because of what they were seeing from Clavicular.
Editor’s picks
The 250 Greatest Albums of the 21st Century So Far
The 100 Best TV Episodes of All Time
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
100 Best Movies of the 21st Century
For a while, that belief held. His rise showed how much demand there was for this kind of guidance and how quickly it could spread. But, his advice started to become too much. Three friends told me they had started to feel uncomfortable with how far Clavicular’s routines were going.
Lately, they’ve noticed Clavicular has been acting increasingly erratic. Earlier this week, Clavicular was hospitalized after a reported overdose. He was released the day after, and said he would quit substances, “hopefully forever.” But those around him remained worried — his representative, Mitchell Jackson, announced he would not work with the streamer until Clavicular agreed to get treatment.
