Bizarre ‘testosteronemaxxing’ pattern results in ‘burnout’ and ‘males rising breasts’

After looksmaxxing and ballsmaxxing, here comes “testosteronemaxxing”. Testosteronemaxxing is the UK’s latest “maxxing” obsession – but experts are warning that chasing the perfect body and “ideal” masculinity could be putting men’s health at serious risk.

“Maxxing” culture – where people try to optimise every part of their looks, health, lifestyle and even personality – is booming. New research by Muscle Booster claims it has identified 115 active “maxxing” trends being searched in the UK, generating almost 1.5 million searches since 2022.

Interest is ramping up fast too, with searches for “what is maxxing” up 325% since the start of 2026. Top of the list is testosteronemaxxing, with more than 170,000 searches and average quarterly growth of +13%.

The trend urges men to raise testosterone through diet and lifestyle changes – or, in some cases, synthetic hormones – in pursuit of bigger muscles, more confidence and a tougher image. Muscle Booster’s analysis also found that in the six months after the peak of “testosteronemaxxing”, searches for “testosterone supplements” and “testosterone boosters” rose by 22%, suggesting growing curiosity about performance-style products.

But psychologist Dr Cassidy Jenkins, PhD, warned the drive to optimise can turn toxic. She said: “People are often drawn to the idea of ‘maxxing’ themselves because, at its core, it promises something very human: perceived control over something.

“The concern is when self-improvement becomes extreme, rigid, or tied too closely to how we value ourselves. Healthy routines can absolutely support mental and physical wellbeing, but when the person starts believing they have to optimise everything about themselves, the behaviour crosses the boundary into psychological harm.

“The constant need to feel you have to improve is emotionally exhausting, leading to burnout and often worsened mental health when the individual can’t maintain whatever they’re ‘maxxing’. Social media has helped propel these trends to new heights by making it easier than ever for people to compare themselves in every form.

“Algorithms can create an echo chamber, making this culture feel like the dominant reality, reinforcing the belief that we should always be doing more, achieving more and becoming ‘better’.” The research suggests body and health optimisation makes up the biggest share of trends (37%), followed by aesthetics and appearance (29%), lifestyle optimisation (21%) and mind/mental optimisation (14%).

Yet while appearance-based maxxing is under a third of trends, it makes up 74% of search volume – more than one million UK searches. The fastest growth is now in lifestyle optimisation (+59% quarter-on-quarter) and mental optimisation (+28%).

Meanwhile, aesthetician Shantelle Clarke said she’s seeing fallout from men using dodgy hormones. She exclusively told the Daily Star: “I have seen an increase in shady doctors prescribing unregulated homemade hormones and have spent the better half of this year working with men to repair aesthetic damage linked to it.

“This includes shockingly severe acne, unnecessary male pattern baldness and scarring where the hormone has been injected. It’s so unfortunate.

“Some of my patients have also faced gynecomastia when the hormones they injected turn into estogen.” Gynecomastia is the non-cancerous growth of breast gland tissue in boys or men, which makes the breasts look bigger.

Meanwhile Chemist Click superintendent pharmacist Abbas Kanani told the Daily Star: “Buying testosterone or anabolic steroids from unverified websites or social media sellers can be very risky. You have no guarantee of what you’re actually receiving.

“Some products may contain the wrong dose, harmful contaminants, or even completely different ingredients to what is listed on the label.” According to Kanani, “cracking down on illegal hormone sales is important because it helps reduce the number of unsafe and counterfeit products entering the UK”, but “it’s equally important that people who have been prescribed testosterone through legitimate healthcare services continue to have reliable access”.

He advised: “If someone thinks they have low testosterone or needs hormone treatment, it’s always safest to speak to a professional. That way, treatment can be based on proper blood tests, medical history and ongoing monitoring, rather than guesswork.”

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