More teenage boys are talking about training, diets and physique than they were a generation ago. What used to sit at the edges of gym culture has become part of everyday school life, from PE classes to group chats and short-form video feeds. Much of this sits inside the wider online looksmaxxing trend, a loose mix of fitness, grooming and lifestyle content focused on maximising appearance. At its most extreme, it promotes rapid physical change, strict routines and constant self-comparison.
Inside the gymdemic
Some names in this space include David Laid and Sam Sulek. Another, Clavicular, gained notoriety for promoting extreme self-improvement to the point of open drug use and shock-value stunts. He claimed they were ‘cheat codes’ to maximising his physical attractiveness. There aren’t really any New Zealanders in this space. Instead, the scene is mainly fitness coaches and athletes whose content tends to focus on performance, health and sustainable training. Still, Kiwi teens are exposed to the same global fitness content through TikTok and Instagram.
Research from adolescent health studies, including summaries from the University of Michigan, shows that exposure to idealised male bodies is linked to higher levels of body dissatisfaction among teenage boys. The same research notes that while anabolic steroid use has not risen sharply in most comparable countries, the use of supplements such as creatine has increased. Teen boys might care more about body ‘optimisation’ rather than sport alone.
Medical research also shows the long-term risks linked to anabolic steroid use. A study published in the European Heart Journal found that long-term steroid users showed signs of reduced heart function and structural changes to the heart muscle, with risks increasing the longer and more heavily the drugs were used. The findings suggest that damage may not fully reverse even after stopping use, raising concerns about how younger users may be affected if exposure begins early.
Experts are more concerned about how they are being discussed. In some online spaces, steroids are no longer framed purely as dangerous drugs, but as shortcuts to achieving a certain look. That shift in language matters, because it can make risky behaviour feel more normal. Boys today talk more about training splits, macros, bulking and cutting phases, and track physique changes with increasing detail. Fitness is no longer just about sport or health, it’s now tied to identity, status and self-image.
The Internet houses niche subcultures like never before. Algorithms can funnel young users from mainstream fitness content to more intense communities. Students ought to be made aware of the persuasive nature of social media. For schools, teaching media literacy matters greatly. Helping young people distinguish between healthy training habits and unrealistic or potentially harmful standards is another layer to the so-called gymdemic. Together, these influences are reshaping how a generation understands fitness, but also identity, self-worth, themselves. We must ensure young people can engage with training culture, or whatever niche they’re into for that matter, in a way that supports wellbeing rather than comparison, pressure or extremes.
