Podcast Summary:

Bulwark Takes
Episode: A 20-Year-Old Meth-Smoking Influencer Is the Future of Right-Wing Masculinity
Date: February 10, 2026
Participants: Sam Stein (Host), Tim Miller, Will Sommer

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the bizarre, troubling, and influential world of "Clavicular," a 20-year-old internet influencer who has become a prominent face of the "looks maxing" and right-wing online masculinity movements. The hosts discuss who Clavicular is, why his antics matter culturally and politically, and what the rise of these social media subcultures says about young men, nihilism, and the future of internet-driven right-wing circles. They also break down the language, memes, and ideologies fueling Clavicular’s fame, drawing connections between internet subculture and political discourse.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

Who (and What) Is Clavicular?

• Background: Clavicular is described as the “most prominent face of the looksmaxing community.” (Will Sommer, 02:25)
• Looksmaxing Community: A subculture deriving from “incels” (involuntarily celibate men) focused on extreme, sometimes harmful self-modification to meet narrowly defined beauty standards, all in the hope of attracting women.
• Personal Extremes:
  • Anabolic Steroids: Began using at age 14, at quantities that even adult steroid influencers find excessive. (Will Sommer, 03:08)
  • Bone Smashing: "He has like a little hammer or he'll do like a Theragun or he'll. Sometimes he'll just punch himself in the face” to create micro-fractures in his cheekbones for a sharper look—though the science is dubious at best. (Will Sommer, 03:21)
  • Meth Use: Admitted to going on multi-day meth binges, sometimes claiming it’s driven by pressure to lose weight and meet women’s standards. (Will Sommer, 04:18)
  • Behavior: Known for erratic, often angry online episodes and public stunts, from throwing drinks to dangerous viral live streams.

Why Does He Matter?

• Cultural Relevance:
  "This is where the discourse is going. Like right wing culture venerates, or at least a portion of it venerates this guy. He's got huge followings, he's weighing in on politics.”
  —Sam Stein (05:50)
• Association with Extremists: Connected to or appeared with figures like Nick Fuentes, the Tate brothers, and Myron Gaines—well-known in right-wing, alt-right, and manosphere circles. These interactions happen on "party buses" and streams, symbolizing a merging of internet masculinity and reactionary politics. (Will Sommer/Tim Miller, 06:05–06:24)
• Refusal of Mainstream Politics:
  "He has this actually like extremely reactionary anti-women agenda… it's almost like this post-Fuentes politics where… Clavicular is just like, the world is a wasteland. I’m a nihilist, I'm a black piller.”
  —Will Sommer (06:29–07:31)
• New Media Dynamics:
  The episode explores how Clavicular’s fame is not due to people watching his full content, but through aggregated short clips—“clip farms”—which shape narratives and virality for a new generation of internet users and politicians. (Tim Miller, 08:21–09:40)
  • "To get into the narrative...it is these clip farms where people are seeing this...AOC has this on her working for her. Very few politicians do and Clavicular does." —Tim Miller (09:11)

Stunts, Crime, and Outrage

• Dangerous Antics: Clavicular live-streamed running a person over with his cybertruck—a stunt possibly faked but played for shock value—and often waves guns, abuses drugs, and courts controversy for attention. (Will Sommer, 10:35)
  • "There was an incident...this guy was stalking him...Clavicular ran him over and said, 'I hope that guy died.' And he was never charged for it. So maybe it was all fake. But I mean, it's these kind of things that then, you know, these 12-hour streams..." (Will Sommer, 10:40–11:38)
• Recent Arrest: Arrested for carrying drugs (Adderall, anabolic steroids) and using a fake ID, now confined to Arizona. His rampant self-documented drug use could become a liability in court. (Sam Stein/Will Sommer, 21:00–22:16)

Lexicon of Looksmaxing & Internet Masculinity

The hosts unpack a rapidly evolving, insular jargon:

• Mogging: Short for “Alpha Male of the Group,” now means dominating someone in terms of looks or presence.
  "You just look cooler than a guy or...making another guy look like a wimp, that would be...You're mogging him." —Will Sommer (16:12)
• Bone Smashing: Physically hitting oneself to supposedly alter bone structure (Cheekbones).
• Jester Maxing: Acting the fool (“jester”) to attract attention from women, contrary to traditional alpha male aloofness. (Tim Miller, 11:59–13:20)
• Jester Gooning: A bizarre sub-variant combining clowning with extended (often sexualized) behavior. (Tim Miller, 13:20)
• Frame Mugging/Frame Mogging: Outshining or dominating someone visually in a shared frame, especially in streamed content. (Tim Miller, 17:17)
• Foids/Moids: Dehumanizing slang for women ("femoids") and men.
• Black Pill: An ideology of extreme nihilism, the belief that all hope is lost and society is irredeemably broken.

Notable Exchange — On the Lingo's Absurdity:

• “Is ignoring the foids while munting and mogging moids more useful than smv Chad fishing in the club? …That was kind of a brain teaser for me.” —Tim Miller (18:28)

Memorable Moments, Social Satire, and Community Reaction

• Chicken Tender Meltdown:
  Clavicular at a club is despondent and visibly upset, not over being ignored by women or “foids," but because he received tomahawk steaks instead of chicken tenders. (Will Sommer, 19:47–20:47)

• On Cultural Exposure:
  “I know it’s my own fault, but there are so many things I’d rather know nothing about…This is a little depressing.” —Reading social media comments (Sam Stein, 25:13)

• Satirical Advice: After describing Clavicular’s woes, Tim Miller quips,
  “What if he frame mogs the judge?...I’m assuming that he’s...sell mogged a couple of the other criminals he was in jail [with].” (Tim Miller, 22:16)

Reflection & Broader Implications

• The Message to Young Men:
  “Find your self esteem from the inside, from what you're providing to the world...You're handsome the way you are, you know, without the bone smashing.” —Tim Miller (26:42)
• "If this guy is being presented as a model of...the ideal of masculinity in 2026, I think it's worth looking at what...his life really like?” —Will Sommer (26:10)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Clavicular Overview, Looksmaxing, Self-abuse: 02:25–04:47
• Right-Wing Masculinity, Online Ecosystem: 05:12–09:40
• Crime, Controversy, Viral Clips: 10:35–11:38, 21:00–22:16
• Slang Decoded (mogging, jester maxing, gooning): 11:56–13:20, 16:07–18:19
• Club Meltdown, Chicken Tenders Segment: 19:47–20:47
• Public Reaction, Social Satire: 25:31–26:05
• Final Reflections, Message to Listeners: 26:10–27:15

Notable Quotes

• “He will go to any length to get hot...he started anabolic steroids when he was 14...even steroid influencers say, 'this kid is doing too many steroids.'” —Will Sommer (03:08)
• “This is where the discourse is going...right wing culture venerates...this guy. He's got huge followings, he's weighing in on politics.” —Sam Stein (05:50)
• “To get into the narrative...it is these clip farms where people are seeing this...AOC has this on her working for her. Very few politicians do and Clavicular does.” —Tim Miller (09:11)
• “Find your self esteem from the inside...You're handsome the way you are, without the bone smashing.” —Tim Miller (26:42)
• “Is ignoring the foids while munting and mogging moids more useful than smv Chad fishing in the club?...That was kind of a brain teaser for me.” —Tim Miller (18:28)
• “He really wanted his chicken tenders.” —Sam Stein (19:48)

Tone and Takeaways

The hosts toggle between morbid fascination, sardonic humor, and cultural critique, recognizing the outlandishness of Clavicular’s choices while also grappling with why such figures are ascendant among young, angry, and disaffected men online. The panel ultimately urges listeners (and especially young men) to look for self-worth beyond viral fame, trend-driven self-harm, and nihilistic subcultures, while warning that these fringe movements increasingly influence wider right-wing politics and aesthetics.

Useful For:
Anyone wanting a comprehensive, critical, and slightly incredulous breakdown of how misogynistic, extreme self-modification, and meme-driven personalities are shaping (and reflecting) broader right-wing online masculinity—and why this matters for culture, politics, and the internet in 2026.