The Michael Knowles Show

Episode: "I Would Hit Myself In The Face With A Hammer" – Michael & The Looksmaxxer | Clavicular

Date: December 27, 2025
Host: Michael Knowles
Guest: Clavicular (Looksmaxxing influencer, live streamer, content creator)

Episode Overview

This candid, at times provocative, conversation between Michael Knowles and the online personality Clavicular delves deep into the controversial world of "looksmaxxing"—an extreme subculture focused on maximizing physical attractiveness, often through pharmaceutical, surgical, and unconventional means. The episode explores Clavicular's personal journey, the broader sociocultural context that gave rise to the looksmaxxing movement, and the philosophical, spiritual, and political dilemmas tethered to this hyper-individualistic quest for self-improvement. Brutal honesty, self-deprecating humor, and a surprising degree of mutual candor structure this dialogue, making it a unique window into both Generation Z anxieties and broader civilizational challenges.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. What is Looksmaxxing? (02:34–05:21)

• Definition: "Looks maxing is the furthest extent that you could take self improvement." (Clavicular, 02:55)
  • Goes beyond bodybuilding to pursue facial, bodily, and even surgical enhancements as the ultimate self-improvement.
  • Emerged from online forums with a masculine slant, particularly as dating migrated online.
• Face Over Physique: Looksmaxxing prioritizes facial aesthetics over traditional gym culture.
  • “The face is more important than the physique.” (03:24–03:46)

2. Clavicular’s Personal Story: A Relentless Path to 'Ascension' (04:38–13:47)

• Early Teen Experimentation: Clavicular began using testosterone and other performance enhancers at age 14 to “masculinize” his face, optimizing growth for a “super physiological puberty.”
  • “Once your growth plates close, there’s nothing you can do.” (05:21)
• Family and Medical Pushback: Parents tried to intervene but Clavicular persisted, sourcing drugs online and hiding them.
  • "I'm just someone who's willing to do whatever needs to be done." (11:14)

3. The Social Media Dating Economy and 'Ascension' (12:25–18:21)

• Dating & Economics Shift: Online dating has hyperinflated the value of looks, raising the perceived barriers to romantic success; now, everyone competes with the “Chads of the world."
  • “It’s not just the top chads of your 15 mile radius…you’re competing with the entire world.” (17:20–18:00)
• Looks vs. Wealth: Clavicular argues that, for most men, it’s more realistic to improve appearance than to become wealthy or acquire high status.
• The Halo Effect:
  • “People are going to perceive the things that you say and the things that you do a lot better if you're good looking.” (20:05)

4. Methods of Looksmaxxing: From the Mundane to the Extreme (22:56–27:06)

• Strategies:
  • Basic (working out, dieting, tanning)
  • Intermediate (injecting testosterone and hormones)
  • Extreme (elective double jaw surgery, bone smashing)
    • “Bone smashing” involves hitting oneself to induce facial bone growth.
  • “I’m getting a double jaw surgery [soon]. That’s probably the furthest it goes.” (24:37)
• Why Go Further?
  • Beyond practical reasons like dating or jobs, Clavicular admits he wants to “mog”—to dominate or outshine others, especially men.
  • “I just want to mog people. I want to have a better halo effect and just better overall quality of life through my looks.” (27:06)

5. Vanity, Value, and the Spiritual Critique (28:23–31:17; 34:12–36:18)

• Vanity vs. Purpose:
  • Knowles pushes on whether this pursuit is just vanity; Clavicular largely embraces it as a means of personal satisfaction and social power.
  • “Isn’t looksmaxxing just vanity?”—Knowles (28:23)
  • “A mogger is someone who’s…the peak human. And that’s in all metrics.” (28:44)
• Spiritual Dimensions:
  • Knowles asks, does looksmaxxing conflict with the spiritual/religious life?
  • Clavicular: “I don’t really have too much regard for the spiritual aspect when I’m trying to looks max.” (30:51)

6. Dating, Balance, and the Paradox of Hyper-Individualism (31:17–36:18)

• Clavicular is single, not interested in a girlfriend due to career focus and his streaming work.
  • “I really wouldn’t have the time to be an interesting partner for any woman, that’s for sure.” (33:24)
• Dating as a Grind: The transactional, time-consuming nature of dating is juxtaposed against the supposed ROI of continued self-maximization.
  • “It’s never an hour…We’re already like down two hours, right?” (34:12)
  • “If I had an extra hour a day, I would be using it at the gym.” (33:44)
• Knowles wonders if this all points to a lack of balance—a neglect of cultivating other loves or pursuits beyond self-improvement.

7. Online Culture, Pornography, and the New Standards of Beauty (58:24–62:33)

• The ubiquity of porn is blamed for distorting beauty norms and further pushing the population to focus only on the physical.
  • “One of the evils of pornography is it reduces people…merely to the physical.” (60:22)
• Clavicular denounces pornography yet acknowledges that looksmaxxing shares the focus on physicality.
  • “That, yeah, it’s not far from the truth…but it’s just what needs to be done in society.” (61:38)

8. Politics, Accelerationism, and the Doomer Mindset (67:25–91:06)

• Political Hopelessness:
  • Clavicular espouses a kind of blackpilled accelerationism—believing the right is ineffective, politics is mostly performative, and society will (and should) get worse before it can get better.
  • “That’s just how it is…You might as well adapt to the times…” (67:25)
  • “Individualism is good. Adapt to the society that we live in because that’s the highest chance of success.” (72:02)
• Public vs. Private Responsibility:
  • Knowles argues passionately for communal action, the necessity of politics, and charity—contrasting it with the hyper-individualism advocated by looksmaxxing.
• Election Prediction: Clavicular, emphasizing the supremacy of looks and charisma, insists Gavin Newsom will become president, defeating less-attractive candidates—regardless of policy.

9. The Toll and Ethics of Extreme Looksmaxxing (78:11–82:09)

• Bone smashing, drugs, and elective high-risk surgery are all justified in pursuit of maxing out appearance, with Clavicular expressing little empathy for those who fail or fall through the cracks.
  • "Sometimes in my political activism I would rather hit myself in the head with a hammer, without question." – Knowles (79:30)
  • “Bone smashing is legit…You can find this stuff online.” (78:49)

10. Drug Use, Physical Limits, and Health Risks (119:47–125:18)

• Clavicular is open about using meth, cocaine, acid, and steroids—justified for "leanness" and productivity, but not recommended for most.
  • “Maybe I traded like some neurotoxicity for temporary leanness to ascend really quickly.” (121:14)
• Admits most methods are not sustainable for average people and carry real health risks.

11. Self-Improvement vs. Charity, and the Limits of the Looksmaxxer Philosophy (105:08–117:32)

• Charity and Empathy:
  • Knowles contends that without charity, no self-improvement will yield true flourishing or happiness.
  • “You could have every single virtue…and if you lack charity, you have nothing.” (106:57)
• Clavicular’s Response: He cares for men’s issues, but only for those “willing to help themselves,” dismissing wider societal or charitable concern as an inefficient “cope,” and often decries systemic help for addicts or the destitute.
• Flourishing and Happiness: Knowles draws parallels to ancient philosophy and suggests that true eudaimonia (flourishing) is impossible with a solely material focus.

12. Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Clavicular on the drive for self-improvement:
  “I just want to mog people. I want to have a better halo effect and just better overall quality of life through my looks.” (27:06)
• On the limits of political change:
  “I don’t think I can do anything. I don’t think anyone watching can do anything. I don’t think it’s likely that even someone with as big of a reach as you can…” (81:10)
• Knowles on spiritual and communal duty:
  “How about I don’t mind my own business, actually? How about my business is my community and I have a right to enforce standards and norms that are good and traditional and conducive to flourishing?” (75:25)
• Clavicular’s controversial method:
  “I used to use a hammer, but my parents would go into my bathroom and take it away.” (78:39)
  "You would hit yourself in the head with a hammer?" – Knowles
  "Yeah." – Clavicular (78:48–78:49)
• On politics and looks:
  “Gavin Newsom obviously mogs him [JD Vance] to death.” (82:53)

13. Closing: Self-Improvement Without Balance is Hollow (136:12–139:11)

• Knowles challenges the self-improvement dogma, highlighting the value of charity, spiritual growth, balance, and cultural enrichment.
• Clavicular acknowledges the ideal in theory—marriage, monogamy, and humility—but insists on the "realism" of society's trajectory, advocating adaptation above reform.
• A humorous but poignant moment:
  • "Sometimes in my political activism I would rather hit myself in the head with a hammer, without question." (79:30)

Timestamps of Key Segments

• [02:34] – What is looksmaxxing?
• [04:38] – Clavicular’s origin story, teenage hormonal self-experimentation
• [12:25] – Online dating, the rise of the 'global Chad'
• [20:05] – The “halo effect” explained
• [24:37] – Elective surgery: “I’m getting a double jaw surgery”
• [27:06] – The mogging drive
• [30:51] – Spirituality and looksmaxxing
• [33:44] – “If I had an extra hour a day, I would use it at the gym…not date.”
• [58:24] – Pornography and its effects on beauty standards
• [61:38] – Looksmaxxing and dehumanization
• [67:25] – Political black pill “accelerationism”
• [78:48] – “You would hit yourself in the head with a hammer?” – “Yeah.”
• [81:10] – “I don’t think anyone can do anything…”
• [105:08] – “One thing that would appear to be missing… is concern for other people.”
• [112:10] – Eternity, meaning, and priorities
• [117:32] – “That’s…a generally positive thing to improve those metrics [looks, money, status].”
• [121:33] – Meth, drugs, and the cost of ascension
• [136:12] – Final advice: cosmetic “fixes,” maintaining hair and leanness

Episode Tone and Takeaways

• Tone: A blend of blunt honesty, generational tension, dark humor, and moments of surprising introspection.
• Takeaway: Looksmaxxing, in its most extreme online form, represents a profound kind of cultural and spiritual alienation—a search for meaning in a hyper-competitive, atomized, visual world. Knowles challenges the wisdom of this path, advocating for balance, tradition, and charity. Clavicular personifies the hyper-rational—and often nihilistic—mentality of his cohort, pushing adaptation over reform and individualism over community or spirituality.

For listeners, the episode offers a visceral look into one of the strangest and most extreme self-improvement cultures online, grounded by a debate over what makes life—individual and societal—truly worth living.