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When did ‘we’re gonna make it, brah’ become ‘you’re chopped’?
This isn’t what Zyzz wanted for us.
There are certain historical figures whose importance only becomes apparent years after their death. Van Gogh. Kafka. That bloke from the ‘Succulent Chinese Meal’ video.
I’m throwing Aziz Shavershian, known to everyone other than his mother as Zyzz, in that list. Before the term looksmaxxing had any online traction, the Australian bodybuilder was the quintessential gymfluencer of the noughties. He sadly passed in 2011 due to heart complications at just 22.
His ‘scene boy’ hair was the envy of MySpace, his physique looked like it had been rendered on PS3, and his motivational philosophy largely consisted of getting wham, going raving, and telling unassuming skinny teenagers that ‘we’re all gonna make it, brah.’
As a self-confessed ‘scrawny’ World of Warcraft obsessive turned beefcake, Zyzz’s brand of self-improvement seemed to contain something that its modern descendants have no concept of: fun.
the best part about zyzz was he was fun, free, and he had charisma. current looksmaxxers are boring and stale https://t.co/Gj4LwA4riy
— han (@hannaahhn) February 14, 2026
Yes, the geezer was sickeningly vain – just look at this post’s headline image – and the aesthetics movement he preached wasn’t entirely free from dodgy ideas about masculinity. He thew the term ‘bitches’ around a lot and was also was a bit of a coke fiend.
However, his online shtick was intended to be inclusive in the tough love sort of way. The delivery was very much corny gym instructor meets overexcitable frat bro. It was dense, and often expressed through a variation of the c-word, but earnest.
The added bonus of getting the attention he obviously craved, is that he felt he could bring others up. Nobody was ‘chopped’, they just hadn’t been told they could become hencher, happier versions of themselves. It was undoubtedly cringe, but compared to the utter cocks that would become his descendants, it was fairly harmless and meant to be communal.
Fast forward 15 years and looksmaxxing has been commandeered by the manosphere, where apparently the best way to motivate teenage boys is telling them their jaws need a weekly claw hammer session – or telling them nothing at all, other than they’ll never be on your level of attractiveness.
Improvement is still the objective, attention and money are the main goals, and sexual access is the cherry on top, but any sense of community has vanished quicker than test gains without a daily pump.
The attention economy and social media algorithms reward rage-bait over everything else, and the result is that online ‘personalities’ like Clavicular can waffle at Piers Morgan on live TV, treat young women like shit, and call their insecure teenage followers retarded for their genetics – all while earning crazy revenue each month.
When the camera was on, Zyzz was a dick, granted, but he wanted everyone to make it, brah. The ‘Alphas’ who came after realised there’s more money to be made convincing men they won’t.
That’s a pretty big distinction in my books.
ban it, burn it
What’s going on with Meta’s controversial glasses – thred
Remember those Meta smart glasses Zuckerberg said would be everywhere in public? Well, they’re to be banned in a bunch of UK establishments including courts, restaurants, and nightclubs in the near future. Charlie recently wrote a comprehensive explainer on why these glasses are getting so much flak. There are suggestions that the AI features may be linked to problematic labour practices in developing nations, and that many of those exhibiting the tech are invading people’s privacy in the most overt sense. One search on TikTok will show what detractors are worried about. It’s not just creepy blokes filming women without their consent in the smoking area, though. Several institutions are concerned and want clarity on the situation. Read more
The war against ‘woke’ could end US science as we know it – the verge
It wouldn’t be a newsletter without Trump doing something to unite an entire profession against him. I mean it’s a whole seven days. The sprawling proposal threatening to bin any science deemed ‘woke’ has been kicking about for a while, but it appears closer to getting ink on the dotted line. Scientists are warning that in such a case, political priorities would determine where funding goes. Consensus in the industry is that questions are asked before testing begins, but politics is likely to demand the inverse, where conclusions are reached and the ‘working’ is backfilled to credentialise whatever the orange fella wants. The US is currently home to some of the world’s finest scientists, and there’s real trepidation about what could be tenuously labelled ‘woke’ should the bill go ahead. Read more
Dr. Paul Offit says doctors will ignore anti-science denialist Trump and RFK Jr. on vaccines
“I don’t think it changes the pediatrician’s recommendations at all. They look to the American Academy of Pediatrics”
pic.twitter.com/jn98ykH1wP— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) August 12, 2026
system failure
Gen Z is over dating apps. This 403% surge reveals what they’re doing instead – fast company
Fast Company’s Grace Snelling has shared some stark numbers on Gen Z dating. We knew the cohort was becoming disillusioned with the apps, but the latest data from Eventbrite reveals that attendance at singles and dating events surged by 403% between 2024 and 2025. No one dreams of meeting their better half on Hinge, and certainly not Tinder, but it’s encouraging to see that young people are biting the bullet and realising that a bit of IRL awkwardness or embarrassment is preferable to doing digital admin and feeling like clientele. It’s indicative of a quiet rebellion and a desire to get back to having more authentic experiences, more often. Stop lying about your height, stop exaggerating your level of seniority at your job. Put on your good pants and go crack on. Read more
Should unfair dismissals be classed as a public health issue? – thred
Speaking of recruitment, perhaps HR shouldn’t stop caring about you once it’s decided you no longer work there. The death of 26-year-old Chloe Moffat has prompted calls to examine whether unfair dismissal should be treated as a public-health issue, drawing attention to the psychological consequences of suddenly losing employment. Corporate language does a remarkable job of sanitising this process. Businesses ‘restructure’, positions become ‘redundant’, and employees are ‘let go’, as though they’ve been gently released into a meadow rather than stripped of their weekly routine, wages, and sense of purpose. Flo does a far better job of unpacking the question than I’m doing here, paying particular attention to corporate language and how a lack of clarity can send troubled employees spiralling. Read more
Horrified to hear Chloe Moffat who worked at @hmtreasury took her own life a day after she was hauled into a meeting over an anonymous complaint and left terrified she would lose her job.
She was personal assistant for almost three years and was on course for a promotion after…
— MrBounceBack.com (@Bounce_BackLoan) July 31, 2026
