With the rise of platforms like TikTok and internet culture meaning 15 minutes of fame barely surmounts to 15 seconds these days, you have to do something to stand out from the crowd. When it comes to one 19-year-old, he's shocked and concerned the internet in an attempt to go viral.
Over on Instagram and TikTok, the so-called 'Crooked Man' has made a name for himself by only training one side of his body and one specific muscle. Seemingly aiming for some sort of Tom Hardy in The Dark Knight Rises-inspired body transformation, he's only been working out his trapezius muscle, which is a large muscle group that's located in the upper back and neck.
Flexing his muscles (literally), getting that swole trap look can be done with shrugs and barbell deadlifts, although a lot of it does come down to genetics.
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The basic idea is that the 19-year-old content creator has only been training one muscle on one side, serving as a middle finger to TikTok's 'looksmaxing' trend.
For those who don't know, looksmaxing is said to have originated on incel message boards of the 2010s and involves the practise of 'maximizing' your looks through everything from hygiene routines to overuse of the gym, or even cosmetic surgery.
Explaining his own take on this, the Crooked Man said: "Why does the one-trap guy work out one trap? It's pretty simple. I was scrolling TikToks in my Ferrari, and I kept getting these looksmaxing TikToks.
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"And they were like, 'Do this, do that. You'll look more attractive. You'll get more women'."
Saying he has the opposite problem and gets 'so many DMS', he wanted to find the opposite solution and coined the phrase of 'looksminimizing'. Adding that he was flicking through TikTok, he continued: "What was the best way to looksminimize? Become more asymmetrical. Work out one trap, it solved my problem. And man, it has worked like a charm."
He recently shared a video from day 197, showing off how he's jacked up his left-hand side. More than just working on his trap, it looks like he's started working on his left bicep and left leg in a similar way, really leaning into his 'crooked' aesthetic. Earlier videos claim that his parents have 'disowned' him, although he later says they've let him back in.
Opinions on his posts are mixed, with someone writing on his 197-day post on TikTok and saying: "Bro ur goated never let the haters get to you."
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Another said: "Bro saying ‘Parents let me back in’ like they could even stop him if they tried 🙏 one shoulder charge and it’s an express ticket to the pearly gates 💀."
Elsewhere on Instagram, someone else added: "What a strange thing for your free will to choose to do."
Dr. Joren Whitley also chimed in, saying: "As a chiropractor- wouldn’t recommend intentionally causing that much compensation."
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Many have branded looksmaxing 'toxic', with the trend of mewing (using tongue exercise to try and improve the shape of the jaw) also being a regular trend among the looksmaxing community, and many looking up to the likes of Andrew Tate as supposed heroes. While the Crooked Man claims he's trying to do the opposite of this, he's becoming a notable presence among the looksmaxing community.