When Clavicular went under the knife to further alter his already chiseled face, the contentious influencer surely thought the results would only strengthen his burgeoning ‘looksmaxxing’ empire.
Instead, his apparent vanity project seems to be threatening all that he’s worked for.
For fans of the 20-year-old online celebrity, real name Braden Peters, believe that his rhinoplasty earlier this month has left him looking ‘botched’ – his extreme quest to ‘looksmax,’ or achieve peak male attractiveness, quite literally blowing up in his face.
An inside source close to Clavicular told the Daily Mail, however, that the real ‘tragedy’ is not the streamer’s swollen nose. Rather, they warned his obsession with self image and an ‘addictive personality’ pose a real danger.
‘It’s a tragedy really. His face is naturally attractive, but he’s got serious body dysmorphia and he’s also extremely sensitive and thin-skinned,’ the source claimed to the Daily Mail.
‘He cares about what every mean comment and fan says, so of course he’s going to be goaded into getting needless surgeries. It really is a tragedy because now he looks permanently bloated.
‘This is only the start, he will keep getting more work. He has an addictive personality.’
Peters debuted his un-bandaged nose earlier this month, but was met with harsh criticism from his fans, who said his rhinoplasty looked ‘botched’
Peters, pictured before his surgery, grew to internet prominence for being a major figure in the niche online ‘looksmaxxing’ community
The New Jersey native’s ascent to cultural leader of the looksmaxxing world is the result of the six years he spent exploring niche bodybuilding forums, studying the notion of facial harmony and attractiveness scales, and taking steroids since he was 14.
By his own admission, Peters believes he is infertile due to the multiple years he took 300mg of testosterone – a high dose of the hormone that carries serious health risks – to speed up puberty and transform his body to fit his desired hypermasculine look.
‘He privately jokes to friends that he is “male-to-male” trans,’ our insider claimed.
Still, his cult-like following of more than one million ‘looksmaxxers’ – many of which are teenage boys – watch his videos on how to improve their appearance and heed his controversial dating advice about women.
And the more he evangelized his looksmaxxing regimen online, the more extreme his viral stunts became.
He began taking experimental weight-loss drugs and smoking meth to stay lean. On a livestream, he once said his parents believe him to be a ‘drug addict.’
Then, Peters was arrested in February this year for suspicion of entering a bar with a fake ID, though charges were dropped, and the following month he was charged with unlawfully discharging a firearm at a wildlife sanctuary in Florida and pleaded no contest in May. He was sentenced to six months probation and was ordered to complete 20 hours of community service – which cannot be streamed or monetized – as well as firearm and wildlife safety courses.
In April, he was rushed to the hospital after he began slurring his speech on a livestream and struggled to hold up his head, as videos showed Peters being carried by two men out of a Miami club to an ambulance.
According to our source, it seems there is no end in sight to the streamer’s drastic behavior: ‘He’s got rid of a lot of people around him who cared about him and only surrounds himself with “yes men” now, so there’s no one to stop it.’
His plastic surgery, then, is just the latest in a string of shocking spectacles.
Peters, pictured before his surgeries, is most known for his controversial ‘looksmaxxing’ regimen and viral online stunts
On June 3, Peters livestreamed his rhinoplasty on Kick – the online platform where he rakes in a reported $100,000 each month, per the New York Times – for his 373,000 viewers. He filmed his meeting with his plastic surgeon and shared gory footage of himself passed out on the operating table while doctors reconstructed his nose.
But that’s not all; just one week after his nose job, Peters underwent an otoplasty to adjust the angle and appearance of his ears. He also removed a scar on his face as well as his wisdom teeth, as part of what he dubbed his ‘Ascension Week.’
Indeed, Peters has long professed his desire to go under the knife in order to ‘ascend,’ a looksmaxxing term for becoming more handsome. The rhinoplasty, Peters previously shared on a podcast, intended to narrow the base and de-rotate the tip of his nose.
But rather than default to his at-home means of achieving peak aesthetic attractiveness – such as ‘bone smashing,’ which involves hitting the bones in his face with a hammer to be more chiseled – he turned to a board-certified plastic surgeon for his cosmetic enhancements.
And the doctor was none other than celebrity plastic surgeon Dr Michael Salzhauer, known online as Dr Miami.
With over four million followers across Instagram and TikTok, the Florida-based plastic surgeon – and self-professed pioneer of Brazilian Butt Lifts – has been embroiled in controversy of his own. In April this year, ex-employee Santina Rizzi claimed she stopped working for Salzhauer because of his ‘erratic’ behavior and said he had ‘no concept of good or bad.’
At the time, Salzhauer said in a statement that Rizzi’s claims were ‘omitting necessary background and context’ but he did ‘not want to invalidate her experience.’
Still, our insider claimed that turning to the celebrity plastic surgeon was Peters’ first mistake.
‘Who goes to Miami for plastic surgery? It’s all so misguided,’ the source said.
The Daily Mail has contacted Peters and Salzhauer for comment.
Peters livestreamed his rhinoplasty on Kick, with footage showing him meeting with his surgeon, known as Dr Miami
Peters has long professed his desire to go under the knife in order to ‘ascend,’ a looksmaxxing term for becoming more handsome
Peters’ surgery was performed by Salzhauer, better known as Dr Miami
Peters debuted his new nose six days post-operation during a livestream, sans bandages.
It is not the plastic surgery alone that sparked outcry from his devout fanbase, but rather the prospect that Peters can no longer ‘mog,’ or physically surpass, other men.
It didn’t take long for the live chat to be flooded with comments from viewers saying his nose job appeared to be ‘botched’ and he looked ‘more feminine’ with his new nose. Meanwhile on X, some critics said Peters’ new nose didn’t align with his natural facial proportions.
And, as our insider suggested, it appeared that Peters took some of the criticism to heart.
On the livestream, he reminded viewers that his nose was still swollen six days post-surgery, brushing off ‘botched’ comments and saying that his nose ‘f***ing mogs’ and he doesn’t ‘give a f***’ about their opinions.
He appeared to poke fun at the criticism in a video posted to TikTok by posing in his bandages alongside a Michael Jackson impersonator. Peters captioned the video, ‘Who had a better nose job?’
A clip from a subsequent livestream also went viral on X, as fans suggested that Peters looked teary-eyed and emotional over his rhinoplasty results.
But experts who spoke to the Daily Mail agreed it is still too early to determine the actual results of Peters’ rhinoplasty.
Dr William C Harris, a double board-certified facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon based in Beverly Hills, California, agreed that swelling may be impacting the appearance of his nose based on before and after photos.
‘His rhinoplasty results are in the very early stages of healing, and it’s important for people to understand how much the nose changes in the first several months, and even up to a year or beyond,’ Harris, who did not treat Peters, told the Daily Mail.
‘At one to two weeks post-op, the nose will typically look pudgy, unrefined, and soft until the swelling comes down and reveals the nuances of the newly created underlying structure.’
But for an influencer whose entire career is built around his appearance, even the suggestion that Peters looks ‘botched’ can have major consequences on his standing in the looksmaxxing community.
Peters, pictured before his surgeries, seemed unphased by his followers’ harsh reaction to the results of his procedure
On the livestream, he reminded viewers that his nose was still swollen mere days post-surgery
According to Dr Claudia Kim, a cosmetic surgeon and chief medical officer at New Look New Life in New York City, the looksmaxxing trend represents a broader cultural shift in cosmetic treatments, as more men have expressed an interest in altering their physical appearance.
‘Men are under more appearance pressure than people sometimes realize, and many are becoming more open about wanting to look better, feel more confident or refine certain features,’ said Kim, who did not comment on the results of Peters’ rhinoplasty as she did not treat or examine him.
A 2024 survey from the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) found that 95 percent of the academy’s facial plastic surgeons treated male patients the previous year.
‘There is nothing wrong with wanting to improve your appearance or feel more confident,’ said Kim. ‘Where I think the trend becomes concerning is when online culture turns appearance into a constant optimization project.’
But for Peters, his mission to ‘ascend’ isn’t over yet.
He intends to travel to Turkey for a $35,000 double-jaw surgery, which involves cutting the upper and lower jaw bones to separate them from the skull and advance the jaw forward.
His international plans, however, were put on hold – he revealed in December that his parents had confiscated his birth certificate and passport.
‘His parents worry, but what can they do?’ our insider said. ‘He’s wanted surgeries for a long time and talked about traveling to Eastern Europe for cheap procedures, that’s why his parents took his passport away.
‘People care about him but he can’t be reasoned with,’ they added. ‘It’s so sad. It’s really intense body dysmorphia.’
