PHOENIX — He's just as controversial as he is good-looking.
The social media influencer known as "Clavicular," is likely all over your feed - or your teen's.
Clavicular has built a name for himself by trying what many would say are the dark, even riskiest of ways, to become more attractive.
ABC15 is taking a closer look at the trend, the true cost of beauty, and one Valley man's journey to do it the healthy way, improving himself from the inside out.
"Bishop" is what most people now call Raymond Walker, but he says it wasn't always the case!
"Back in the day, they'd call me, 'Big Ray!'" Raymond explains.
For nearly his entire life, Raymond has battled with his weight, at one point tipping the scales at 500 pounds.
"I'll never forget there was a time I went to an amusement park and they told me I was too big to fit in the ride," explains Raymond.
After injuring his knee, Raymond says he realized he needed to put his health first, beginning his weight-loss journey by changing his diet, adding daily exercise, and getting the FDA-approved gastric sleeve in 2019, you could say this pastor was "born again" - but in a different sense, losing 300 pounds.
"I used to walk in the room like I was the biggest, and now, sometimes I'm the smallest!" says Raymond, with a big smile on his face.
He says he always followed medical advice, took his journey step by step, and avoided going to extremes, which is the concern many have with Clavicular.
With his chiseled jaw and trendy good looks, he's behind the social media trend known as "Looksmaxxing."
With millions of social media followers, the 20-year-old is just as well-known as he is controversial, discussing what many would consider to be extreme lengths, like using testosterone therapy as a teen, double-jaw surgery, and even using a hammer to try to contour his face.
"This can't be real," said Dr. Carlos Mata, a board-certified plastic surgeon, about the first time he heard about the Looksmaxxing trend.
Dr. Mata, also known as"Dr. Scottsdale," does both plastic and reconstructive surgery and was even trained at Harvard.
"It's not really reality," he explains. "Looksmaxxing is pushing it to another level."
It's a level that Dr. Mata says is creating unnecessary risk.
"You have no idea how the body scars. It's like throwing spaghetti against the wall and saying this is how the spaghetti will stick. You don't know."
Dr. Mata says about 40% of his practice is now made up of revisions for procedures for patients where something went wrong. He explains that every surgery carries risk. But when you're not going to an experienced, board-certified surgeon or attempting a DIY procedure at home, the results can be disastrous.
"When you're Looksmaxxing, you are doing these things where you are traumatizing your own body."
"I think people have always dealt with insecurities with how they look," explains licensed associate therapist Charlie Jannetto, who also owns Sonoran Bloom Counseling.
But Jannetto says the difference with Looksmaxxing is the huge influence social media now plays, especially for teens.
"Some of the more extreme versions of this are just being promoted the most in their feeds. They're always seeing it."
According to a 2022 survey from the Boston Children's Digital Wellness Lab and the Harvard Medical School, 46% of teens ages 13-17 said using social media made them feel worse about their body image.
"You want self-improvement to really create confidence and make you feel good about yourself and not be obsessing with how you look compared to others," explains Jannetto.
Dr. Mata also had another message for anyone attempting the more extreme versions of Looksmaxxing.
"Be careful," he says. "Just because it's a social media trend doesn't mean it's going to last or that it's safe or that it's actually practical and useful."
Now that Raymond has kept his weight off, he's undergone two procedures with Dr. Mata to remove excess skin. Raymond says not only does he love what he sees - he also loves what he feels.
"Be the best you can be," says Raymond. "Be healthy. Set your goals. Work hard - and make sure you do it the right way."
