ZyzzReincarnate Interview: Lessons From a Full Looksmaxxing Arc

Follow ZyzzReincarnate on Instagram, Kick, TikTok, LinkTree and Looksmaxxing Forum.

ZyzzReincarnate first appeared online in the late 2010s, documenting a rapid physical transformation and his approach to appearance-focused self-improvement from a young age.

Over the years, his journey has included periods of intense involvement, complete withdrawal, and eventual reflection. In this exclusive interview, he looks back on how he got started, what changed during his time away, and how his perspective has shifted since returning.

Interview Date: January 30th, 2026

Personal Journey & Origins

DR: Take me back to 2018 when you were 16. What was going on in your life, and what led you to discover looksmaxxing and the blackpill in the first place?

ZR: I’d say that my journey definitely started with my first day in the gym. I still remember the day, March 14, 2018. I had grown up tall and skinny, effectively living my life through online games (which I was quite good at), and used to get made fun of in school for being ridiculously thin (6’2, 135lbs).

At this age, you notice that by now all the friends you grew up with have had girlfriends by now or have at least developed some amount of ability to flirt with women, but I had not at all. Not to mention, I was very quiet in school, not speaking very much, but when I was gaming, I had plenty to say, was a huge troll, and had a very confident personality.

This was essentially my “real” personality, which I wasn’t equipped to reveal in real life.

I recall incels.co and the incel subreddit getting some media traction at this point, and I looked into it out of curiosity and found that I had related to a lot of the negative experiences some users have had with people (especially women), with a lot of them having no other possible reason aside from them being unattractive. (Although there were plenty of insane takes I disagree with)

I remember waking up for school one morning with little to no sleep from gaming the night before, and looking at myself in the mirror, and I was absolutely disgusted with myself & how I looked. I didn’t even grow up a bad-looking kid; I just became an ugly teenager.

Before Looksmax.org existed, I was attempting “Looksmaxxing” on my own through skincare, gym, and hair products, among other bluepilled normie methods.

(2018, 16y/o)

DR: You’ve said Zyzz had a big impact on you (enough to base your username on him). What did Zyzz represent to you at that age?

ZR: Yes! Zyzz was the real beginning of everything for me. I was about two months into Gymmaxxing, made some gains, and could see my abs. My original goal was to hit 155-165lbs lean with some abs. Lean, skinny, athletic body type. I had no desire to use anabolic steroids, nor to become incredibly muscular by any means. My brother asked me if I knew about this guy, “Zyzz,” and I said no. He was surprised and showed me an hour-long video documentary on his life & ascension.

Zyzz had grown up EXACTLY how I did. Tall, skinny, nerdy, made fun of in school, no girls, and lived online on his video games, just as I did. Upon seeing his remarkable transformation, he took his online game confidence into the real world in the most hilarious way imaginable. It was the most inspiring story I had ever seen at that point, and I IMMEDIATELY began idolizing him.

(2019, 17y/o)

I was going to be like Zyzz or die trying. I even teared up at multiple points of the video due to how much I related to him, and he truly made me believe with all my heart that I could do that too, when forever I had always felt that my genetics were garbage and suited for long-distance running only, and I could never achieve a Greek God physique like his.

I really felt like the day I watched that video, a flip switched in my brain (srs). I had basically seen myself as a useless nobody who slept through school all day just to play video games all night with no plans for the future, basically coping day by day. However, by the time I finished watching that video, the goal wasn’t to reach 165 pounds lean anymore. I wanted to become a God.

Eventually, one day lurking incels.co, underneath the header of the page they had announced Looksmax.org as a forum specifically for trying to ascend, since not everybody on incels was into Looksmaxxing, and plenty were discouraged from trying. Separating the two was definitely a good call. I never made an account on incels, but I immediately made an account on looksmax. That is the birth of “ZyzzReincarnate.”

I would quite literally, in most situations in life, think to myself, “What would Zyzz do here?” “What would Zyzz say in response to this?” etc. It’s pretty amusing to think about now in hindsight, but it seriously worked for me when it came to building confidence and transforming my identity. Zyzz got his first tattoo at 19: “Veni Vidi Vici” on his chest. When I was 19, I got the exact same one.

DR: Looking at this forum post from 2018 (image below), it really captures your mindset and goals at 16. What were you thinking when you made that post, and how has your perspective changed since then?

ZR: If I recall correctly, I made this post after I saw the girl I liked in school hanging out with another guy every morning, when it used to be me. I had returned to school after a summer break spent lifting, and honestly, I gained an incredible amount of muscle very quickly!

I had received a lot of attention from my peers and had developed a great deal more confidence by then, but this ultimately destroyed me and made me realize what should’ve been obvious. This guy wasn’t even jacked, and he mogged me just by having a more attractive face.

I thought I had left my old nerd days behind, but no; there was much more that needed to be done, and this only fueled my determination further.

I made this after I was done being sad for 15 minutes about it getting home from school, getting ready for gym. As for how my perspective has changed, I don’t think I could ever become a “gigachad” (without hardmaxxing), nor do I really care, honestly.

I have already achieved everything I wished for since I made this post, so I’d say I’ve reached a level of looks that I’m relatively satisfied with; at least satisfied enough not to hardmax.

DR: In the early days, what problem did you think looksmaxxing was going to solve for you? And looking back now, was that assumption right or wrong?

ZR: Back in the good ol’ days, I thought Looksmaxxing was the answer to a better life all across the board, especially when it comes to attracting women. I figured there wasn’t a single problem in life that looking BETTER wouldn’t provide an edge with. Looking back now, I’d say that I was right about this, but not to the extent that I originally believed.

Money is incredibly important. You need to make a lot of money, especially if you want to looksmax anyway. Nowadays, it almost feels like being good-looking isn’t enough; you need to be good-looking AND wealthy to live the life you desire and attract as many women as possible.

This also leads us towards neurotypicality and its importance; you need to be very well socially versed to make good money and to give you the edge in attraction as well.

Leaving, Growing Up, and Returning

DR: You left the community in 2020 (even requesting a ban). What pushed you to step away completely at that point?

ZR: Honestly, I noticed I was becoming incredibly mentally ill and was maybe even addicted to the forum. It gave me a terrible worldview, even skipping school for 3 months straight at one point because I was too embarrassed to show my face there. Not even because I thought I was THAT ugly, but because I was tall with a great physique, so it sort of put my mediocre face in the spotlight, which felt humiliating.

(2019, 17y/o)

I couldn’t go through any interaction without obsessing over how I looked at the moment, and even just a bad acne breakout was enough for me to hide myself from the world. When I noticed friends of mine with girlfriends and had these minor flaws without issue, that’s when I took it upon myself to fix my own mindset by leaving the community. I had already established an ascension plan, and there was no information of value left for me to learn from the forum. I stepped away to become neurotypical and finish my journey.

DR: You spent about five years away from the community (including being in a long-term relationship). How did that time away change the way you view looksmaxxing, the community, and life in general?

ZR: The time away was honestly what I desperately needed at the time. I was stressing over my looks to the point where it was negatively impacting my interactions with people. I needed to put myself out there in the world and see how I am received with what I’d built thus far.

Initially, I was stuck in that terrible mentality I had for longer than I’d like to admit, with certain interactions leading me back down the train of thought of how ugly I am and there’s nothing I can do about it. It wasn’t until March 2021 that I finally started using real anabolic steroids instead of sarms/prohormones, where this changed.

They gave me this newfound confidence that I’d become very low inhibition, become a lot more masculine, and ascend. Truly, I only started roiding because I really believed that they would masculinize me entirely (especially my face), after consulting friends of mine who had used them as teenagers.

(March 2021, 19y/o, 175lbs)

Steroids massively bolstered my confidence, put a shitton of size on me (hyper-responder, thanks Mom and Dad), and I basically said fuck it; I’m roided, I’m jacked, I’m manic, I’m angry, I’m going to go party like Zyzz, get super jacked, and live my life how I always wanted to.

Trenbolone is really the one that made me like this. Tren gave me this manic sort of invincible, autist-like confidence and personality on top of making me look insane. I had the time of my life partying like Zyzz on steroids, was getting attention from women, and had achieved that presence I’ve desired from the very beginning.

I had an anti-relationship mentality due to the blackpill, but during this time, I met my ex. I’ll never forget the day I met her because she made such a profound impression on me. I walk into this bar, 6’3, 220lbs lean, trenboloned, cocky 19 year old. I was trolling some girls with my friend and she came up behind me and started yelling at me in my face, basically matching my energy to the T.

(October 2021, 19y/o, 215lbs)

We were beefing big time, but eventually got along over realizing how much we shared in common, starting with the fact that we both attended the same EDM festival recently. I basically ended up falling in love with her immediately that night.

Throughout my long-term relationship with her I thought about the blackpill less and less. I was more focused on my career and future at this point and building a life with her, since I had already ascended. My perspective on PSL far down the line was that they promoted a defeatist mentality all across the board that discourages people from even trying. (At least during my era).

DR: What specifically made you decide to come back to the community in 2025?

ZR: Honestly? I recall seeing Looksmax content appear on TikTok after SyrianPsycho’s ascent went viral in 2022-2023. I started looking into the forums again, wondering how my old community was doing, but didn’t wish to request an unban at this point.

I tried posting a few videos on an old TikTok account I had (that got banned for posting Looksmax content lol), but they never did any good, really. It wasn’t until my ex and I broke up that I decided to re-enter the community this year. I’d say that my commitment to our relationship was my primary reason for not returning sooner, as my involvement in PSL communities could have negatively impacted our relationship.

What really compelled me to bite the bullet and return was the fact that the blackpill’s aftereffects, which had been lingering within me, had grown more and more pronounced over time, separated from her. Seeing what our relationship was from a more cynical point of view, to be honest, was a significant factor. Seeing as I only really knew one way to deal with these sorts of negative outcomes, I returned to improving upon my appearance in any way I could.

PEDs & Physical Development

DR: You’re very open about PED use during your teenage years. Can you break down what your protocol actually looked like and when you started?

ZR: I started dabbling with legal loopholed prohormones (4-andro, 1-andro) and SARMs (LGD-4033, Ostarine, S4, etc) around 16/17. The prohormones honestly were very mild, but 4-andro actually is a precursor to another prohormone that converts into testosterone. I was able to run SARM cycles with a testosterone base by adding this to my stack. By 19, I made the jump to actual gear.

My first injectable cycle yielded incredible results, thanks to being a hyper-responder. I started off running a Supertest blend of Enanthate+Cypionate [REDACTED: specific dosages removed]. Along with this, I eventually added some Oxandrolone to my cycle [REDACTED: dosage removed]. I put on a massive amount of size and strength rapidly, going from about 185lbs to 220lbs super fast. I gained some body fat, considering I had just ended a cut before, though.

Further into this cycle, I still felt like I needed something more. I still felt less than what I wished to be, despite everything. I wanted something that would not only greatly improve my physique and sexual dimorphism, but also completely reshape my self-image. Trenbolone Acetate was my solution for this. [REDACTED: specific dosages removed]. This completely changed the course of things for me. I actually dropped 5lbs but became much stronger, much bigger, much leaner, and felt much more brutal and powerful. It was amazing.

My next cycle, I ran trenbolone again with testosterone [REDACTED: specific dosages removed]. I did this after the breakup of a short relationship I had with a woman during the last cycle, and wanted to go out, party, and be cold-hearted towards everyone and everything. Pretty silly, but this was my 19-year-old brain at the time.

DR: Beyond PEDs, what other looksmaxxing methods or strategies did you actively pursue and how important were they to your overall transformation?

ZR: For the most part, PEDs and bodybuilding were the main drivers for my ascension, however there were a few other significant looksmaxxes I performed on myself in order to improve my appeal. Some notable ones would be my use of Melanotan II, which helped me drastically improve my coloring. I was incredibly pale, with blonde hair and very bright blue eyes. Switching from glasses to contact lenses, whilst adding Melanotan, allowed me to accentuate my eyes as a notable feature of mine, thanks to the contrast with my new, tanned skin.

(19-23y/o)

Another prominent “Looksmax” of mine was growing out my hair. I have a pretty big forehead, and not the best FWHR (Facial Width to Height Ratio). Growing my hair voluminous and long enough to fall down the sides of my face would create the illusion of a wider face, aiding in my aesthetics as a frauding method. Due to my unique hair color and texture, I found that it became one of the most appreciated and complimented features of my appearance overall, second to my physique.

(17-19y/o)

Lastly, believe it or not, getting high-quality tattoos as a male, especially with a physique, can really increase your SMV. I’m not even too sure exactly how to describe its effects other than using terms like “Low-Trust” and “Brutal”. For some reason, being jacked with tattoos is just better, especially if it’s a piece like an arm sleeve.

(16-21y/o)

DR: You’ve mentioned that you’re basically fully softmaxxed now. Are you considering pursuing hardmaxxing, or do you feel satisfied with where you are physically? What would that next stage look like if you chose to go for it?

ZR: I am pretty satisfied with where I am now, looks-wise. If I were to pursue any kind of hardmaxxing, it would probably be getting some zygoma filler and perhaps buccal fat removal or Aqualyx/Fat dissolvers. I have no serious plans to go through with this for now, though. Seeing as I have reached a level of looks where I’m treated as good as I initially wished to be.

(16-22y/o)

DR: You’ve also mentioned competing in men’s physique shows. Can you walk us through that experience (i.e. how you prepared, what the competition was like, and what you learned from it physically and mentally?)

Yes! So I competed back in September 2023. Starting in July that year, after a festival, I wanted to go all in on fitness, potentially seeing it as a career. I figured competing at a local show would be a good way to get myself out there in my town’s fitness community. I competed in Men’s Physique in the true novice, novice, and overall divisions. Originally, back when I started my journey, I had no aspirations towards competing ever, seeing as it was counterproductive towards overall progression and a pain in the ass, but honestly? Prep was not that difficult for me at all.

My nutrition consisted of about 2600 calories, 200g protein, 350g carbs, 60g fats if I recall correctly. Thanks to my naturally skinny, lean composition, I was able to get in shape very quickly for my show. Originally planning on hitting an October show, I got in contest shape really fast, so my coach and I decided to hit an earlier show in town instead of the other one I was going to compete at which was further away.

I didn’t have to do much cardio at all, either. By peak week, I was only doing 5-6 days a week of 35 minutes on the stairmaster at 6 speed, which is very little compared to what other competitors have to do. (Thanks, Mom and Dad, again.) Training was pretty standard, not too different from what I normally did.

Nutrition:

(Carbs were raised from this via text message communication with my coach at the time)

Training:

Chest/Triceps

Back/Biceps

Quads/Glutes

Hamstrings/Calves

Shoulders/Arms

There were a couple of times I caved in and had a piece of Hershey’s Chocolate, haha, but I overall stayed pretty disciplined with my routine, which honestly surprised me, as I’m not a very disciplined person. Mostly just obsessive, to be honest.

On show day, I was incredibly excited! All my hard work was ready to be revealed to the fitness scene of my area. I recall meeting the other competitors, many of them whom I know from the local gyms I train at. I got to meet a lot of their coaches, too, great people! We’d sit backstage talking about all the food we’re going to eat once this is done and over with, chatting gym bro shit, good environment. I finally understood why people actually fall in love with the sport. The show day was just amazing.

Thanks to my genetics, I had an incredibly powerful structure. My men’s physique trunks were a size 28, which is incredibly narrow compared to my 25″ Bideltoid width at the time! I had the best V-Taper on stage and even showed up wider than a 6’5 250 lbs weight-capped competitor.

I ended up getting second place in true novice and novice, whilst getting third in the overall category. Incredible for my age at the time (21). Despite that, as you can see in the photo above, I was incredibly dissatisfied with this result because I showed up here to win first place. This dissatisfaction quickly subsided upon getting dinner with the family and drinking water haha.

And of course, my friends and I had to hit the bars afterwards. Great night that was.

DR: Along the way, did you experience any setbacks, injuries, or mistakes (either from PEDs, training, or other methods) that taught you important lessons?

ZR: I experienced MANY setbacks, too many to write in here honestly. Some notable setbacks were during the Covid year, in March 2020. All the gyms shut down, and I was 18 years old, still eating like a dirty bulking skinny kid, but without training. I got FAT for the first time in my life, and also developed some gynecomastia from having abused sarms and prohormones as a teenager.

(March 2020, 18 years old, 210lbs)

This was probably the worst I had ever looked, and this was after two years of Looksmaxxing. Obviously, I was devastated by this. Hormonally, I was destroyed, and I hated my appearance. This was the result of obsessing over my appearance desperately as a teenager, thanks to PSL. Around this time, I requested a ban on Looksmax.org so that I could work on my mental health and focus on real life.

I ended up trying to “Leanmaxx” after this, seeing as I thought the gym was cope, as all the users have been saying the entire time. My new goal was simply to get lean again and maintain a lean, athletic build. I starved myself down to 170-175lbs by February 2021.

I found that when I would go out with my friends, I wasn’t getting the same “big frame, built guy” respect I was getting when I was much bigger. This angered me, seeing as I wasn’t really more attractive to women either, being smaller. Despite every user saying these things to me and having convinced me of it, my experience in real life was completely different. This is where I started to notice that a lot of what PSL users promote is an inaccurate reflection of real life.

Thanks to my having left the forums at this time, I decided to do my OWN Looksmaxxing, based on my OWN observations and how I’m received, applying the knowledge I’ve accrued over the years to my own methods. This led to me starting my first real injectable steroid cycle in March 2021, at 19 years old. (Results shown earlier)

DR: During your transformation, how did you balance training, school/work, and social life?

When I was in Highschool, I slept through school every day. I didn’t care at all since I was purely obsessed with the gym, and gym alone. I struggle to balance my life in general because I am a very obsessive person overall, with whatever it is I’m passionate about. I put all my eggs in one basket and go ALL IN with no way out.

Load video: Progress clip

I only got my diploma and graduated thanks to being intelligent enough such that I could manage to ace every standardized test despite sleeping through classes and never doing homework. (Thanks Mom and Dad, once again haha)

My social life consisted of my childhood friends I’ve had since I was a child. We just played videogames together, lifted together, and took sarms/prohormones together (srs.)

I didn’t have a job in Highschool like other kids did. When I was 18-21 I did various gig work such as Doordash, Uber eats, Instacart, and did some online AI tasks to make money. It paid pretty well and allowed me to party whenever I wanted, go to the gym when I felt like it, and live a flexible life. I had no plans of going to college.

(I wish not to share my education/work life in the present day)

Mental Health & The Blackpill

DR: Looking at the FutureMe email you wrote in 2018 (image below), what goes through your mind now when you see it? How do you feel toward that version of yourself?

ZR: I think it’s a little cringe to be honest, but I also appreciate that I did things like this. It really motivates me whenever I feel down to know that I’m literally living the life I dreamed of right now, thanks to my efforts, and that whatever obstacles lie ahead, no matter how daunting, can be overcome with enough determination. If I had anything to say to that version of myself, it would be “Thank you”.

Sometimes I lack the same kind of determination I had back then towards my goals because life has become better, so I try to look back at the mentality and sense of urgency I had back then to rile me up again. The other thing I’d like to say to the version of me who wrote that email is, “Don’t give up, I’m looking back at this from past the finish line.”

DR: You’ve mentioned body dysmorphia, mental illness, and neurodivergence before. Did achieving your physical goals actually fix the mental side, or did it just change how the problems showed up?

ZR: Body dysmorphia is an incredibly common mental issue in today’s day and age, especially with social media & the fitness industry. This exists well beyond the PSL sphere, but I’d argue that within Blackpill communities it is at its absolute worst.

I already had some body image issues to begin with (being incredibly skinny and poked fun at because of it) and getting into Looksmaxxing made things much worse considering it has to do with your FACE, which you can’t change as much as your physique, for example. I grew up a little different than most kids, seeing as I was enrolled in the Gifted Program in Elementary School (Professionally tested 130+ IQ is considered Gifted in my state), they had entire classrooms for just Gifted Children as we had learning needs much different than those of normal children.

This program lasted from K-12, and the childhood friends I made in these classes I am still close with even today. Obviously this sort of thing sets you up by default to be different from other kids growing up, perceiving the world differently, and when you add on being an ugly, insecure teenager to this, it is expected pursuing excellence in this avenue (which one has limited control over), leads to extreme mental issues especially at this crucial age.

Achieving physical goals helps treat some of these mental sides in the short term, but, ultimately the short “high” you get from looking better subsides quickly and you resume in your endless pursuit towards this idea of being “Chad,” thinking you’ll end up being satisfied and at peace eventually. This turns out to be the FURTHEST thing from the truth.

Looking better will, however, make it easier to learn to be comfortable with where you are and what is realistically achievable for you, though. One of the most common things I say to young men who DM me is to remember why we started this journey in the first place. We didn’t begin to Looksmax so we can continue to obsess over our appearance forever, digging ourselves deeper into a hole of insecurity, but rather to reap the rewards of looking better in life. By obsessing endlessly and more deeply, you quite literally accomplish the opposite.

Another thing that many must understand is that you can be rejected by the opposite sex for reasons aside from your Looks. Even for reasons completely irrelevant to one’s SMV! You could literally be rejected because of the exact moment in which you pursued said person, due to their mood or whatever reason, when in a different moment they would’ve accepted your advance.

This is a very real thing that took me, actually going out and interacting with people regularly, for a long time to understand. This is why I encourage many users to go outside and test how you do for yourself, such that you acquire a realistic sample size of where you’re at SMV/Looks-wise as opposed to rotting on forums or discord, basing your worth off of forum pseudo-science.

I get rated LTN-MTN commonly, due to my face; however, in real life, I perform well above what that rating implies. For this reason, it doesn’t affect my self-image at all. If you don’t go out and interact with people regularly, you will actually be insecure over what forum users or Discord users say about your looks!

DR: You’ve said, “the blackpill never leaves you,” even after stepping away for years. What does that look like in everyday life?

ZR: It is true, the blackpill NEVER leaves you. Obviously, me coming back after 5 years gone speaks for itself. Going out to bars and clubs, partying, seeing my friends with women, random people, or even my ex’s friend’s interacting with men, you see examples of the Blackpill showing up constantly in everyday life.

However, I must say that within these communities, its effects are much exaggerated. I’ve seen plenty of frat-bros who are short, ugly, and acne-ridden get girls that plenty of users here would think are beyond their reach, while looking WAY BETTER than them.

Whenever I see that I chuckle to myself, thinking every time that if forum users could see how often this occurs, they would feel less bad about themselves, and perhaps have more hope! Which is what I try to encourage as much as possible. Hope is necessary for success here, despite all the dooming going on.

DR: Beyond your own transformation, what advice or lessons would you want to pass on to beginners just starting in looksmaxxing or self-improvement?

ZR: The first and most important piece of advice I could give beginners, especially teenagers, is that true Looksmaxxing is a long-term project. There are no short-term hacks for almost anything here, except probably getting filler. Even with surgical implants, there is recovery time and a fat price attached to it.

When I was 16, I was so obsessed with how I looked in the exact moment, entering cutting phases at 12% bodyfat in pursuit of achieving 8% bodyfat for facial leanness and chasing that Instagram influencer look. Realistically, all of those guys are frauded, and I could’ve made substantial progress towards muscle mass instead, which would’ve made it easier to remain at a lower bodyfat percentage year-round sooner.

Another thing, too, is that there is no secret bone growth method. Even with steroids, peptides, or other obscure pharmaceuticals. Bone development has a lot more to do with polygenic factors, such as IGF-1 receptor sensitivity, rather than serum IGF-1 levels. I’m actually genetically predisposed to LOWER serum IGF-1 levels, yet I am 6’3 with a 20″ pure bone clavicle width measurement.

Furthermore, the most productive, effective Looksmaxxing method there is for ANY teenager is Gymmaxxing. Despite the popular opinion against it amongst the community, in real-life I have observed that improving my physique has provided the most drastic change in how I’m treated by ALL people, including women too.

Users will post examples of fat, bald-headed gymcels posing in the gym, next to a skinny model, and use this as an argument against it, when in reality it is really about portraying your physique more for the female gaze rather than the male gaze.

Women could see a photo of one pumped up in the gym, flexing hard, in stage-lean condition all vascular, and say “Ew, that’s disgusting” yet see the same dude walking down the beach, relaxed, looking lean, and find their body attractive. Another factor too is that being muscular in real-life sets you apart from the men around you, women automatically perceive your physical dominance in relation to others, which will boost your SMV drastically.

Lastly, you need to be realistic and also take things step-by-step. If you haven’t taken care of things like your physique, skin, hair, or other softmaxxes, you shouldn’t be sitting around complaining about your bones, or waiting for some surgical operation or filler to solve your problems. Most users haven’t even done the bare minimum amount of softmaxxing in order to actually consider whether hardmaxxing is necessary or not.

The Community Then vs Now

DR: You were active during 2018–2020, when the community was much more underground and brutally honest. How does that era compare to today’s looksmaxxing culture?

ZR: The community of 2018-2020 was much better than now, seeing as the average age was older, and somehow more intelligent than users today (which is really saying something, because there were PLENTY of idiots before too.) Today’s forum era is full of much more spammy, repetitive questions, idiot users overrating themselves, or glazing popular social media Looksmaxxers.

However, I have noticed that users are generally more hopeful today, than they were back then. Regardless of the reasons for this (Influencers lying about methods on how they achieved their look), I do believe this is a good thing. This hope just needs to be redirected from the fake methods and towards realistic methods.

This is something that I seek to provide for the many 16-year-old kids who are in the shoes I once was back in 2018.

Advice & Reflection

DR: If you could go back and start over, what would you do differently – and what do you think you actually got right that newer users could learn from?

ZR: If I could go back in time, I would have probably not done all the SARM cycles I did. I now know that suppressing my natural testosterone production back then had likely impaired some of my masculine development as a teenager, considering that SARMs selectively bind moreso to androgen receptors in muscle, and don’t possess the same properties and interactions in our physiology as testosterone and DHT. I should’ve either stayed natural, or avoided suppressive compounds altogether.

I would also stop stressing so hard over how I looked in the moment, and concentrate all of my efforts towards looking as best as I could in the future, rather than sacrificing progress towards that for some short-term improvement (such as cutting when already lean.)

What I did get right was spending as much time as I did researching everything I could about performance-enhancing drugs, and chasing the best physique I possibly could’ve, using all of my negative emotions in the gym as fuel. I didn’t go to the gym and pursue my physique religiously because of any kind of discipline I have; in reality, I am not disciplined at all.

I chased this as hard as I could, not because I wanted to, but because I felt I HAD to. By the time I was able to obtain testosterone, I knew so much regarding bodybuilding pharmaceuticals that I was fully equipped knowledge-wise to put it into safe practice.

DR: In 2018, you said you wouldn’t settle for anything less than the life of a “giga chad.” Looking at where you are now, did you achieve that?

ZR: I wouldn’t say I achieved “giga chad” status, however, I definitely achieved the recognition, treatment, and presence from others that I initially desired. Effectively, I feel that I’ve accomplished my goal.

I also have learned over the years that a “giga chad” wouldn’t be treated or perceived that much more differently than I would just off of his looks alone. With where I’m at now, there is much more to gain from status-maxxing and money-maxxing than actually improving my looks further.

That is reality. An MTN who is rich with status will be taking all the attention from a poor, unknown Chad. That is how real life works. Looks matter, and are incredibly important, but money and status actually reign supreme in the end.

Future Plans

DR: Looking ahead, what are your personal, professional, and looksmaxxing goals for the next few years?

ZR: I am currently still pursuing my education, however it has always been my childhood dream to be a content creator, and back then in 2018 when I discovered Zyzz, I had a more specific goal of wanting to become a figure like him, to inspire other teenagers who are in the position I was, giving them the hope that their destiny isn’t written in stone, inspiring them to achieve greatness for themselves against all odds.

As for Looksmaxxing, I am still doing what I can to maintain or improve my looks, however, at this point, I would only really improve significantly from either surgery or filler. I am considering getting hyaluronic acid fillers in my zygomatic arches for more of an ogee curve and to support my midface aesthetics.

DR: Where can people follow you if they want to stay updated on your journey?

• https://www.instagram.com/mvttpsl/

• https://www.tiktok.com/@mvttpsl

• https://kick.com/mvttzr