For years, Aiden* didn’t think his naturally skinny figure represented who he was.
asserted
he → think → years
Athletic but slight, he felt there was a disconnect between how he looked and how he wanted to feel in his body.
asserted
he → feel → body
After turning 30, he decided to do something about it, including eating a protein-heavy diet, prioritizing sleep and working out with a trainer.
asserted
he → turn → trainer
He made progress, but his gains plateaued.
asserted
gains → make → progress
“As I got older, I noticed my testosterone or general energy levels felt lower, and I wanted a boost to help me reach the next level in the gym,” he told The Post.
asserted
he → get → Post
While testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) can be an important tool for men with clinically diagnosed testosterone deficiency, Aiden never had his levels checked by a doctor.
asserted
levels → diagnose → doctor
Instead, he believed his T levels had declined based on how he was feeling — and didn’t want a medical professional to tell him otherwise.
asserted
professional → believe → him
“I haven’t spoken to a doctor because I didn’t want to be talked out of it, as I had my mind set on it,” he said.
asserted
he → speak → it
“I just researched a lot online.”
asserted
I → research → lot
After three hormone cycles over two years, Aiden reports that the injections give him “more energy, more focus, more motivation, more strength and faster recovery than what I felt at my natural baseline level.”
asserted
I → report → level
His story isn’t unique: Young men without diagnosed testosterone deficiencies are increasingly taking testosterone to accelerate their gains, a trend known as “testmaxxing.”
asserted
men → diagnose → testmaxxing
But while synthetic hormones may seem like a harmless way to supercharge success, the trend poses serious risks and speaks to a growing culture of physical optimization and the pursuit of “masculinity.”
What is testmaxxing?
“Testosterone is the main androgen (the male sex hormone) produced by the testes,” explained Dr. Sam Saling, a general practitioner.
uncertain
Saling → seem → testes
Both men and women produce it, but in adult men, “it supports libido and erectile function, muscle strength and mass, bone density, sperm production, and red blood cell production.”
asserted
it → produce → libido
Those benefits are what the “testmaxxing” movement has latched onto: the idea that optimizing testosterone means unlocking greater muscle growth, sex drive, energy and, ultimately, a more “masculine” physique.
asserted
optimizing → latch → growth
For some, that means lifestyle changes to support testosterone production.
asserted
that → mean → production
That isn’t enough — and they turn to outside sources of the hormone.
asserted
they → turn → hormone
For Henry*, a fit professional in his 30s, the tipping point came after seeing his friend’s progress.
“
asserted
point → come → progress
I saw a friend’s before and after pics from training — we use the same PT — and I was like, ‘There’s no way naturally you’re getting to that stage,’” he recalled.
asserted
he → see → stage
His friend was injecting synthetic testosterone and recommended Henry try it, too.
asserted
Henry → inject → it
“I’ve trained for years and yo-yoed a bit, so I’m looking at it as an enhancer, to push stubborn fat and build muscle and tighten up a bit,” Henry said.
asserted
Henry → train → muscle
Henry met a backdoor supplier who hooked him up with a product labeled Pharma Test 250, which lists testosterone enanthate 250 mg/mL as its active ingredient.
asserted
which → meet → ingredient
Three months in, “I’m definitely getting stronger,” he said.
asserted
he → get → ?
“Weights at the gym have gone up dramatically, mood is good, no side effects yet.”
asserted
mood → go → gym
He plans to keep cycling the injections until he achieves his ideal physique.
asserted
he → plan → physique
While Henry had a regular blood screening before starting injections, it didn’t reveal a testosterone deficiency.
asserted
it → have → deficiency
Like Aiden, he views the hormones as part of his training regimen — an accelerator toward his ideal physique.
asserted
he → view → physique
Measuring masculinity
For both men, testmaxxing isn’t just about getting stronger — it’s about what that idealized body represents.
asserted
body → measure → what
“I definitely feel more masculine taking it,” Aiden said.
asserted
Aiden → feel → it
“Masculine, to me, is feeling strong, and looking physically fit and more built.”
Growing up skinny and gay, Aiden associated being slight with feeling “more feminine.”
asserted
Aiden → feel → me
With testosterone injections, he said he’s working toward a physique he associates with greater masculinity.
asserted
he → say → masculinity
“I more wanted to do it for myself, because I thought it would help me reach my goals quicker,” he says.
asserted
he → want → goals
Neither Aiden nor Henry considers his decision to inject testosterone to have been influenced by the manosphere.
asserted
decision → consider → manosphere
But male-dominated online spaces are rife with the idea that muscularity, confidence and sexual performance are markers of “alpha” masculinity, and that the body can and should be continually optimized to achieve that ideal.
asserted
body → dominate → ideal
That physical pursuit is part of a burgeoning “looksmaxxing” culture, where men seek to optimize their appearance to look “more masculine.”
asserted
men → burgeon → appearance
In a 2018 clip from “The Joe Rogan Experience,” he dismissed the stigma around not producing enough testosterone naturally, saying that ultimately “all that matters is that you have it in your system.”
asserted
you → dismiss → system
Not every man injecting testosterone belongs to the manosphere.
asserted
man → inject → manosphere
But for fitness-focused men, these spaces can expose them to more polarizing ideas about masculinity — and how to achieve it.
asserted
spaces → focus → it
A 2024 study from Dublin City University’s Anti-Bullying Centre found male-identified accounts were being served “masculinist” and extremist content within 23 minutes of scrolling.
asserted
accounts → find → minutes
For men already interested in testmaxxing, that algorithmic ecosystem can expose them to controversial ideas about masculinity that are increasingly difficult to escape online.
asserted
that → expose → masculinity
Do you actually need more testosterone?
asserted
you → need → testosterone
…and 26 more, not listed.
The Aporia
