Saturday, 24th May, 2025: Extreme Online Masculinity Fitness, Samuel Cornell, PhD Candidate in Public Health, UNSW Sydney
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Nevena and Osman talk to Samuel Cornell, PhD Candidate in Public Health, UNSW Sydney, ‘Extreme Online Masculinity and Fitness”
Some of the topics covered are:
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How have figures like the Liver King and ultramarathon runners reshaped young men’s understanding of what it means to be “strong”?
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To what extent do social-media algorithms amplify extreme fitness content, and what impact does that have on viewers’ behaviour and self-image?
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What are the most common physical and mental health risks associated with pursuing “pain as proof” in the name of masculinity?
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How do influencers balance -or hide – their use of performance enhancers, and what should viewers know about the authenticity of these extreme routines?
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What healthier or more sustainable models of strength and resilience might offer young men alternatives to the all-or-nothing “toughness” that today’s fitness influencers promote?
They also discuss Sam’s latest article for The Conversation
“A new Netflix documentary about a shirtless supplement salesman who claimed to be “natural” and was exposed as a fraud might seem like a punchline.
But Untold: The Liver King is more than just a character study of a well-known fitness influencer; it’s a case study of performative masculinity in the world of social media.
Brian Johnson, better known as the Liver King, built a brand on extreme workouts, eating raw organ meat, and evangelising about masculinity. He preached “ancestral living” and radical self-control, all while secretly using steroids.
And his rapid rise to popularity reveals how social media rewards the spectacle of hypermasculinity – especially when it leans into extreme behaviours.
Extreme self-discipline, extreme exercise, extreme eating and extreme “wellness” have all become forms of public performance on social media”
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