Clavicular (influencer)

Last updated

Clavicular
Born
Braden Peters

(2005-12-17) December 17, 2005 (age 20)
Other namesClav [1]
Education Seton Hall Preparatory School
OccupationOnline streamer
Years active2025–present
Kick information
Channel
Genre In-real-life
Followers179.2 thousand
TikTok information
Page
Followers762.6 thousand
Last updated: February 17, 2026

Braden Peters (born December 17, 2005), known online as Clavicular, is an American online streamer and influencer. He became known in the mid-2020s on Kick and TikTok for his "looksmaxxing" content, which commentators have described as extreme and controversial, particularly for practices such as facial "bone smashing" and allegedly using crystal meth to stay lean. [1]

Contents

In December 2025, a livestream clip of Clavicular hitting a man with a Tesla Cybertruck went viral online and brought him to wider attention, as did his interview with right-wing political commentator Michael Knowles in which he described United States vice president JD Vance as "subhuman", contrasting him with Gavin Newsom, whom he labelled a "Chad". Following controversies while appearing alongside far-right streamers, Clavicular has described himself as apolitical.

Early and personal life

Braden Peters was born on December 17, 2005, to a businessman father and stay-at-home mother. [2] [3] He was raised in Hoboken, New Jersey, and attended Seton Hall Preparatory School in West Orange, New Jersey. [4] He has stated that he became interested in looksmaxxing—a term originating among incels online that describes the process of making oneself as physically attractive as possible—in high school, which he has attributed to wanting to influence others politically by becoming more attractive. [5]

He has stated that he is on the autism spectrum, though he has not been professionally diagnosed. [6] [7] As of 2026, he lives in Miami. [8]

Career

Looksmaxxing content

Clavicular became popular online by 2025 for his content focused on looksmaxxing on both Kick and TikTok. [1] [9] His alias is based on the emphasis placed on clavicle width within the looksmaxxing community. [10]

He has participated in and advocated for looksmaxxing practices such as "bone smashing", a pseudoscientific practice involving hitting one's bones with a hammer or one's fist in order to have them grow back stronger, and allegedly taking crystal meth to suppress his appetite and remain thin. [11] He has spoken about taking anabolic steroids over several years to become more muscular, which, according to him, made him infertile by 2025 due to his body no longer naturally producing testosterone. [6] By late 2025, he also began selling access to a self-improvement and looksmaxxing course called the "Clavicular System", later called "Clavicular's Clan", for 50 dollars per month. [12] The course provides guides on how to "ascend" and on suggested peptides to take in order to do so. [8]

For Wired , Jason Parham wrote in September 2025 that Clavicular was one of looksmaxxing's "most popular influencers". [13] In January 2026, Thomas Chatterton Williams of The Atlantic referred to him as the "newest star" and "most recognizable member" of the looksmaxxing movement, Charlie Sabgir of Rolling Stone called him "a premier figure" within looksmaxxing, and Dave Schilling of The Guardian called him "one of the most prominent influencers in the looksmaxxing community". [10] [14] [15] According to Joseph Bernstein of The New York Times , by February 2026, he was earning more than $100 thousand a month from his Kick live streams. [7] A November 2025 video of him injecting his then 17-year-old girlfriend with fat-dissolving peptides to reshape her jaw also gained attention online. [16] [17] In a later stream, he injected influencer Jenny Popach with Aqualyx, a fat-dissolving acid. [8]

Tesla Cybertruck incident

On December 24, 2025, a video from Clavicular's live stream of him hitting a man with a Tesla Cybertruck at Amelia Earhart Park in Miami-Dade County, Florida, quickly circulated online. In the video, the man, who had purportedly been stalking the streamer and had previously thrown red liquid on him, [9] climbs onto the hood of the car, and someone off-camera encourages him to start driving. He accelerates and appears to run over the man before asking if he is dead. A girl sitting next to him says, "I don't know," to which he responds, "Hopefully." [10]

Later in the live stream, he speaks to a man in a reflective vest and states that he hit the man in self-defense and alleges that there were multiple people, one of whom looked like they "had a pistol" underneath their clothing, surrounding his car. [9] A call between him and fellow live streamer Adin Ross, in which Ross advised him to keep live streaming and refrain from speaking on the situation, also circulated online. [17] [9]

Williams, writing for The Atlantic, called the live stream "perhaps [Clavicular's] most viral moment". [10] Following the incident, he was banned from Kick. [18] According to TMZ, Clavicular soon posted an AI-generated photo of himself running over a man in a Cybertruck with the caption, "Play stupid games, win stupid prizes." [19] James Fishback, a far-right candidate for the Republican nomination in the 2026 Florida gubernatorial election, tweeted that Clavicular had done "nothing wrong" by hitting the man with his car. [10]

Arrest in Arizona

On February 7, 2026, Clavicular was arrested in Scottsdale, Arizona, on suspicion of dangerous drug possession, with court documents describing him as carrying Adderall and Anavar, and possession of a forged instrument at a bar, after attempting to gain entry using a fake ID. [3] According to officers, he was shown on stream asking patrons at the bar for Adderall. He was released from custody the following day and soon tweeted that the charges were "straight up political persecution". [20] The charges were dropped on February 11, 2026, due to a low likelihood of conviction. [21] Days after his arrest, he walked the runway in New York City for designer Elena Velez, whom Bernstein described as "known for her use of controversial internet microcelebrities as models". [7]

Michael Knowles interview

On December 27, 2025, Clavicular appeared in an interview with conservative political commentator Michael Knowles for The Daily Wire. In it, Clavicular described Vice President JD Vance as "subhuman" for his "recessed side profile" and for being "obese", asking, "How are you fat and expected to lead a country?" He agreed with Knowles's criticism of California governor Gavin Newsom as both a "degenerate" and a "liar" but said that, in a potential 2028 United States presidential election in which Newsom ran against Vance, he would vote for "Chad" Newsom for "mogging", or being more attractive than, Vance. [11] [10]

The segment soon went viral online. [1] Other clips of him from the interview, including one in which he described actress Sydney Sweeney as "malformed" with an "extremely recessed" "upper maxilla" and "eyes of doom with no infraorbital support", also went viral online. [22]

Affiliations with right-wing figures

Clavicular was endorsed as a "total Chad" by far-right political commentator Nick Fuentes for his comments on Vance; the two also appeared in an hours-long video together, wherein Clavicular stated that he had based his social media strategy on that of Fuentes and advocated for "saving European culture" by looksmaxxing and taking anabolic steroids. [1] [5]

A video of Fuentes, Clavicular, and right-wing influencers Sneako, Tristan Tate, Andrew Tate, Myron Gaines, and Justin Waller singing along to Kanye West's antisemitic [23] 2025 song "Heil Hitler" at the Miami Beach nightclub Vendôme also circulated online in January 2026. [24] After the clip went viral on social media, Clavicular defended the group singing along, writing that it was "just a song" and calling it "funny" that the group had had "enough status and influence" to get the song played. [25] The incident was condemned by Miami mayor Steven Meiner. [26] [27] Several Miami club owners, including David Grutman, announced bans on the group from their venues. Clavicular met with Grutman and David Einhorn, owner of the Miami club Papi Steak, later that month, stating in a later live stream that he told the businessmen that he was "not trying to do politics anymore". [28]

In 2026, when asked of his opinion of Nick Fuentes' political views by the New York Times, Clavicular said he did not hold an opinion. [7] He also labelled politics "jester", a looksmaxxing term referring to a "foolish waste of time". [7]

Public image

Will Lavin wrote for Complex in late 2025 that Clavicular was "often deemed controversial" online. [17] Williams of The Atlantic wrote that Clavicular's "brand of nihilism" was enticing to young men and in February 2026, Chloe Combi described Clavicular as having attracted "a huge and growing Gen A boy following". [10] [29] For Intelligencer , Ezra Marcus described Clavicular as "something of an Edgelord folk hero" whose "profit strategy fuses shock-jock tactics with straightforward marketing". [8]

Clavicular has described himself as apolitical and stated in 2026 that he "would never want to be associated with politics". [28] The Forward 's Mira Fox included him on the newspaper's list of "right-wing extremists to watch out for in 2026" due to his affiliation with Fuentes and "the subtext of looksmaxxing [being] white supremacy", but described his politics as "confused" and added that he had "yet to openly espouse much political ideology". [5] Lauren Smith wrote for Spiked that he was "seen as a player in the Very Online right" but that he was "best understood not as a right-wing thought leader" due to "only offer[ing] a parody of masculinity". [30] For the Miami New Times , Alex DeLuca wrote that he was "associated with [the] 'manosphere' and far-right extremism". [24] Clavicular has been noted for his frequent use of the n-word. [13] He has also been known to wear a hat bearing the word and Bernstein described his use of the word as "chronic". [8] [7] Helen Rummel of The Arizona Republic wrote that he was "well-known" for "the use of racist slurs in his livestreams". [20] Charlie Sabgir, director of the Young Men Research Project, wrote in January 2026 for Rolling Stone , "His fixation on optimization is inseparable from aggressive sexism." [14]

In February 2026, a tweet describing Clavicular as having been "brutally frame mogged" by an Arizona State University fraternity leader in a video became a copypasta and meme. [31] The phrase "Jestermaxxing", used to describe having fun, also spread online that month due to its use in video captions of Clavicular dancing at the club. [32] [7] For Business Insider , Katie Notopoulos attributed the virality of both terms to "clippers", social media users who repost clips from livestreams with eye-catching captions and often "have a financial motive" to be paid by creator programs or influencers. [33] Bernstein also noted that some Kick users were paid by the platform for clipping Clavicular's live streams. [7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Henderson, Cameron (January 12, 2026). "Self-mutilation and crystal meth: The 'Chad mindset' enticing Maga's young men" . The Telegraph . Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  2. @Clavicular0 (December 16, 2025). "What should i stream for bday tmr gimme some ideas" (Tweet). Retrieved January 21, 2026 via Twitter.
  3. 1 2 Rummel, Helen (February 8, 2026). "Controversial streamer Clavicular arrested at Scottsdale bar". The Arizona Republic . Retrieved February 9, 2026. Officers investigated and learned Peters is 20 years old, said Officer Aaron Bolin of the Scottsdale Police Department.
  4. Peters, Braden. "Braden Peters" . Retrieved January 20, 2026 via LinkedIn.
  5. 1 2 3 Fox, Mira (January 9, 2026). "These are the right-wing extremists we're watching out for in 2026". The Forward . Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  6. 1 2 Page, River (January 9, 2026). "The Boys Breaking Their Bones to Be Hotter" . The Free Press . Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Bernstein, Joseph (February 13, 2026). "Looks Aren't Everything? Clavicular Begs to Differ". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved February 13, 2026.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Marcus, Ezra (January 27, 2026). "Life on Peptides Feels Amazing". Intelligencer . Retrieved February 13, 2026.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Winslow, Mike (December 27, 2025). "Clavicular Addresses Running Over Person In His Cybertruck During Christmas Eve Livestream". AllHipHop . Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Williams, Thomas Chatterton (January 19, 2026). "'Looksmaxxing' Reveals the Depth of the Crisis Facing Young Men" . The Atlantic . Retrieved January 20, 2026. The white 20-year-old, who was expelled from college ...
  11. 1 2 "Looksmaxxing, Subhumans and Gigachads" . The Wall Street Journal . December 30, 2025. Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  12. Bedigan, Mike (January 16, 2026). "Some young MAGA men are 'looksmaxxing' to emulate Newsom and not JD Vance". The Independent . New York. Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  13. 1 2 Parham, Jason (September 23, 2025). "Confessions of a Black Looksmaxxer" . Wired . Retrieved January 16, 2025. ...Clavicular, who, in multiple TikToks, has recited audio using the n-word and implied Black people have inferior looks.
  14. 1 2 Sabgir, Charlie (January 25, 2026). "I Paid $49 for Clavicular's 'Looksmaxxing' Academy. What I Saw Should Scare Us All". Rolling Stone . Retrieved February 3, 2026.
  15. Schilling, Dave (January 27, 2026). "'Looksmaxxing' young men are carving up their faces. Being ugly is a lot easier". The Guardian . Retrieved February 3, 2026.
  16. Galpin, Kieran (November 26, 2025). "Who is looksmaxxing influencer Clavicular? He gave underage girlfriend anti-fat injection on stream". The Tab. Retrieved January 25, 2026.
  17. 1 2 3 Lavin, Will (December 25, 2025). "Clavicular Claims Self-Defense After Alleged Livestream Vehicular Assault". Complex . Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  18. Quadri, Sami (December 25, 2025). "Kick streamer Clavicular appears to run over person during live Cybertruck broadcast". The Standard . Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  19. "Streamer Seemingly Runs Over Person on Live, Banned from Platform". TMZ. December 25, 2025. Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  20. 1 2 Rummel, Helen (February 10, 2026). "Who is Clavicular? What to know about streamer facing charges in Arizona". The Arizona Republic . Retrieved February 13, 2026.
  21. Rummel, Helen. "Arizona prosecutors won't press charges against streamer Clavicular". The Arizona Republic . Retrieved February 13, 2026.
  22. Alonso, Marita (January 22, 2026). "Hammers to the face and amphetamines: hypermasculine looksmaxxing invades the internet". El País . Retrieved February 15, 2026.
  23. Saric, Sofia (January 18, 2026). "Miami Beach's Vendôme apologizes after influencers seen partying to 'Heil Hitler'". Miami Herald . Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  24. 1 2 DeLuca, Alex (January 18, 2026). "Video: Miami Club Plays 'Heil Hitler' for Right-Wing Influencers". Miami New Times . Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  25. "Miami club apologizes after influencers chant Nazi slogans". The Jerusalem Post . January 19, 2026. Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  26. Vigdor, Neil; Kwai, Isabella (January 20, 2026). "Miami Beach Nightclub Is Condemned for Playing Ye's Song 'Heil Hitler'". The New York Times .
  27. Saric, Sofia (January 22, 2026). "'Utter disgust' over Miami Beach's Vendôme playing 'Heil Hitler' for influencers". Miami Herald .
  28. 1 2 Feinstein, Naomi (January 29, 2026). "Miami Reacts to Grutman-Clavicular Meeting After "Heil Hitler" Fallout". Miami New Times . Retrieved February 3, 2026.
  29. Combi, Chloe (February 1, 2026). "Braden Peters is the new Andrew Tate: What parents needs to know about 'mogging'" . The Independent . Retrieved February 3, 2026.
  30. Smith, Lauren (February 11, 2026). "Clavicular's cult of 'looksmaxxing' speaks to the narcissism of our age". Spiked . Retrieved February 13, 2026.
  31. Mack, David (February 13, 2026). "Everything You Need to Know About Clavicular, the 20-Year-Old Influencer Encouraging Steroids, Meth, and Taking a Hammer to Your Jaw". Slate . Retrieved February 14, 2026.
  32. Reimer, Alex (February 13, 2026). "Is Peter Thiel the mysterious sugar daddy helping to bankroll notorious "looksmaxxer" Clavicular?". Queerty . Retrieved February 13, 2026.
  33. Notopoulos, Katie (February 12, 2026). "How 'jestermaxxing' and 'frame mogging' are taking over the internet". Business Insider . Retrieved February 13, 2026.