Where Do the Big Name "Influencers" Really Get Their Money, and How Do They Really Go Viral? (Part 2)

The Curious Case of Clavicular

American influencer Braden Peters, more infamously known as Clavicular, has been on social media for some time, but suspiciously blew up into a viral phenom last year. In the space of a month, he went from largely unknown to one of the most talked about figures on the Internet.

I’ve previously written about Peters, who has become the controversial figurehead of a phenomenon called “looksmaxxing” which, in plain English, means improving your appearance. The difference between looksmaxxing and your regular personal grooming regimen is that the former encompasses some rather strange and radical strategies, such as “mewing” (pushing your tongue against the roof of your mouth in the hope of improving your jawline) and “bone smashing”. The latter doesn’t actually entail breaking bones, but instead hitting your face with a blunt object to create microfractures that will supposedly supra-heal and create more pronounced cheekbones.

Yes, it’s absurd and there is no science supporting any of it.

Looksmaxxing is tied to the manosphere charade by virtue of allegedly emanating from so-called “incel” Internet forums.

In what was clearly a well-organized whirlwind interview blitz, Peters appeared on numerous popular podcasts last year making a string of outrageous statements guaranteed to create controversy. He claimed he started taking exogenous testosterone at only 14, that he routinely hit his cheekbones with a hammer, that he was planning to get limb-lengthening surgery to increase his already above-average height, and that he “microdosed” crystal meth to stay lean and give his face the sought after chiseled look.

“I’m not a big longevity guy,” Peters matter-of-factly told one interviewer.

He even claims to attach a weighted shopping bag to his soldier boy in order to make it longer. Seriously.

Starting steroids at 14, while ill-advised, was plausible. Hitting his face with a hammer sounded a stretch, and his alleged plan to to get limb-lengthening surgery was clearly nonsense.

The meth? More on that in a moment; what I will point out at this juncture is that we now have a handsome, clean-cut looking youngster using his global Internet exposure to promote illicit drug use as a cosmetic tool. Methamphetamine, long associated with emaciated tweakers and bad teeth, now has a fresh new face - complete with high cheeks, chiseled jaw and six-pack abs.

Interestingly, none of the usual “but think of the children!” suspects seem to have much to say about this.

Like most famous influencers, Clav - as he likes to be called - spouts a lot of hogwash. That’s not just my summation; unique among influencers, Clav occasionally drops his guard and admits he does it all for the money.

In another unguarded moment, one that gives off cry-for-help vibes, he rated his own authenticity as a 1 out of 10, admitting most of what he says is “cap” (lies) designed to get attention.

“Yeah, I pretty much cap about everything on stream. So, I'd say about a one.”

Peters, despite his pin-up star looks, suffers from social anxiety and awkwardness. Footage shows him saying cringey stuff around girls, and he admits he uses alcohol and drugs to overcome his social inhibitions. The irony being that, with his looks and status and the vacuous nature of the girls he’s talking to, he really doesn’t have to say much of anything.

In a now-deleted livestream, he told his travelling companion:

“At the end of the day, I wouldn't get on these streams and do this if it wasn't for money. The reason I do my kickstream every single day and I go to clubs and I drug myself to the point where I’m able to actually like interact in public. That is for money, you know? It’s like I’m not passionate about the fact that I’m basically a drug addict to do this. Okay?”

Peters is only 20 years old, barely out of his teens. Early on I got the distinct impression he wasn’t doing this on his own, that there were some distinctly negative outside forces at play in the “Clavicular” story.

It’s also worth noting that, at some point, Clav moved to Miami, by all accounts a flashy, materialistic sleazepit of nightclubs, nouveau riche douchebags, and silicone-enhanced gold-diggers. Hardly an ideal environment for an impressionable, socially awkward young lad trying to find his way in the world.

With Love from Australia: An Interview and an Overdose

60 Minutes Australia recently featured an interview with Peters. When I watch manosphere lunatics like Andrew Tate, Wes Watson or Ben Azoulay, I genuinely struggle to make it past the first few minutes of their insufferable screamy-shouty bullshit. However, when I watched the 60 Minutes interview, I did so from beginning to end without interruption, fixated by Peters’ demeanor.

There was something surreal about watching this young lad who, by all rights, should be on top of the world. He’s tall, handsome, getting plenty of attention from the girls, and supposedly making a ton of money.

But instead of presenting a jovial “it’s a great time to be alive” vibe, Clavicular evinced a barely-there aura. It seemed his brain had largely shut down for the evening and was operating on autopilot during the interview. His eyes looked vacant and soulless. He looked and sounded totally numb, completely devoid of emotion, like someone or something had sucked the life from him.

It was quite sad to watch.

When the interviewer commented on his lack of spark, Clav replied that he didn’t really want to be there, that he could be doing other things. When the interviewer asked where Clav would rather be, his answer made me cringe:

At a nightclub.

Danger, Will Robinson, danger!

Despite his monotone persona, Clav was visibly annoyed when the interviewer asked if he identified with the so-called “incel” community. When the reporter followed that line of inquiry by asking about Clav’s relationship with Andrew Tate, it was game over.

Clav, as he is wont to do, declared the interview was finished, took his microphone off, and walked away, leaving the Australian interviewer to experiment with an array of awkward facial gestures.

Two evenings later, Clav got his wish and was out hitting the clubs, with nary an annoying 60 Minutes reporter in sight. While livestreaming at a Miami club and sitting next to his ‘friend’, a fellow influencer known only as “Androgenic” (who, as it happens, is Australian), he suffered a drug overdose.

Instead of calling an ambulance, the prematurely-balding, wig-wearing Androgenic asked Clav if he wanted an “addy” - a reference to the oft-abused ADHD drug adderall.

For crying out loud…

Video footage shows security staff carrying Clav to a black SUV, which then reportedly took him to hospital.

Peters is clearly in desperate need of a positive male role model, a big brother or father figure that can talk some sense into his tragically misdirected, confused head.

Apparently, Clav’s father did fly to Miami right after the overdose incident in an attempt to talk some sense into his son, but left without success.

Instead of listening to his old man, Clav is ensconced in a merry-go round of vacuous bimbos, livestreams and interview gigs with a parade of deviants who appear to be sucking him deeper into the vortex.

His so-called friends include a steroid-abusing Aussie who offers him more drugs when he’s in the midst of an OD.

He made the news in January after being filmed singing along to Kanye West’s “Heil Hitler” with an entourage that reads like a roll call of dubious manosphere figures: Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan, Nick Fuentes, Sneako, Justin Waller and Myron Gaines.

With friends like that…

He has livestreamed with powerlifter-turned-streamer Larry Wheels, a self-professed OnlyFans addict who was recently the subject of fraud accusations, not to mention cuckold and relationship abuse allegations that are way too gross to detail here.

He has been interviewed by Adam22, a face-tattooed degenerate so desperate for views he filmed a threesome featuring his wife, himself and another guy. When it became apparent his wife enjoyed the third party salchicha more than his own, he became jealous and bought her a Lamborghini in a bizarre attempt to establish primacy. When that didn’t work, he challenged the other guy to a boxing match - and lost.

You can’t make this stuff up.

The Gods Prosecutors Smile Upon Clavicular

The recent overdose incident was not the first time Clav’s love of drugs brought him grief. He says he was kicked out of university - just three weeks into his course - after an anonymous snitch sent copies of his forum posts to the school’s administrators. This led to a search of his room that uncovered an array of anabolic drugs and peptides.

In February of this year, he was arrested in Scottsdale, Arizona after allegedly being found inside a nightclub with a forged ID and two prescription-only pills.

Maricopa County has a reputation for being tough on drug crime and possession, but several days after his arrest, the County Attorney generously dropped the charges against Peters. When an NYT reporter asked why, a public information officer told him there was “no reasonable likelihood of conviction,” a curious justification for dismissing a caught-red-handed offence. Just a day before the charges were dropped, Peters boasted during a Kickstream that “I basically hired the New York Yankees of lawyers. I have spent probably $100,000 on legal retainers easily this week.”

It’s not every 20 year old that can plunk down $100,000 on top-tier lawyers, and have his charges wiped in a normally strict jurisdiction.

And to be sure, it’s not every 20 year old that can make outlandish and potentially dangerous claims on the Internet, and become - and remain - a viral sensation for doing so.

It’s not every 20 year old that gets the kind of exposure that comes with being interviewed by and hanging out with a non-stop parade of the world’s most famous podcasters and streamers.

Might Clavicular be getting some help from friends in high places?

In the next installment, we’ll look at the links between Clavicular, a certain gay billionaire, and Israeli-born crime figures.