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 evangelizing 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 behaviors.
Extreme self-discipline, extreme exercise, extreme eating and extreme “wellness” have all become forms of public performance on social media.
From influencers pushing steroids or “wellness” lifestyles, to the growing popularity of ultramarathons, a new model of masculinity is going viral: control your body, grit through pain, work out hard, and make sure everyone hears about it.
The rise of ‘discipline content’
Social media apps and websites such as TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram, are flooded with content that frames pain and extreme physical effort as markers of masculine worth.
One analysis of male fitness YouTubers found they established authority and discipline through a mix of visible physical strength and affiliations with commercial fitness brands. In some cases, the influencers explicitly listed their personal records or showcased their physique post-training as proof of their “masculinity” and discipline.
Influencers also often frame extreme leanness and muscularity as indicators of moral virtue and discipline, even when achieving it has taken a negative physical or mental toll on them. The look of discipline has become more valuable than the outcome of it.
Posts are often wrapped in the language of “resilience,” “discipline” and militaristic rhetoric. Men are told to “go to war” in the gym, to “stay hard,” and to generally treat life like a battlefield.
What’s being sold isn’t stoicism: it’s pseudo-stoicism—a term researchers have coined to describe emotional suppression masquerading as strength and discipline.
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Pain is the point
Strava’s 2023 Year in Sport report found Gen Z athletes are 31% less likely to exercise for health reasons compared to older generations. Instead, they are more likely to train with a focus on athletic performance—that is, to push their physical limits, improve metrics such as speed or distance, and outperform others.
The same report shows a surge in extreme endurance activity. Compared to 2023 data, uploads (activities shared with others) of gravel bike rides grew 55%, trail runs grew 16%, and ultramarathon-style workouts grew by 9%.
Take Nedd Brockmann, who ran across Australia in 2022, and last year ran 1,600 kilometers in ten days to raise money for charity—all while sharing his self-imposed physical torture.
Or take the countless fitness content creators pushing themselves through punishing routines for the camera.
These cases reflect a deeper shift of fitness being turned into spectacle, wherein suffering becomes a sign of legitimacy, and pain is “proof” that you’re serious.
Such extreme content, which is often visually striking, can also be pushed by social media algorithms. Research shows how social media platforms systematically boost content that is intense, emotionally charged, and morally loaded.
In other words, posts that provoke a reaction are more likely to get promoted. And content relating to “wellness” extremism is designed to provoke, as it is visceral, performative, and packed with motivational and self-help anecdotes.
Why this matters
This is a potential public health issue.
Social media platforms amplify and monetize these performances, often pushing the most extreme content to the top. And influencers make money, above the money made directly from these platforms, from selling supplements, gear and coaching plans. At the same time, they act in more and more extreme ways to get further amplified by algorithms.
The risks of this dynamic, for both the viewers and creators, are very real. They range from hormone damage, to mental and physical decline, to injury, and even death.
But there is also a deeper ideological harm, as young men are fed a narrow and punishing idea of what it means to be a man. They are taught pain equals purpose, and that if you’re not suffering, you’re not trying.
Where to from here?
Public health agencies need to reckon with this form of digital hypermasculinity.
Extreme fitness influencers aren’t just poor role models; they’re the product of a system that profits from insecurity and spectacle. The goal shouldn’t be to ban or censor this content. But we do need to challenge its dominance, and offer alternatives.
That means engaging young men in offline spaces, such as the Tomorrow Man project, where they have an outlet for community and relationship building.
It means creating counter-narratives that don’t mock, but model, healthier versions of ambition and masculinity. For instance, the Movember campaign’s podcast Dad in Progress explores the various challenges and experiences faced by new dads.
It also means holding platforms accountable for the way they amplify extreme content.
In the absence of healthier narratives, self-flagellation is the only thing young men will have to aspire to.
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Gray’s Creek’s Taylor Baggett’s senior season was one for the record books.
The Bears’ outside hitter and defensive specialist capped her high school career with a dominant final season that helped Gray’s Creek get to put together a ground-breaking year as the first high school volleyball team in school and county history to make it to an NCHSAA Final Four.
CLEVELAND, Ohio – St. Olaf College recorded its second-highest-ever finish in the fall standings of the Learfield Directors’ Cup by placing 15th out of 429 NCAA Division III institutions, as the standings were announced on Tuesday by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA).
St. Olaf accumulated 241.0 points – its second-highest total ever in the fall – to rank 15th out of the 178 NCAA Division III institutions who earned points this fall. The initial release of the standings included all of the fall results except for the championship game of the NCAA Division III Football Championship. Neither of the institutions competing in the football title game can surpass St. Olaf regardless of the outcome of that game.
The Learfield Directors’ Cup is a program that honors institutions maintaining a broad-based athletics program, awarding points based on each institution’s national finishes in the NCAA Championships. This fall, St. Olaf’s men’s cross country, women’s cross country, men’s soccer, and women’s volleyball teams contributed to St. Olaf’s point total.
Men’s soccer earned 83 points by advancing to the national semifinals for the second time in program history. Men’s cross country collected 63 points thanks to its 13th-place finish at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships. Volleyball added 50 points with its second-round appearance in the NCAA Division III Women’s Volleyball Championship, while women’s cross country picked up 45 points after placing 29th nationally.
This year marked the sixth consecutive fall that St. Olaf has finished among the top 30 institutions in NCAA Division III, with the 15th-place finish being one spot shy of the t-14th finish in 1996-97 for the highest in school history. It was also St. Olaf’s sixth top-20 and eighth top-25 fall finish in the history of the Learfield Directors’ Cup, which first included NCAA Division III in 1995-96.
LA JOLLA, Calif. – UC San Diego Director of Athletics Andy Fee has announced the hiring of Spencer McLachlin as the Tritons’ new women’s volleyball head coach. McLachlin becomes the eighth head coach in program history. The 2026 season will mark UC San Diego’s final in The Big West before the program transitions to the West Coast Conference prior to the 2027 campaign.
“Spencer brings exactly what we need at this moment. He’s helped build winning programs, developed All-Americans, and knows how to compete at the highest level,” Fee said. “His playing career at Stanford and coaching experience at Hawaii, Cal, UCLA, Indiana, and USC give him a deep understanding of what championship volleyball looks like in major conferences. But what really stood out was his approach to the whole scholar-athlete experience. He gets what we’re building here at UC San Diego as we establish ourselves in Division I and look ahead to the West Coast Conference. Our scholar-athletes are going to love playing for him, and I’m confident he’ll have this program competing for championships.”
McLachlin recently completed his third season as an associate head coach for the USC women’s volleyball program. He helped lead the Women of Troy to 25 wins, a fourth-place finish in the ultra-competitive Big Ten, and an NCAA second round appearance. The 2025 team placed six on all-conference teams. In 2024, the Trojans advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament for the third straight year and finished 22-10 overall with a 13-7 mark in the Big Ten (tied for sixth). Setter Mia Tuaniga was named to the AVCA All-America third team. In his first season with the Women of Troy, McLachlin helped USC go 19-13 with a 12-8 mark in Pac-12 matches for a fifth-place finish. Outside hitter Skylar Fields was honored with AVCA All-America first-team recognition.
“I am thrilled to join UC San Diego as the Head Coach of the women’s volleyball program,” McLachlin said. “This is an incredible opportunity for my family and me to be part of an historic and beautiful university and build a program with great potential. I want to thank Andy Fee for trusting my family and me with this role, for his commitment to supporting the future of Triton athletics, and for his vision of the volleyball program specifically. His leadership and commitment to excellence make this an exciting time to be part of the UC San Diego athletic department. Go Tritons!”
Previously, McLachlin served as the associate head coach at Indiana in 2022 where he was responsible for coordinating the defense and blocking. The Hoosiers were 16-16 and went 9-11 in the Big Ten to finish eighth in the conference standings. IU’s nine conference victories were its most since 2010 and the team had its highest finish since the Big Ten expanded to 14 teams (2014).
Prior to Indiana, McLachlin was an assistant coach for the UCLA men’s volleyball program for four years, from 2018-2021. He has also had experience coaching at the international level with the U.S. men’s national team where he was on staffs for squads which competed in the Pan American Cup and NORCECA Champions cup.
Before he joined the UCLA men’s program, McLachlin spent two seasons (2016-17) as an assistant coach at California for the Golden Bears’ women’s team. In 2017, he was named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Thirty Under 30 list, an honor presented to up-and-coming coaching talents across all levels of volleyball. McLachlin got his start in coaching as an assistant for the men’s volleyball program at Hawai’i. During his time with the Warriors, the team earned a bid to the NCAA tournament for the first time in 13 seasons.
As a student-athlete, McLachlin competed at Stanford from 2008-11 as an outside hitter. He won a national championship with the Cardinal in 2010 and finished his career among the program’s all-time leaders in kills with 1,288. McLachlin was a senior captain, an All-MPSF second team selection, and received MPSF all-academic team recognition three times.
McLachlin graduated from Stanford with a degree in political science in 2011 and completed a Master of Education in 2012 while serving as a club coach for the Bay-to-Bay Volleyball Club.
As a professional athlete, McLachlin was an outside hitter for Mas NIKI Aiginio in Greece for three years from 2012 to 2014.
McLachlin and his wife Diane have three children: daughters Leila and Malia, and a son, Koa.
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program has begun a new era as a member of The Big West inNCAA Division I. The 24-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have garnered prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world’s preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in NCAA Division I or II. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.comor follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.
Hawaii men’s volleyball coach Charlie Wade guided the Rainbow Warriors to 27 wins and a Big West Conference championship last season.
The Hawaii men’s volleyball team will open its 2026 season in 10 days ranked No. 2 in the country according to the AVCA National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Preseason Poll released today.
The Rainbow Warriors, who finished 27-6 last season and won a Big West championship before losing in the semifinals of the NCAA Championship, received seven of 25 first-place votes and was eight points behind No. 1 UCLA, which ended Hawaii’s season in a three-set sweep in Columbus, Ohio in May.
Defending national champion Long Beach State received five first-place votes and is ranked No. 3 going into the season, ahead of Pepperdine and No. 5 Southern California, which earned the final first-place vote.
The other Big West teams in the top 20 include No. 6 UC Irvine, No. 10 UC San Diego, No. 11 Cal State Northridge and No. 17 UC Santa Barbara.
UH’s nonconferene schedule includes home matches on Jan. 6 and 8 against No. 7 Loyola Chicago and road trips at No. 9 Stanford and No. 13 Penn State.
Hawaii also hosts the fourth-ranked Waves and will play No. 12 Lewis and the top-ranked Bruins in the Outrigger Invitational.
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A four-team NIL Tournament in currently scheduled for Feb. 19 and 20 in the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., and will feature four of the top five teams in the poll.
Hawaii lost starters Kurt Nusterer and ‘Eleu Choy to graduation last season but return its top four leaders in kills as well as junior setter Tread Rosenthal.
Rosenthal was named to the All-Big West first team along with returning sophomores Adrien Roure and Kristian Titriyski.
UH opens the season against NJIT on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, at 7 p.m. at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
MADISON, Wis. – The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics and LEARFIELD released its Fall Division I Learfield Directors’ Cup standings this Tuesday, with Wisconsin placing eighth after a another successful fall season.
The Badgers finished the season with 236.00 points, within 10 points of Georgetown, Colorado and BYU who finished in seventh, sixth and fifth, respectively. North Carolina finished as the top program with 359.00 points.
This is the third straight fall season where the Badgers have finished within the top-ten schools. UW also was the Big Ten’s top finisher, edging out Washington at No. 10 overall with 228.00 points
Wisconsin’s point total was bolstered this fall by a final four appearance from the volleyball team, led by AVCA All-American Mimi Colyer. The team made its third final-four appearance in the past five seasons, compiling a 28-5 overall record, including a 13-1 stretch in its last 14 matches. Wisconsin finished as the third-ranked volleyball team in Learfield standings, coming up with 83 points.
The men’s cross country team contributed the second most points with 55, after a third place NCAA regional placement led to a 19th place finish at the NCAA Championships in Columbia, Missouri. Liam Newhart led the team with 29:28.5 time at the 10K Gans Creek Cross Country Course.
The Badgers were rewarded 50 points from their women’s soccer team after clincing their third straight NCAA Tournament appearance. Wisconsin took down three top-10 ranked teams on its way to a 14-6-2 record, peaking with a 3-2 overtime victory over Western Michigan in NCAAs. The Badgers finished the season as the 17th ranked women’s soccer program in the standings.
Additionally, the women’s cross country competed at the NCAA Championships in their fifth consecutive appearance in the final meet of the season. The unit finished in 26th place, providing 48 points to round out the scoring for the Badgers.
The Learfield Directors’ Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution’s finish in NCAA Championships.
Wisconsin’s history in the LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup can be viewed here.
Lauren Lee’s journey to an unprecedented 5,000 career assists for the Hope College volleyball team began on the beach.
The standout Hope setter often traveled to sandy courts with her family as a child. Lee did not need to look far for inspiration to pick up the sport — or to decide where she wanted to play.
“I started playing volleyball because my dad played at the University of Michigan. He was a setter on their men’s team,” Lee said of her father, Dr. Stan Lee, an orthopaedic spine surgeon at Lucent Spine, PLLC, Specialists in Spine Surgery, in the Detroit area. “I grew up watching him play beach volleyball with his friends. I became a setter because of my dad’s passion for the position and the game. He showed me all the tricky things you can do as a setter and how impactful the position can be.”
Lee, a biology major, closed an outstanding four-year career for the Flying Dutch that included numerous individual achievements:
5,001 career assists over 129 matches, a school record;
four All-America selections from the American Volleyball Coaches Association;
four All-MIAA First Team honors, including Most Valuable Player as a senior and Freshman of the Year in 2022;
one AVCA Freshman of the Year award.
Lee played a central role in an exceptional four-year stretch for Hope volleyball.
The Flying Dutch finished as national runner-up in 2023, reached the national semifinals in 2024 and advanced to the national quarterfinals in 2022. Hope earned three consecutive MIAA regular-season championships for the second time in program history and captured back-to-back MIAA Tournament titles for the first time.
Setting the Table
In all, Lee set the table for the Flying Dutch’s success, head coach Becky Schmidt said.
“I’m super proud of Lauren — 5,000 assists is absolutely huge,” Schmidt said. “She’s an incredible setter and just does so much for us. It’s been so much fun to watch.”
Schmidt believes Hope benefited greatly from Lee playing for the Flying Dutch.
“If she were four or five inches taller, she’d be playing in the Big Ten and doing really great things,” Schmidt said. “I am so thankful for her contributions over her four years. She has done really great things.”
Lee is grateful she chose Hope four years ago as well. While the team’s accomplishments have been rewarding and the individual accolades and milestones bring pride, she said they happened because of the people she played with.
“I am super proud of myself, but more importantly, I am thankful for the help of my team for the past four years,” Lee said. “The primary reason I have been able to reach 5,000 assists is because of the amazing hitters who have put the ball away, the passers who have handled serves and swings so that I can have full offensive autonomy, and the coaching staff who has helped us extend our season as long as possible every year.
“I am humbled and grateful to receive the credit and praise, but this milestone is truly a product of a team effort.”
The journey to 5,000 collegiate assists — and so much more — started with logging countless hours on the beach as a young fan.
Like her father, Lee has shown others how to set and assist teammates on the court. It’s a shared family passion.
“I just love the feeling of chasing down the ball and fixing plays,” Lee said. “When it’s perfect, I love setting others up for success because I know I can’t hit the ball as hard as Kamryn Burbridge or Ella Contant. It’s so awesome to see someone hit the ball as hard as possible.”
