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.

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.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Reno, Nev – Eight Nevada track and field athletes earned All-Mountain West honors across seven events announced the conference Wednesday.

The All-Mountain West selections are compiled of the top-three individual finishers in each event and the top-three relay teams at the Mountain West Championships.

Magdalene George earned her second honors of the year following second place finishes in both the 100m (11.34) and 200m finals (23.12).

Annalies Kalma earned her all-Mountain West honor by placing third in the 400m, following a hard fought race and finish (53.90). 

Lilly Urban won the Javelin competition at last weeks outdoor championships, throwing a school record 56.89m. Urban will look to the NCAA West First Round next week for more success. 

Johanna Haas notched her first all-Mountain West honor with her second-place finish in the Heptathlon where she finished with a personal best and #4 all-time point total of 5473 points. 

Meekness Dogonyaro earned her first all-Mountain West Honor by placing second in the Triple Jump, jumping 13.23m.

Magdalene George, Annalies Kalma, Kylee Parsons, Vivian Groppe and Halyn Senegal all earned their honors through their performances in the 4x100m (45.21) and 4x400m (3:41.73) finals, where the Pack placed third in both. 

The Pack will be back in action next week for the NCAA West First Round in College Station, Texas. 

Nevada 2025 Outdoor Track and Field All-Mountain West Honors

 

Magdalene George

100m

200m 

4x100m 

Annalies Kalma

400m

4x100m 

4x400m

Kylee Parsons

4x100m 

4x400m

Vivian Groppe

4x100m 

4x400m

Halyn Senegal

4x400m

Lilly Urban 

Javelin

Meekness Dogonyaro

Triple Jump

Johanna Haas

Heptathlon

 

TALLAHASSEE – Head volleyball coach Chris Poole announced the signing of Lexie Mason for the 2025 season on Wednesday afternoon. 

 

Mason will enter Tallahassee as a true freshman and was one of the top high school volleyball players in the state of Washington. The 6-2 right side hitter was a 2A First Team All-State selection in 2024 and was named the 2023 Skagit Valley Herald Volleyball Player of the Year. Mason was a first team all-conference performer all four years of high school. Mason ended her career as the school record for kills with over 1,500. She also recorded over 1,000 digs, 200 blocks and 150 aces. 

 

Mason plans on majoring in dietetics at Florida State. She is the daughter of Katie and Ronald Mason and has one sister, Annika, who plays volleyball at Everett Community College. 

 

For updates and exclusive content, follow the Seminoles on X (FSU_Volleyball) Instagram (fsuvolleyball) and Facebook (Florida State Seminoles Volleyball).

 

The Spokane College’s men’s track and field team claimed its first title since 2012 and 33rd overall, while the women won their second straight and 24th overall crown on Tuesday at the 2025 NWAC Track & Field Championships at Mt. Hood Community College in Oregon.

The Sasquatch men were dominant, scoring 229.5 points. They outscored second place Lane by 61 points to end the Titans’ 10-year championship streak. The 33 titles for the Sasquatch are the most all-time in NWAC history.

Spokane won six men’s events including the 4×100 relay. Individual winners include Jediah Darrel (discus), David Stingle (javelin), Travis Horn (1,500 meters), Michael Mendoza (110m hurdles), Jack Forbes (400m), Colin Wright (800m).

After winning their first championship last year since 2018, the Sasquatch women won this year by 62.5 points. Spokane finished with 236.5 points, led by eight individual champions.

Spokane swept all of the individual awards on the women’s side, led by Afton Wood who was the High Scorer of the Meet with 46 total points. Wood finished first in both the javelin throw and the 400-meter hurdles while also taking second in the heptathlon and 400 meters and third in the pole vault. She was also part of the women’s 4×100 and 4×400-meter relay teams that each finished second.

Mary Nakamura was named the 2025 NWAC Women’s Track Athlete of the Meet as she scored 38 total points for the Sasquatch. Nakamura won both the 3,000 meter steeplechase and the 1,500 meters, while taking second in the 5,000 meters and 800 meters. She was also a part of the women’s 4×400 meter relay team that placed second.

Spokane’s Maliyah Gordon was named the 2025 NWAC Women’s Field Athlete of the Meet with 24 total points. Gordon won the women’s hammer throw on Tuesday and placed second in the shot put and third in the discus.

Other women’s individual winners include: Joy Assonken (shot put), Daisy Lemly (discus) and Emmalyne Jimenez (800 meters).

College baseball

Outfielder Logan Johnstone was named to the All-Mountain West Conference first team and catcher Will Cresswell earned second-team honors, the conference announced Tuesday.

Johnstone is the first Cougar outfielder to earn first-team honors since WSU all-time home run leader Derek Jones earned All-Pac-12 first-team accolades since 2012. The redshirt-junior from Los Gatos, Calif. hit .337 with team-highs of 17 doubles, nine home runs and 17 multiple-hit games while his 40 RBI were second on the team. In conference play, Johnstone led the Cougars with a .387 average with 12 doubles, eight home runs and 27 RBI.

WSU’s season came to an end Saturday. The Cougars finished with an overall record of 18-36.

College football

With the 2025 season on the horizon, Eastern Washington football has solidified its team captains for the fall. Coach Aaron Best announced four Eagle captains for the upcoming season, with Jared Taylor, Nolan Ulm, Isaiah Perez and DaJean Wells earning leadership roles.

Ulm will begin his second season as a team captain, while Taylor, Perez and Wells earn the honor for the first time.

Athletics

Whitworth University has retained the Northwest Conference McIlroy-Lewis All-Sports trophy following the 2024-25 athletic year, according to the standings released by the conference on May 13.

The Pirates held off George Fox University by seven points (253-246) in the final tally, the closest margin since Puget Sound defeated Whitworth by only three points in 2005-06. The win is Whitworth’s 15th overall, tying Pacific Lutheran for the most in NWC history. 

The Pirates earned the maximum 18 points for NWC titles in four sports this year: volleyball, men’s swimming, women’s swimming and men’s basketball. The Bucs claimed runner-up points (16) in men’s cross country, football, men’s track and field, women’s track and field and baseball.

The Northwest Conference All-Sports Trophy recognizes athletic excellence among Northwest Conference institutions across all fields of competition.

Soccer

Velocity defender David Garcia earned a starting spot on USL League One’s Team of the Week for the eleventh week of the 2025 season for his performance in Spokane’s 1-0 win over Richmond on Saturday. Garcia registered a game-high seven clearances and logged two interceptions. He also had 75 touches, which was the second highest on the team. This was Garcia’s first Team of the Week honor of the 2025 season.

INDIANAPOLIS – The IU Indy Athletics Department released its 2025 volleyball schedule on Wednesday (May 21). The Jags are set to host 12 home matches, including their annual Hampton Inn Invitational.
 
Head coach Andrew Kroger enters his third season leading the Jags after posting the best IU Indy record since 2017, winning 15 games during the 2024 season with a Horizon League Tournament appearance.
 
The Jaguars will open the regular season on the road this season at the Charleston Southern Invite when they face The Citadel on August 29. They will stay on the road as they travel to Xavier for an invite, September 4-6. IU Indy will then host Bellarmine, Gonzaga and Northern Illinois for their annual Hampton Inn Invitational from September 11-13. The Jags will then close out their non-conference slate with the Butler Invitational (September 17 and 20) and an away match at Purdue on September 21.
 
They open the Horizon League slate against Wright State on the road in back-to-back days (Sept. 26/27) before returning to the Jungle to host Purdue Fort Wayne (Sept. 30) and Milwaukee (Oct. 3/4). The Jags will also host Youngstown State (Oct. 17/18), Oakland (Oct. 24/25) and Northern Kentucky (Nov. 14/15). IU Indy will visit Robert Morris (Oct. 10/11), Purdue Fort Wayne (Oct. 28), Cleveland State (Oct. 31/Nov. 1) and Green Bay (Nov. 7/8).
 
The Horizon League Championship is set to begin on Nov. 21 with the championship match slated for Nov. 23.
 
IU Indy will see several starters return to the 2025 roster, including All-Conference performers Grace Purichia and Morgan Ostrowski. Other top returners include Jordyn Pax, Kate White, Ava Harris, Maia Long, Elle Patterson, Kennedy Seputis, Brynn Zastrow and Lili Britt. Joining the Jags for their first season will be transfer Ninah Miranda (Lipscomb) and incoming freshman Laura Roeder, Amanda Stephens, Kate Jacquay, Jillian Tippmann and Chloe Macias.