Teen boys and "peptides"

[Anonymous]

lol. peptides are the building blocks of proteins. If you eat protein, you're consuming peptides.

[Anonymous]

My son, who is a junior in HS kid, plays football and does track. We've agreed to whey protein, creatine, and beta-alanine. They are all 3rd party tested and, based on all current science, are safe and are considered to work. With a sample size of 1, he's quite the beast. He works out a lot and has been able to put on quite a bit of muscle, increased strength, speed, and vertical jump. It certainly could all be coincidence...but I'll allow him to keep it going. This actually has me thinking...lots of parents like to talk about how we drank out of hoses and did this and did that and brag about how they are fine, but freak out if their kid researches and proposes something that has been scientifically proven to be beneficial with little to zero side effects.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Of course I am not allowing this. I just wanted to discuss what seems like a trend right now.

Anonymous wrote:Real men are natty. The rest are weak - sayeth my 16 year old DS.

This is pretty much what my college ds told my peptide-seeking teen.

Ask him which ones he's interested in and look into them. You know your kid the best. Mine had a protein powder phase, which I supported by buying what I chose, but it has passed. There are lots of supplements out there that we're not so knowledgeable about as medicine is pushed. Not all of it is bad.

What I am talking about goes beyond protein powder and creatine. Those are old hat in this house. I am talking about things like MK-766 and other number/letter combos. They are often banned substances too when it comes to serious sports.

Honestly, the stuff that is being pushed on young women is far more damaging and extensive. Study after study has proven that the overwhelmingly negative effects of this tik tok instacrap on young women far exceeds the damage and negative effects on any other demographic, including the "manosphere"

This isn't a thread about young women. It is about boys. And it is not a competition. I will say you seem to disregard the manosphere influence out of some ignorance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son, who is a junior in HS kid, plays football and does track. We've agreed to whey protein, creatine, and beta-alanine. They are all 3rd party tested and, based on all current science, are safe and are considered to work. With a sample size of 1, he's quite the beast. He works out a lot and has been able to put on quite a bit of muscle, increased strength, speed, and vertical jump. It certainly could all be coincidence...but I'll allow him to keep it going. This actually has me thinking...lots of parents like to talk about how we drank out of hoses and did this and did that and brag about how they are fine, but freak out if their kid researches and proposes something that has been scientifically proven to be beneficial with little to zero side effects.

There isn’t anything wrong with the building blocks to proteins per se. It’s the big industry/influencer marketing push towards tweens, teens, and young men.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mine too OP and I’m a researcher in nutrition. But Tik Tok knows more than I do of course.

Wow. This would drive me insane!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son, who is a junior in HS kid, plays football and does track. We've agreed to whey protein, creatine, and beta-alanine. They are all 3rd party tested and, based on all current science, are safe and are considered to work. With a sample size of 1, he's quite the beast. He works out a lot and has been able to put on quite a bit of muscle, increased strength, speed, and vertical jump. It certainly could all be coincidence...but I'll allow him to keep it going. This actually has me thinking...lots of parents like to talk about how we drank out of hoses and did this and did that and brag about how they are fine, but freak out if their kid researches and proposes something that has been scientifically proven to be beneficial with little to zero side effects.

I am not talking about these things. I am talking about things that stimulates the production of hgh, etc.

See this:

https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/15/health/peptides-unregulated-influencers

https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury/health-and-wellness/catastrophic-teenagers-as-young-as-14-buying-peptides-online-20260115-p5nu8a

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/peptides-from-instagram-china-wellness-cure.html

Excerpt from the link above:

According to a source at one of New York’s elite prep schools, peptide use is rampant among students. They buy the compounds from TikTok influencers and hide the vials from their parents in mini-fridges they keep in their bedrooms. Students circulate TikToks, such as one in which a young woman stashes vials of peptides in what seems to be her family fridge, captioned “when ur mini fridge breaks so now u gotta hide ur peps behind sum ranch.” In another clip, a teenage user with the bio “16 year old on Mexican research chemicals” poses with a dog-ears filter. The onscreen text: “‘No bro we’re way too young to be pinning peptides’… …Translating 🔁 … ‘… Glory to the state of Israel! Long Live Benjamin Netanyahu!🇮🇱’”

The phenomenon known as “looksmaxxing” takes the peptide hype cycle past the point of absurdity. The subculture is built on a grim premise: Looks are destiny, and only those willing to undergo the most extreme interventions will win in work, dating, and life. Though women participate, this philosophy is geared ultimately toward the vanities and neuroses of young men. Looksmaxxers have developed their own language: “mogging” means out-classing someone’s appearance, to “ascend” is to transform your looks, and the “PSL scale” (an acronym referencing defunct looksmaxxing forums) ranks people from “subhuman” to “giga chad.” Peptides are ubiquitous. “Looksmaxxing is mostly about visible optimization and speeding up aesthetic results, so peptides get pulled in as tools that promise faster fat loss, better skin, and improved recovery,” said a 22-year-old college student I met in Ramsay’s Discord for peptide enthusiasts. “That’s where people like Clavicular come in, translating peptides into an aesthetic-first language that resonates with that crowd.”

[Anonymous]

lol. Gigachad. I haven’t heard that term for a while. Love it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Of course I am not allowing this. I just wanted to discuss what seems like a trend right now.

Anonymous wrote:Real men are natty. The rest are weak - sayeth my 16 year old DS.

This is pretty much what my college ds told my peptide-seeking teen.

Ask him which ones he's interested in and look into them. You know your kid the best. Mine had a protein powder phase, which I supported by buying what I chose, but it has passed. There are lots of supplements out there that we're not so knowledgeable about as medicine is pushed. Not all of it is bad.

What I am talking about goes beyond protein powder and creatine. Those are old hat in this house. I am talking about things like MK-766 and other number/letter combos. They are often banned substances too when it comes to serious sports.

Honestly, the stuff that is being pushed on young women is far more damaging and extensive. Study after study has proven that the overwhelmingly negative effects of this tik tok instacrap on young women far exceeds the damage and negative effects on any other demographic, including the "manosphere"

This isn't a thread about young women. It is about boys. And it is not a competition. I will say you seem to disregard the manosphere influence out of some ignorance.

Sure.

But someone's whose only post is a sexist "boys are horrible" (exact quote) needs to be called out for her blatant sexism and misogyny.

Carry on, OP.

Other than the boys are horrible poster, this is a great discussion.

[Anonymous]

Hey, probably because of this thread this video from an actual Dr. popped up in my YT feed. I watched part 1 last night and it's fairly informative. He's still very "bro", but at least he's a fellowship trained Dr. providing info.

Again the main issue is buying these things on the gray market. This is not something a teenager should be using, but the video does provide some good background info. There are 2 other episodes going over even more of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:lol. peptides are the building blocks of proteins. If you eat protein, you're consuming peptides.

yes, but that's not this post is about at all. It's about injecting some pretty powerful substances

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Real men are natty. The rest are weak - sayeth my 16 year old DS.

You’re all so comfortable raising such trash. You’re all so weak.