HOLED up in his bedroom, a teenage boy carefully measures powder to mix into a solution he’ll later inject into his stomach.
Charlie, aged 18 from Seaford in East Sussex, has bought an illegal experimental weight loss drug called Retatrutide on the messaging platform Discord in a bid to lose weight.
Fitness influencer Tommo Holbrook posts on TikTok about using peptides to enhance his workouts Credit: John McLellan
Teenager Charlie was inspired to start taking Peptides after seeing them on TikTok Credit: Supplied
He wanted to lose weight which led to gym and peptide use Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk
Charlie buys his peptides on social media website Discord Credit: Supplied
His kit, which includes vials and needles, is hidden in his bedroom and his parents have no idea what he’s up to.
Charlie, not his real name, is just one of a growing number of British teens who have fallen prey to the ‘Looksmaxxing’ community online.
They are buying on the internet that claim to help them lose weight, gain muscle, sleep better, improve skin and even control their metabolism.
Experts say users are dicing with death with no idea what’s actually in the substances they take.
One said Britain is becoming a “wild west” for peptide use.
Charlie, who gets the drugs delivered from warehouses in China, said: “It’s just part of my everyday life.
“I don’t worry about taking them.”
The term Looksmaxxing first emerged in the toxic manosphere and is tied to ‘blackpill’ ideology which dictates only the best looking men get women.
At its most extreme, have smashed in their own faces with a hammer to chisel a better jawline and even had leg lengthening surgery.
Charlie, who admits being swayed by influencers, said: “I used to keep the used needles and vials in a plastic bottle and hide them in my room, it’s not my proudest moment but now I have a proper needle bin.
“My mum would try to stop me but I don’t think they’d be too strict about it
“It does feel a bit weird sometimes. I’d rather they knew what I was doing but I don’t think they’d understand it to the point where they’d feel comfortable with me doing it in the house.
“So I just decided to keep it discreet for my sake and theirs.
“Their biggest concern is probably the long term effects that haven’t been officially documented.”
Peptides are synthetic drugs said to mimic natural hormones which control functions like growth, blood sugar levels, behaviour, water retention and blood pressure.
They include approved prescription weight-loss medications such as semaglutide, found in Wegovy, and tirzepatide which is in Moujaro.
Harry mixes up the Retatrutide which posted to him from abroad Credit: Supplied
The Discord channel shows the peptides all boxed up and ready for shipping Credit: Supplied
But the illegal drug markets are flooded with ‘peptides’ that aren’t clinically tested or regulated, so there’s no evidence they’re safe or actually work.
Charlie is taking Retatrutide, dubbed the Godzilla of fat jabs, and has lost 28kg in seven months but the drug is still in clinical trials in the US and has yet to be approved for human use anywhere in the world.
He gets the powder sachets of the drug delivered straight to his door then he mixes it up with bacteria static water in a bid to keep it sterile.
Testing company Finnrick has found that eight per cent of peptides bought online contain dangerous toxins, including E. coli.
Experts say teens who inject at home are risking over-dosing, allergic reactions and even septic shock.
Professor Channa Jayasena, of Imperial College London, is a consultant on men’s reproductive health at Hammersmith and St Mary’s Hospitals.
He says he encounters patients “day in, day out” who are taking experimental peptides.
He told the Guardian the UK was “sleepwalking” into a crisis.
He said: “It feels like we’re in the wild west and we’ve rapidly arrived in a situation of lawlessness when it comes to people normalising the administration of potentially very powerful and sometimes untested peptides and products that could have devastating consequences for their health
“People are buying this stuff and injecting it into their veins. This is atrocious, and this could lead to deaths.
“[Peptides are] made with lots of very powerful solvents that you have to try to remove from the process to sufficient purity so as not to be dangerous.”
But it doesn’t stop influencers from selling peptides on sites like TikTok and Discord.
Tommo posted his transformation which he claims is down to using peptides Credit: Supplied
Tommo told The Sun he thinks of himself as a ‘lab rat’ and is happy to take the experimental substances Credit: Supplied
Buyers can pick chosen ‘stacks’ of peptides for different effects and influencer Joe Rogan boasted of taking a ‘Wolverine’ stack to improve his health.
The Sun also spoke to a 19 year old named George from East Sussex who takes CJC-1295 which stimulates the pituitary gland to produce growth hormones for muscle gain.
He said: “Since hitting the gym more it started popping up on my ‘for you page’ on TikTok as part of the Looksmaxxing trend.
“They help you to look bigger, I used to be quite insecure and skinny but peptides mean I can look at myself and feel proud.
“These influencers are promoted by brands selling peptides and they have all these discount codes you can use at checkout.
“I’m aware of the side effects, what they can do to my body and the possible cross contamination but the benefits outweigh the risks.”
Lab analysis shows some supplies of CJC-1295 have a purity of below 2 per cent – with who knows what else bulking up the solution.
Legal loopholes mean the peptides are part of the grey market, so they can be sold legally without regulation on the condition they’re not marketed for human consumption.
Some peptides trigger growth hormones, so theoretically users with early stage or undiagnosed tumours risk speeding up cancer cell growth according to SageMED.
Tommo Holbrook, who goes by the username tom_t4fitness, is a fitness coach with a following of almost 15,000 and promotes peptides.
The 27 year-old, who grew up in Loughborough, claims he sees himself as a “lab rat” and frequently posts before and after videos of his “looksmaxxing” progress from injecting the research chemicals.
He said: “Every lad my age seems to be taking peptides.”
“Lads are caring more and more about how they look. Steroids can actually affect the way you look — it ages you, it makes you spotty, it makes you lose your hair — so a lot of lads are going down this route instead because they want to look good, that’s literally it.”
“What would people rather me do, be honest about what I’m taking or lie?
“You’re damned if you do or damned if you don’t.”
Tommo has links to a “peptide guidance” group chat in his Instagram where users can learn how to take the drugs and buy them.
Tommo shares his advice on how to take Peptides and is aware of risks Credit: John McLellan
Dr Syed raised concerns about how safe peptides bought online will be Credit: Supplied
Dr Taylor warned teens are risking becoming ill from the peptides Credit: Supplied
Tommo used the peptides himself as part of the Looksmaxxing culture Credit: John McLellan
He’s even posted TikTok videos with discount codes to buy peptides online.
He said: “It’s not illegal to sell it, it’s just a grey area because it’s got to say on the bottle ‘not for human use’.
“Everyone knows if you down a whole bottle of Jack Daniel’s it might give you liver failure, if you go out and do that it’s completely down to you.”
He claimed he knows the products from companies he works with are 100 per cent pure and aren’t scam companies.
“It should be regulated, you’ve got people buying the things from China and packing it in their bedrooms in their mum’s house and then shipping it out.
“It’s someone who’s not qualified bottling it up and sending it out for people to inject.”
Emily Jackson, professor of at the London School of Economics, says “it’s illegal to promote prescription-only drugs on social media” and “Retatrutide can’t be lawfully sold” in the UK.
Dr Adam Taylor, director of the Clinical Anatomy Learning Centre at Lancaster University is concerned users face unknown long term effects even if initial risks aren’t obvious.
He said: “Retratutide for instance is being investigated but there’s no formal new drug application yet.
“Stuff is available, but it’s investigational so people are basically doing the investigation themselves, they’re becoming the lab rat.
“If you look online it says “99 per cent pure”. That’s fine, but it doesn’t tell you what the hell else is in there.
“What are the stabilising agents? What are the agents that keep it a powder.
“It only takes someone with a weakened immune system or somebody who’s fighting a virus for that to tip the balance of their body to struggle to cope with what’s going on.”
We also spoke to Dr Syed Omar Babar, Medical Director of Healand Clinic, whose clinic treats patients using peptides under the description of “advanced treatment biohacking”.
Sellers on Discord claim buying and selling peptides is a “grey market” Credit: Supplied
Tommo brands himself as an online coach Credit: John McLellan
He said: “Buying peptides online is dangerous, it’s a very unregulated space and a lot of websites want to make a quick buck and sell whatever comes to their hand.
“It’s not tested properly, it’s not stored properly and at the worst end causes harm or at the least has no effect because it’s not actually what it says on the tin.
“When you inject something directly into your skin, you bypass your lines of defence and there’s a higher chance of infections, reactions and problems.
“Users run the risk of injecting chemicals that aren’t pure or haven’t been kept properly, they’re also injecting themselves with bioactive compounds which work on receptors in the body.”
Dr Babar was concerned teens are injecting Retatrutide, he said: “it’s a compound stronger than Mounjaro and it is not licensed yet, it’s still being studied, so to inject it yourself is very risky and can cause serious side effects
“At the worst it risks pancreatitis.”
But it doesn’t appear any regulator in the UK has a strong grasp on the issue.
The MHRA medicines regulator told us they’re not responsible for regulating peptides unless they’re sold for medicinal purposes.
Lynda Scammell, Head of Borderline, MHRA said: “We disregard claims that products are for ‘research purposes’ if it is clear that such claims are being used as an attempt to avoid medicines regulations
“If there is evidence within the promotional material that the products are in fact unauthorised medicines intended for human use, we will take appropriate regulatory action
“If a product is classified as a and is not appropriately authorised, we take regulatory compliance action.”
A spokesperson said: “These products can be dangerous.
“Anything claiming medical benefits must be properly tested, proven safe and backed by evidence.
“Research chemicals sold online may be unsafe or not do what they claim. People should only buy medicines and supplements – including peptides – from trusted sources.”
TikTok told The Sun they work to remove content that violates their community guidelines including content that promotes disordered eating, risky weight loss or muscle gain methods, or harmful body comparisons.
It said peptides are a trend across all social media and not only their platform.
A Discord spokesman said: “Using Discord to buy or sell illegal drugs or regulated substances is strictly forbidden.
“We take swift action if we find this content on the platform, including disabling accounts and shutting down servers when we identify activity that violates our policies.”
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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