It started more than a decade ago with looksmaxxing, a disturbing manosphere-based strategy for optimising personal appearance through diet, exercise, surgery or smashing your jawbone. Back then, “maxxing” carried with it an unwholesome sense of overkill for its own sake. Even that extra X – maxing out the word in a way that served no orthographic purpose – seemed to be a symptom.Over time the -maxxing suffix has come to mean going all in on a particular trait, habit, quality or pastime, generally in a manner that misses the point. Booksmaxxing, for example, seems to be less about reading, and more about coming across as optimally bookish in your dating profile. Sleepmaxxing is about getting as much sleep as you can, rather than as much as you need.Maxxing trends tend to burn brightly and briefly – people are always on the lookout for the next one. But how well do you know your maxxes? How many of the following are real?1.Auramaxxing. Sometimes seen as the antidote to looksmaxxing, it involves enhancing and intensifying the invisible personal magnetism – your aura – that flows from you. Or does it?
2.Smellmaxxing. Optimising one’s aroma through the application of perfume is nothing new. But maxxing your smell is a trend among boys, some as young as 11. Forget Lynx – expensive colognes are the new Tamagotchis.3.Ethicsmaxxing. This doesn’t mean "Get as many ethics as you can, and quick!" It’s just having a code of ethics and applying it rigorously to every decision you make. 4.Hobbitmaxxing. The seven habits of highly effective hobbits include going barefoot, keeping warm, prioritising meals and generally tending to the small things in and around your hobbit hole. To be honest, it’s not that different from being a badger.
