The Perfect Body Tyger Takes On...

THIS PROGRAMME CONTAINS SOME STRONG LANGUAGE.

I'm Tyger Drew-Honey, and I'm about to turn 18.

I'm on the cusp of adulthood.

But going from boy to man is harder than it looks.

Ohhh!

I look like Simon Cowell!

And if you think real life is confusing,

you should see the inside of my head.

Shut up! Yeah, gubba gubba. Oh, yes! I love you!

So, I want to know how everyone else is coping.

Surely I'm not the only one struggling to become a grown-up?

Have I got red lips?

Ow!

This time, I'm looking at male body image.

Are boys becoming more obsessed with the way they look than girls?

So, what are you guys aiming for?

-What sort of body shape do you want?

-I'd say like a Dorito look.

The Dorito look.

I went on a road trip

and met guys who will do anything for the perfect body,

took the maddest supplements to try and get ripped...

It says here, "Warning, side effects may include an uncontrollable urge

"to slaughter the iron and unleash a frenzy of muscle-building mayhem."

..and discovered that these supplements can be lethal.

I just remember it felt like the biggest crushing pain in my chest.

Ambulance came and they said it sounds like you've just had a minor heart attack.

I agree to compete alongside the buffest blokes in Britain.

This is how we look all year round.

I discover that selfies might be fuelling a rise in extreme

body image trends.

And, given we now all have 24/7 access to pictures of anyone

anywhere, is our obsession with social media to

blame for a growing paranoia about our own image? And to try

and improve my own appearance, I experience some extreme grooming.

But how far are we prepared to go for the perfect look?

And what effect is this quest for perfection having on us men?

Ooh!

We need to take a selfie!

In Britain, we take more than 35 million selfies every month.

It's an epidemic. We're all coming down with selfie-itis.

Oh, I should copyright that!

Hashtag 'me' on Instagram and there are 199,324,539 posts.

That's crazy!

200,000,000. You search 'me' on Instagram, you get 200,000,000 hits.

We are completely obsessed with ourselves.

There are over 6,000 apps out there, all designed to help you take,

alter and share your pictures.

People think you're having a good time all of the time.

You're looking good all the time.

It's your own little propaganda, isn't it?

-It's like you're a constant hit.

-I'm here! Look at this!

-This is fun!

-Everyone's a celebrity now.

Everybody is at it.

Even world leaders are jumping on the selfie bandwagon.

It might feel like a recent trend, but in fact,

the selfie has been around for a very long time.

Ever since man discovered the selfie,

he's been obsessed with his own image.

Although capturing it was a bit of a problem.

By the 1500s, if you wanted a picture of yourself,

all you needed was someone to paint it for you.

It could take a while though.

Oi, Leonardo, how long's this going to take, babe?

-It's-a gonna take four years-a Mona!

-Four years?! Bloody hell!

MUSIC: "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go" by Wham!

In the 1980s, every home had a camera and with clever self-timers,

getting a selfie was no problem at all, as long as you could work it.

Today, with a camera in everyone's pocket,

it would appear there is never a bad time for a selfie.

Sharing our image with the world has become as simple as a swipe,

with snapchat, one of the fastest growing apps on the planet,

we can even communicate in pictures.

But does this mean that what we look like now matters more than

what we say?

Say you've got a hot person, they post a selfie, you're going to

-feel "Oh, my God, they're so good looking compared to me."

-Yeah.

And even if everyone else is doing it and you're not, you can

look really boring.

Make people feel a little bit jealous about what you're doing,

what's going on in your life.

It's just like...it's a trend.

-Like if you look good, people like you, they really do like you.

-Yeah.

# Can you guys help me pick a filter?

# I don't know if I should go with XX Pro or Valencia I wanna look tan

# What should my caption be?

# I want it to be clever How about Living with my ladies... #

If they do give it filters and effects,

-it does change the way you feel about yourself.

-Yeah.

Because if you look better, you feel better.

I think people are trying to look a way that they don't normally

look, try and look the way that they'd like to look and think that

other people would like them to look, rather than how they actually look.

Right, I think I've got that.

As we tweak, alter and improve our selfies,

perhaps the real danger is that we start to measure

ourselves against our own faked images,

adding pressure to appear perfect in real life too.

My concern is that the culture of selfies is actually lowering

self esteem amongst younger people.

Mark Pacifico is an aesthetic plastic surgeon,

and he's worried more young guys are now seeking unnecessary surgery.

For example, a young man who came in earlier this week actually,

he came in because he had noticed,

or friends actually had pointed out to him,

more worryingly I think, that on his social media avatar,

the picture he had of himself, there was a subtle development of

a little bit of a crease or fold on one of his eyelids, his upper lids.

And he came in to talk to me about treatments for that

and whether he could have surgery or if not surgery,

botox or something similar to try and treat that.

The aim they're going for has no ceiling.

They are looking for apparent perfection but their expectations

a lot of the time are not achievable and may never be achievable.

But it's not just about going under the knife.

It seems that men are becoming more and more fixated on their looks,

and if they're not willing to undergo surgery,

there's plenty of other image trends that we can latch onto.

For years, my grooming routine meant a bit of hair gel

and the occasional shower. I think most boys would say the same.

But all that seems to be changing.

A recent survey revealed that guys worry more than

girls about the way they look.

-It's changing.

-Yeah, it's changing a lot.

I think guys are becoming more feminine than women are.

-I tend to spend a lot of time on my hair.

-I shave my chest.

Landscaping is highly important.

No-one wants to see George W Bush down there.

About ten years ago, you'd never have heard about men getting

fake tans and getting their teeth whitened.

It would have been really unheard of but nowadays,

it's like every third person on the street, every third

guy on the street is on their way to a beauty salon.

In just five years, sales of men's grooming products

have shot up by 20%.

There was a guy in there. He went straight over to the make-up counter

and he bought this which is tinted moisturiser.

It was in the girls section, but I mean obviously we've got the same

skin as girls and I think this is what guys are wearing for make-up.

In another store, I found a make-up counter just for men,

although no actual men would let us film them.

All right, well I spent nearly £200 in there.

Apparently the men are really into buying transparent invisible

mascara to make their eyelashes look bigger, manscara if you like.

There's a brand, a men's make-up brand in there

and all their make-up products are make-up products for men.

Do I look browner?

This is literally make-up for men, which is ridiculous.

And that's not all.

Men's hair removal is now the second most popular treatment

after a haircut.

The most popular treatment we have is a treatment called

the boyzillian, which is basically hair removal waxing under

the groin area, strip, strip, back, sack and crack.

They're usually embarrassed.

They tend to psych themselves up before they come in

but once they've popped the cherry, 99.9% come back.

And they all want to look like these people on the TV.

There may well be some great male bodies on TV,

but mine certainly isn't one of them.

In the last couple of months, I've actually put on about half a stone.

It's kind of annoying cos it's just all gone here.

But 18 months ago, my body looked quite different.

'I'd been asked to take my top off for an episode of Cuckoo,

'so in preparation, I went on a crash diet and lost two

'and a half stone in just two months.'

But instead of being fancied,

I was ridiculed and told on social media that I looked too thin.

Erm, "Tyger Drew-Honey looks ill,

"he looks like he's dying of starvation."

To be honest, it felt strange having my appearance criticised online.

-Ha-ha! You look like a malnourished seven-year-old.

-Yeah, all right.

-Keep your voice down.

-You haven't even got a six pack!

All right, yeah, thanks for that.

-Just...

-Hashtag 'skinny twat'!

-I've had enough of this.

Yeah, bye!

Since then, I've given up and let it all go.

A lot of people nowadays expect sort of a young guy on telly

to have a really ripped body, but I'm not like that.

I don't go to the gym, I just don't really exercise and I just kind of

eat and drink what I want and this is the result.

So what is the perfect guy supposed to look like,

and could I ever be that guy?

I needed to meet some other men who could help me find out.

A road trip was in order. First stop? Essex, of course.

Do you get more boys or more girls?

Definitely more boys will come in to have eyebrows done.

-And what about tanning?

-Sunbeds, I'd say...probably, both the same.

-It's like 50/50?

-Yeah.

-Welcome to Essex.

'This is 18-year-old Curtis.

'He uses a salon twice a week for treatments including eyebrow

'waxing, and was quick to suggest that I tidied mine.

'I didn't think they were a problem.'

I'll definitely do the middle bit,

-and then I'll do a bit underneath as well. OK?

-OK.

-Now a little comb.

-Oh, a comb for your eyebrows.

Oh, mate, this is going to look the bollocks when it's done.

Thanks, Curtis. I'll stick to the eyebrows for now.

-Little did I know, the bollocks were to come.

-Be realistic.

-All right, I reckon a little bit.

-Yeah, that little bit there.

-Yeah.

-Ow!

-Just rip it off quick.

-I feel demasculinised.

-No!

I do, I can't help it.

Hang on, did I just say 'demasculinised'?

Is that even a word? Hm, no. Looks like I made that one up.

'In the next town, Curtis introduced me to his friend Mitch,

'who's also 18.

'Twice a month,

'he sees his local intimate waxer who removes everything.'

-Hello, you all right? Hey, I'm Lucy.

-Hi, Lucy, I'm Tyger.

-Nice to meet you.

-So how many guys get this done?

70% of my clients are male.

The youngest one is Mitch, and I have a client, the oldest one, is 65.

'Wow! A 65-year-old man. That's weird, right?

'He's old enough to be my grandfather.'

I can still remember the best piece of advice that my grandfather

ever gave to me.

And now that I'm the grandfather,

-it's my turn to pass it down to YOU, my boy.

-Oh, go on!

-Please tell me, Grandad!

-Always, always wax your balls.

'I'm not entirely sure why I agreed to what happened next.

'Perhaps in the name of journalism,

'I signed up for a back, sack and crack.'

Just shout me when you're ready, all right?

-Thanks a bunch, Mitch!

-That's alright!

I'm due maybe in a couple of weeks' time but apart from that,

I haven't got long enough hairs yet, luckily.

The doors aren't very soundproof.

Try not to scream too loud.

'Wow, there is no messing around, is there?'

Who's worse, girls or guys?

Definitely guys. Definitely guys.

Ohh!

Ohh! Ow!

'Thanks, lads. Real solidarity there.'

-This is going to be a bit cold.

-Oh!

-Sorry.

-Ah!

'All right, I can do this. Time to man up.'

Oh, that's nothing!

Ow, ow, oh!

'Spoke too soon.'

'Haha, wow, I can only imagine what you're tweeting right now.'

-How much left is there to do?

-Quite a lot. You're quite hairy.

It's just the first time it's really painful.

Especially when you don't trim the hair.

Come on, we have to do it as well!

Yeah, but not on your...arse, you don't...grow hairs on your...arses.

Yeah? You would be surprised.

Oh! That's my sack! Are you doing my sack?!

I didn't know you were doing my sack! Ow!

'Yeah, the clue's in the name. Back, SACK and crack.

'But why did Mitch get this done?'

I really just do it for personal use, for my own satisfaction.

If I feel clean, I just feel much better about myself. I feel...

More confident in myself if I feel clean.

Right, I've had my back, sack and crack and I don't understand it.

It's very painful and for what? For a hairless pair of balls?

What do you get out of that?

Despite barely being able to walk, I was still keen to find out

how appearance ideals were shaping these guys lives.

Hm, maybe I can get used to neat eyebrows?

Not so sure about the testicles.

Back at Curtis's house, I met his dad and discovered that age

is no barrier when it comes to male body obsession.

-So what is it you had done to your hair?

-They've moved my hair.

They've taken roots out of there

and put it in the front in those two bits.

That's just starting to come through.

They've cut me there, right there and round the ear and down there,

and pulled it all up.

And cut my eyes across like that and pushed them up,

-straightened my teeth, whitened them. I've spent £14,000 on my head.

-Why?

-Why did you spend £14,000 on your head?

-I want to look good.

I don't want to be like a fat sad balding guy, which is

what I was looking, you know what I mean?

-And I've gone from chubby chops to that, you know what I mean?

-Yeah.

At the end of the day, who wants to look old?

And if there's little bits of tweaking that you can have

done that's going to make you look good, and I tell you make you

feel better and more confident in yourself, why not?

And then that gets rid of your grey bits.

And then once you've brushed all your hair, you put a bit of spray on it.

Keeps it in place when it's windy.

Curtis works on building sites

and spends most of his wages on looking good.

How long does it take to do that fantastic hair of yours?

In a week, I'll probably rush it a lot more,

-I'd say probably about an hour.

-You rush it and it takes an hour?

-Yeah.

It ends up taking me... if I'm going out on a night out

at the weekend, probably two or three hours to get ready.

-What do you do for two or three hours to get ready?

-I don't know.

I've asked myself the same question.

But it can't take you two hours to do your hair.

I had to see this in action, so Curtis started doing his hair,

and I, well, I had to entertain myself.

Yeah, I might be here a while.

Voila.

Hm, might as well make myself useful.

So you've built me a little shoe rack!

-I genuinely did, in faster time...

-You work quick, mate.

You're in the wrong line of work.

-Are you sure you don't just work slow?

-You're in the wrong...maybe.

It might have something to do with it. Cheers for that, brother.

-I appreciate it. My hands are a bit slick.

-Your hands are a bit sticky.

-Might as well use hair product on my hair.

-That's it.

Mate, see, you're looking better already.

'But it wasn't over yet.'

I need hairspray. I need my dad's hairspray.

-You've got some over there, haven't you?

-Nah, that's ran out.

I'm going to borrow some off my dad. Hang on.

-Dad?

-I have to lock my door so he don't nick my hairspray.

What's it like in this house?

Unbelievable.

You heard that right.

His dad keeps his hairspray in a locked room.

A pound a squirt.

Right, well, that was about an hour and ten minutes.

That might be a record, you know.

-Really?

-That might be a record.

-You're worse than a woman.

Everything has to be like...all in place, doesn't it, with you?

But then you're lucky to have a good head of hair.

I used to have hair like that when I was young.

It was nice, but I couldn't remember what it looked like before.

Oh. Not sure it was worth an hour.

I felt like I'd stepped into an episode of TOWIE.

But was this just an Essex issue?

I think since like the likes of Geordie Shore and TOWIE

and everything came out, it's kind of like...now it's more...

it's kind of become essential. Like men kind of...

I think they're realising that they have to up the grooming game...

There's a lot of bullying as far as school kids are concerned as well,

like kids at school now feel like they need to be like this now,

do you know what I mean?

But not everyone was buying into this male grooming trend.

I find it strange that women shave at all, personally,

so I find guys doing it even weirder.

Erm, I don't feel any pressure to be honest.

I think people put more effort into their body hair

and other grooming things and that nowadays

because a lot of people have very low self esteem.

When you see guys down the gym, you think "that's a bit of a waste

"of time. You could be doing something that's actually fun."

I can't be arsed.

-Chuck a right, just here, mate.

-Really?

It's literally like a 180 turn, yeah.

Meanwhile, Curtis had invited me back to his friend's house

where Mitch and his mate James were getting ready for a night out.

-How's it going?

-How's it going? Yeah, yeah, cool, cool.

-Who's in there then?

-Oh, that's what I wear when I go out.

Is that why it takes you so long then?

MUSIC: "Alright" by Supergrass

'Curtis introduced me to their going out routine.

'This started with some light dentistry.'

HE MUMBLES

Can you stop talking please?

'James's sister has her own teeth whitening kit. Handy!

'And James tans so often that he bought his own sunbed.

'Just a reminder, we are in Essex.'

I think being brown just makes you look better.

Models in modelling magazines, are all tanned, all have good bodies,

just like trying to copy them., If you're like me.

HE MUMBLES

-Don't talk. If you move your lips, it won't work.

-Obligatory selfie.

Might as well share my new teeth with the world.

-You look like Tom Daley.

-I look like Simon Cowell!

After 15 minutes on James's sunbed, Curtis had a problem,

-and he hadn't even started on his hair.

-That is ridiculous.

-Let's have a look?

-I know it looks like a fucking proper red, mate.

I look like a tomato.

I wonder if these guys need a shoe rack built as well?

-I've been ready for like 45 minutes.

-(Who are we waiting for?)

We're waiting for Curtis.

He's still up there getting ready,

like faffing around doing his hair and stuff.

Eventually, only three hours late, we were groomed, tanned

and waxed, ready to meet the ladies.

They assured me this was standard procedure for a night out in Essex.

But I still didn't see the point in all this pampering,

and would the girls even care?

I mean, what do they look for in a guy?

I don't find guys with fake tans even marginally attractive.

If I was dating a guy who spent an hour doing his hair,

-it'd be problematic.

-I like lean but not too muscular.

-Cleanliness would be good.

-Yes.

-That's up there.

There was once a time where becoming a man meant looking rugged,

you know, growing lots of hair.

But it's upside down now,

because some of this lot don't even want pubes.

Inside the club, the girls were nowhere to be seen,

but that didn't seem to matter.

# But first, let me take a selfie. #

Just what the world needs.

40 more selfies taken on a boozy boy's night out. Take THAT internet!

I still don't really understand why guys feel like they need to go

to such extremes.

It's kind of like our whole identity is wrapped up in our image

and it's like we feel this constant need to portray

ourselves as better than we are.

And I don't think that can be healthy.

And you know, if we're doing that now,

then what are we going to be like in 20 years' time?

But I was just as bad.

I'd crashed dieted for Cuckoo

and then allowed Twitter comments to get me down.

And despite my new grooming efforts,

I still wasn't happy with my body, especially the lack of muscle.

So what does everyone else think the perfect body shape

should be for a man?

Eh, definition across the arms and the body, torso, legs,

and a very slim face as well.

Basically perfect peak male perfection.

A bit muscly, got a few bits of tone in the body and nice legs.

I think to me, my upper torso and my chest has to be defined.

It has to be like a pigeon I guess.

I think it's a lot more about being muscular and also being lean.

What I think they're talking about is the beach body look.

Unlike the vein popping distorted image of a bodybuilder,

this is athletic and fit looking.

And it's developed a cult- like following.

Hashtag 'gymselfie' and you'll find endless photos.

Erm, look on Instagram. It's remarkable

how many of them have just got absolutely ripped bodies,

massive arms, massive six pack. Look at this guy!

This is Dan. He's got 32,000 followers on Instagram.

That's over 300 times what David Cameron has.

Just putting that out there.

And looking at his comments, he's got the body everyone's after.

Erm, that's Dan, not David Cameron.

But how did he get there? And could I ever achieve this shape?

He agreed to try and help me find my six pack at his gym in Coventry.

Yet again, that's Dan, not David Cameron.

Right, how hard can this really be?

OK, quite hard.

Maybe I'll stick to making a documentary.

After all, it's a well-known fact that you burn more calories

making a documentary than doing an Olympic triathlon.

Isn't it? Nope. Made that one up as well.

Hey, you guys all right?

-All right?

-I'm Tyger.

-Daniel.

You guys are pretty, erm, pretty...what's the word,

you know, big. Dan introduced me to his gym buddies.

Together, they spend almost 100 hours a week pumping iron.

Ironically, the last thing I'd spent 100 hours doing was

looking at their pictures on Instagram.

Note to self - definitely do not tell them that.

Not only do your profiles look amazing

because of the pictures, but you've got loads of followers.

The image that we're portraying is it is like a craze.

People respect it and people want to look like that and I suppose

when you get your phone out to people and you're like

"let me "just put a picture up of myself"

and within an hour, you get 2,500 likes.

It's just a bit of fun as well.

And do you guys think you have more female or male followers?

Erm, male, definitely.

It's just simply because the girl comments are bitchy,

like "looking good".

It's one of those things where it's good,

but it's not as meaningful as another guy who's ripped

or in our shape saying "congratulations, you're doing good."

Image is literally everything.

You get judged on your image, regardless, you know?

As well as a huge social media following,

this model look has fuelled a new kind of competition where

guys are judged on how fit they look.

Last year, all three made it to the final in the biggest of these

events, and Ash, Dan's friend, took top prize,

winning out of hundreds of applicants.

-Are you planning on doing stuff yourself?

-Well, I don't know.

Would it be possible for me to get a body like you guys one day?

-Of course. It's achievable for anybody.

-You just...

You've got to do your nutrition

and then you've just got to be dedicated to the gym.

On reflection, they didn't ask me to take my top off.

Why did I volunteer this?

-So that's my body.

-Yeah, to start with, it's

fine. It's perfectly fine. We'll just give you a little sneak preview.

Oh, look at the British Number One, that is insane!

I can't believe it.

I feel like I'm a Men's Health shoot or something.

It's a good feeling to look like this all the time, isn't it?

Bet it's a really good feeling. You're right, it really is.

-It kind of makes me really want to give it a go.

-Yeah.

Basically, Ash, Dan and Jermaine, they say anyone could get a body

like theirs, really, if they put in the effort and they do it right.

And there's actually one of those amateur physique competitions

which they said they might see if they could get me in shape for.

Five years ago, these events didn't really exist.

But men's fitness is now the fastest growing

category in the bodybuilding world.

In a few weeks, one of the UK's biggest amateur fitness

competitions will be taking place, and anyone could enter.

Maybe if I gave it a go, I'd be able to understand the appeal.

Early next morning, I was back to take up their offer of training

-and was thrown in at the deep end.

-Yeah, that's it! Good!

Yeah, it was much easier when Dan helped me. I'm not even lifting it.

That is ridiculous.

There they are, helping me again.

Ah! Finally lifted something on my own. Oh, nearly dropped it.

These guys are used to lifting ten times the weight that

I could manage, but they assured me everyone starts out small.

Good lad!

My quad muscles I think they're called, big thigh muscles,

they're kind of like screaming, basically.

Before I left, the boys had one last bit of advice.

Tyger, what we've got here for you is just a basic diet plan

that you're going to follow, OK?

We've worked it out according to your bodyweight.

-Yeah, keep hold of it, keep it safe.

-The secret is handed to you.

Thank you very much.

-I'm going to follow this.

-Do you smoke at all? Are you a smoker?

'Hmm, should I be honest here? OK, I'll risk it.'

-Er, yeah.

-How often?

-15 a day?

-Really? 15?

There's no need to have that much a day, I think.

-You can definitely bring that down.

-OK.

'Well, that backfired! To be fair, it doesn't take a lot of time.

'I smoke them all at once!'

I just feel like I don't have any limbs.

I'm struggling to drive right now.

It's kind of hard to keep my hands on the steering wheel.

And to think that those lads go through that every day,

probably more than I'm feeling right now. I mean, yeah, they look great.

They look great, but they could've learnt three

languages in the time that they've been down the gym.

I was determined to get to the bottom of this fitness craze.

And with this amateur competition only weeks away,

I began to work out wherever I could. What's he looking at?

It's a free country, yeah?

It's like he'd never seen someone working out

in a service station car park before.

I do think I feel a bit...

kind of almost more muscle behind my fat if you get me?

Like it's kind of... I don't know.

I actually do think in a couple of days

it has made the slightest difference.

If you say something enough times, you start to believe it.

But the main problem was the pain.

Ah! Oh, do you know what? My legs.

My legs are still in agony.

I was working my chest but it's my triceps and my biceps

and my legs that are the most painful. I honestly...

I can't really describe how it feels.

It feels like if someone got an axe and sort of hacked

at your legs for half an hour and then you got up the next morning.

That's kind of what it feels like,

Yeah, on reflection, probably being a bit overdramatic there.

And then there was the diet.

I'm on the road, living out of hotels,

so there was no way I could prepare and cook the menu they'd given me.

What I needed was a lot of protein.

Protein, protein, protein...ah! Tuna!

OK, it's a lot of tuna.

Hm, I suppose I should get started.

Oh! That smells bad.

Not sure about the brine.

First tin, that's all right, I can do this. Tin three.

It was by tin four that I'd realised I'd made a terrible mistake.

But, when you've eaten this much tuna,

you might as well finish the lot, otherwise,

you've eaten an alarming amount of tuna for absolutely no reason.

Now this is my sixth and last tin. Feel a bit rough.

Note to self - never eat six cans of tuna fish again in one sitting.

HE VOMITS

Don't worry, it was dolphin friendly.

My amateur fitness competition was less than two weeks away.

I'd need shortcuts.

Yeah, my diet was out the window and anyway,

I wasn't enjoying that fry-up. Everything still tasted like tuna.

I thought about steroids.

Their use has doubled in the last decade,

but they're illegal to sell and pretty risky.

Then I looked at sports supplements.

One in five guys takes them and many boast, usually on Twitter,

the gains that they make down the gym.

I tracked down one of these guys called Chris.

He lives in Durham, and from what I'd seen on social media,

maintains the perfect physique without living like a monk.

Maybe he could help me?

-You all right, mate?

-Yeah, all right.

-How's it going, mate?

-I'm Tyger.

-I'm Chris.

-Nice to meet you.

Chris is 23 and during the week, he works at a mobile phone shop.

Image is one of the most important things, like, for everything.

For even as simple as a job interview.

If you look good and you're confident, you're going

-to come across a bit better.

-Yeah.

And also with my job as a topless butler as well,

-so I always have to keep in shape for that.

-So you're a topless butler?

Yeah, that's what I do, mate. That's what I do on weekends.

What exactly is a topless butler?

You wear a collar, a bow tie, cuffs, trousers and that's it, just no top.

'On reflection, that was a stupid question.'

And so in conclusion, a topless butler is a standard butler BUT,

now this is key, without his top on, hence top-less butler.

Any questions?

Chris had told me that supplements might help speed up my training.

-So, tell me about the supplements you use.

-I like to use pre-workouts.

It just feels amazing when you're going to the gym.

It gets you ready for it.

And just gives you tingles, just makes you feel good.

Do they give you a buzz?

Yeah, it gives you a good buzz,

almost as if you're on drugs or something and then you go to the

gym, you just train amazing, you get better pumps from it.

-That's the pre-workout that I'm using now.

-They sound like pretty...

That's one that I used to use. I've actually ran out of that one.

They sound kind of like a magic medicine.

-It does all those things in a drink.

-It is kind of, you know.

I don't know what they've got in them to be honest,

I just look and if it's made in the USA, I take it

because that's normally the best ones, you know what I mean?

So, why is that?

I know they're different.

America's got different grades with what they're allowed to sell,

so obviously something that's on the shelf in England hasn't got

so much stuff in, whereas in America,

they have ingredients in that they're not allowed to produce in England,

so if you get one that's from America, it's obviously going

to have a bit more things in that possibly could be banned in England.

And obviously if you take double what it says

-then you're going to have a double liquid workout.

-Yeah.

-You do feel your heart racing sometimes.

-So banned is a good thing?

Yeah, if it's banned, it's good.

You get one that's banned

because it's obviously got better stuff in.

But do you not think...surely it's obviously banned for a reason?

-Do you not kind of think maybe you're damaging...?

-I don't know.

I mean, it's never done me any harm.

It's never done anyone I know any harm.

So I think it's personally better to live a short

and fulfilled life than a long, boring one.

'Chris had certainly taught me a lot in a short space of time.

'But I really needed a recap.' Lesson one.

If it's banned, it's good. Lesson two.

If it's made in USA, it's even better. And lesson three.

If you're not sure how much to take, double dose.

Chris agreed to help me work out at his local gym,

but first insisted we stop at McDonalds.

-Can I get a large Big Mac meal?

-'What about the competition?'

-What's your healthiest option?

-Haha, good question.

'Even he found that funny, employee of the month there.

'I must have been doing something wrong.

'Chris had a six-pack, yet he could still eat a Big Mac,

'chips and onion rings.'

Where abouts is it?

'After a bite to eat,

'Chris and I went to meet his mates at surprise surprise,

'the local tanning salon,

'where here in the north-east, I discovered that tanning beds

'aren't enough, and that tanning injections are increasing

'in popularity, as Sean, Chris's mate, explained.'

I think if you go on the sunbed,

it just makes you tanned for a bit and then a few hours later,

you're just back to your normal self,

but with that, it just makes you black straightaway.

Is it not a bit dangerous?

There's loads of things that's dangerous though, isn't there?

-But we still do it.

-Don't really care either.

So you're just injecting this stuff and you don't know what it is?

Just put it in and go black.

As long as it goes dark then you know it works, don't you?

Are you actually Caucasian?

-No, white British.

-That IS Caucasian.

-Is it?!

Bastard!

I thought he meant some sort of Asian.

Cheers, mate, cheers.

Now I've went from brown to red.

'If Chris's secret lay in pre-workout supplements,

'I wanted to find out more about them.

'So, I was introduced to a local expert.'

Hi, how you doing?

-I'm Tyger.

-Nice to meet you, mate.

Right, well, erm, basically,

I want to get ripped as quickly as possible. So what do I need to do?

-What do I need to take?

-Yeah, that's not a problem.

You know, I've got a few supplements which may help you, you know.

I'll show you what I've got, and we can get the best of gear.

-So I will definitely help you.

-OK.

'Excellent! Expert advice from a man who knows what he's talking about.'

Maybe a few questions.

-How long have you been training?

-Not long at all. I've just started.

-OK, OK.

-How does it give you the energy?

Eh, that's the combination of the, you know,

few different ingredients, you know, it's creatine and

caffeine, betalin, you know, all the best stuff

which push you into the limit

when you train. Special combination, special for that.

'This is where it got technical.' So what's in this stuff?

There's no point to describe any single of the ingredients, you know.

-It's called Psycho.

-OK. Can I have a look at that one?

-Yeah, yeah, sure.

-So, what does this one do?

It gives you energy, you know, when you feel tired,

when you have no motivation to train,

just have a scoop of this, mix with water, drink, 30 minutes, boom.

I've got a few of the other ones, you know, like a SuperDrive,

Napalm, NO-Xplode.

They've all got quite sort of powerful names, haven't they?

-There all like BOOM! Kind of.

-Yeah, yeah.

'SuperDrive? Napalm?

'Where DO they make these names up?'

Right, folks! We need a new name for our brand-new sports supplement!

-And it has to be explosive! YOU!

-Explosionators?

-NO! Too obvious.

-YOU!

-Big Red Pot Sports Supplement?

-What even is that?! YOU!

-Nuclear Elephant Hurricane.

-Oh, yes! I love you!

Let's get it on the shelves!

So it says here "Warning,

"side effects may include an uncontrollable urge to

"slaughter the iron and unleash a frenzy of muscle-building mayhem."

You're going to be on beast mode after that.

DEMONIC LAUGHTER

-What did you say, you want to get ripped, yeah?

-Yeah, basically.

-OK.

-So, I think the best would be that. It's called Ripped Freak.

-OK.

So this one doesn't look like it's got any banned things in it.

No, no, no. This one is absolutely 100%.

So is it better to have one with banned stuff or not banned stuff?

Um, are you going to do some competitions?

Well, actually I'm doing a competition on Sunday.

Sunday, yes, so if you get tested in a competition beforehand I think?

-I don't think so, no.

-You don't think so?

-No, I don't.

I'd get the one that's banned. You're not getting drug tested, not performing, you're not an athlete,

just get it, I don't see why you wouldn't.

-Mix them together.

-What would that do?

-Only one way to find out.

You'd be flying.

You think so?

'These things aren't cheap.

'£123 lighter, and I was ready for takeoff.'

-I might. What are you going to have?

-A bit of both, mate.

A bit of both, OK.

Cheers, mate.

'The guys mix supplements to get an extra kick.

'Within minutes, I was feeling very strange.'

-What's wrong with your face?

-My lips are just stinging.

MUSIC: "Rhythm of the Night" by Corona

Worldwide sales of sports supplements are

thought to be worth around £1.5 billion year.

That's set to double in the next decade.

I'd always wondered why guys in gyms listened to hardcore techno.

Now, I know.

Between buzzing off supplements and the pounding beats,

this felt more like an old school rave than a workout. I was flying.

Properly off my face.

With my new supplements,

I could definitely win the fitness competition.

In fact, the way I felt, I could win anything.

But then came the crash.

The next morning, I was up bright and early,

but my head felt like it was about to explode.

I'd only done a gym session, but something else was going on.

It was like I had a massive hangover.

So there's a banned substance in this called 1,3-dimethylamylamine

and Chris says the more banned substances in it the better,

it means it's strong and it's good and it does its job.

Ah, it's called DMAA for short.

So I searched DMAA

and the first thing that comes up are DMAA amphetamine.

It's referred to all over the internet

as a controversial stimulant. Unlicensed medicines.

That sounds a bit dodgy.

I was out of my depth. I needed a doctor.

Not just for my dodgy walk,

but to explain what I'd just put down my throat.

-Hi, there, you all right? You're Greg, yeah?

-Good to see you.

'Greg Whyte is professor of applied sport

'and exercise science at Liverpool University.

'What would HE make of my supplement collection?'

I was looking at the back of this Psycho one

and it says there is actually a banned ingredient in it, DMAA.

-DMAA, yeah.

-What is that?

It's part of that sort of group of products which give us this "up".

What they can do at very high levels is that they can actually

induce irregular, unusual rhythms in the heart.

Does that mean it's similar to speed or amphetamine?

Yeah, definitely, is the answer to that.

Now if they do that and you are predisposed to those,

in other words, you've got an underlying cardiac heart condition

which is predisposed to changes in rhythm,

then fundamentally, they can be fatal.

'Death's not good.

'So was this banned substance

'creating irregular heart rhythms in me?

'Greg decided to check me over and run a before and after test.

'First, he took my blood pressure

'and checked my breathing rate at rest.'

120 over 80 is normal. 116 over 80, perfectly normal.

'Then, he wired me up to an ECG machine

'to see how my heart performed.

'Greg told me he's staring to see more

'and more young guys experimenting with supplements.'

I have clients who will come in with literally a shopping bag

full of supplements that they are currently taking daily.

After a few minutes, I took a shot of Psycho,

the pre-workout drink I'd bought with Chris.

And the tests were repeated.

Now, what's happening is your ventilation rate is rising.

Heart rate is rising now, it's up into the...close to 80.

'In less than five minutes, all my vitals were up,

'and I was feeling the same headrush.

'But my heart was fine, and there were no unusual rhythms.'

It's not just about the rate, it's also about the rhythm, and what

we know is that high doses can effectively put the heart into

unusual rhythm, and those unusual rhythms

can become really problematic.

And it's those unusual rhythms which can lead to death.

'Greg suggested the odd feeling was caused by DMAA, which is

'in fact an industrial chemical and shouldn't be in supplements at all.'

I think it's shocking that as an 18-year-old,

I can walk into a shop of which there's loads in every

town in the country,

I can buy random products off the shelves,

I've got no idea what's in them, what they're going to do to me,

and you know, if I had had an underlying heart condition

and I'd have done that, then...

I'd be dead, you know?

I decided to call the shop that sold me Psycho to let them

know about the dangers of this banned chemical.

'But they were quick to tell me that the

'product was no-longer on their shelves. Interesting timing.'

I was in your shop...

The company responsible for Psycho's UK distribution has

since told us that the product has been reformulated to be DMAA free.

But even with banned products in your bloodstream,

Greg wasn't sure the look young guys are aiming for is achievable.

There is no doubt that you look at some of these

images on the front of magazines and they are false images.

I mean, they have been photoshopped, they have been airbrushed, to the

point where actually, anatomically, it almost makes no sense.

It's that there are muscles

in places that fundamentally don't or can't exist.

Greg had me wondering how many other guys out there were taking

risks on their health for a look they may never obtain.

It seemed men were losing perspective on what a normal body

looked like, and they were prepared to do anything to reach their goal.

I too, was being sucked in.

But how many others were risking their health?

Then I received a tweet from a guy in Essex,

who claimed his image obsession was ruining his life.

I wanted to know how.

-Hi, you all right? I'm Tyger.

-How're you doing? Marcus.

-Marcus, nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you, mate.

'Marcus is 20 and works as a lifeguard and club promoter.

'His goal is to be a top beachwear model and compete nationally.

'But 18 months ago, it all went wrong.'

I was lifeguarding at the pool.

I started to become really hot and clammy.

Like my skin was cold and it was really surreal.

I then collapsed to the floor whilst I was lifeguarding.

To be honest with you, I don't really remember too much of it,

I just remember it felt like the biggest crushing

pain in my chest and I started getting shooting pains down my arm.

I thought, "I'm young and invincible. Nothing can happen to me."

'But he wasn't. Marcus had experienced a heart attack,

'and was rushed to hospital.

'He'd been overtraining and taking supplements containing DMAA.'

Tell me about your heart attack.

Because at 18, that's kind of ridiculous to be honest.

That's what a lot of people said.

I was, to everyone on the outside and to me,

to look at, I thought I was in great shape.

Everyone was commenting on me, I felt on top of the world.

I looked great, but my insides obviously wasn't the best.

'Now weakened by his heart attack,

'Marcus had lost 2st and was unable to train as hard.

'It's left him struggling with his confidence.'

Everyone was saying "Oh, you're in good shape." I don't see that.

I feel really insecure, hence why I wear long-sleeved t-shirts and

I've kind of lost all my motivation if that makes sense because...

because I've already got there, I have to start from square one.

'I was curious to know what his body really looked like now,

'so I suggested I show him mine.'

Look, I don't have a very nice body at all to be honest,

I'll show you it. If you show me your body.

I'm in bad shape.

-Mate, you're not in bad shape at all!

-I'm too in bad shape.

-But you look lovely!

-No, no, no, not at the minute.

-You won't show me your body?

-No, not yet.

Marcus quickly became uncomfortable,

so I didn't push it further.

But when I checked out his Instagram, I found recent

posts where he looked like the ideal everyone describes.

He was extremely insecure, and I couldn't figure out why.

But a few days later, I caught up with Marcus again.

He was seeing a therapist to try

and get to the bottom of his anxiety,

and agreed to let us film a session.

-Hi, sorry I'm late.

-That's all right, don't worry!

-Nice to meet you.

Rob Stewart specialises in body image issues.

-What kind of words would you use to describe your physique?

-Slim.

Slim built. I'd say I'm slim.

I remember the day I rang in sick,

I told my boss I couldn't come in because I was ill.

I was getting ready, I looked at myself in the mirror

and I thought "no-one can see me like this." I went down to the gym.

I couldn't physically bring myself to work,

because I felt that insecure.

Would you find that you hold yourself a little bit differently?

Maybe you stand a certain way or you put your arms in a certain way,

again to take emphasis off your body size?

100%. I can't walk with my arms.

My arms are always behind my back.

It's just kind of like a normal thing for me to do.

It's just a way of life.

I try to mask the things that I'm not happy about.

How will you know that you've got to big enough?

I couldn't answer that question.

I don't know if there is ever a time that I will be happy,

completely, with the size I am.

I'm always wanting to push that little bit further.

Why am I so insecure about the way I look? What's causing it?

I think from what you've told me today,

it does seem like you have got some body dysmorphic traits.

Part of body dysmorphia is something they call muscle dysmorphia,

and this is a preoccupation with wanting to be bigger in size, and

that's particularly prevalent with men who experience body dysmorphia.

Body dysmorphia is thought to effect around one in 100.

But it's on the rise, and according to Rob,

most worrying amongst young men.

I caught up with Rob between patients.

Men in general will seek therapy less than women.

There's a stigma there I think for men about seeking therapy so

firstly you'll see fewer of them but secondly,

BDD is vastly underdiagnosed, because there's a lot of shame around BDD.

We feel that we're not good enough, that our bodies aren't good enough.

So rather than going to the doctor and saying

"I've got these issues about my body",

what people often do is they'll go to cosmetic surgeons first

and then they'll get that surgery or that help for their body,

and the BDD might be missed completely.

It was shocking to hear,

but it seemed that young men were developing mental health problems,

and it had something to do with this cult of perfection.

I didn't really know there was anything out there that could

help the situation I was in.

I thought it was just my mind playing games.

I didn't really understand it myself.

Marcus plans to continue therapy,

but the pressure on people like him is growing daily.

Meanwhile, I'd set myself a ridiculous challenge.

In just a few days, I was supposed to be

back in London for a competition,

but my training had become sporadic.

These events were springing up everywhere and many of them

attended by first-timers.

In Leicester, the first ever contest for students was under way.

Mr University had attracted guys from all over the UK, keen to show

off their hard-earned physiques. Perhaps I could pick up some tips?

MUSIC: "Mardy Bum" by Arctic Monkeys

Stage one. Spray on as many layers of tan as the skin will absorb.

OK, stage two. Blow dry. But don't stand too close.

Stage three. Get that all-important pump on.

Everyone seemed quite exposed,

so what were these guys getting out of the whole experience?

I would say the main thing is self-confidence.

It's less about what you attract from other people,

it's more about you look at yourself and you feel good.

Self-esteem, obviously confidence. You look good yourself.

If you look good, then you're going to feel good about yourself.

Well, I mean, going into the fitness industry would be

preferable as it's a great industry to get into so, exposure.

-I think it's insecurities really, you know.

-Oh, OK!

Girls are starting to compete in fitness too,

but there were almost four times as many guys at this event.

And for most, it was their first experience of a competition.

It made me think about all the guys I had met on my road trip,

and what they had in common.

It seemed many were insecure, despite having amazing bodies.

I, on the other hand, was doomed.

But I decided this didn't actually matter any more.

I don't want myself to be defined by my body.

I'm not that bothered by it.

I want to do good for the competition

but I'd rather people liked me for ME for the type of person that

I am rather than completely judging me on my body.

The next morning, I was in London for the competition.

Despite being years away from a beach body

and quite frankly not interested in the effort

and potential health risks, I still wanted to see how far

I could get in one of the UK's biggest fitness competitions.

I've had tans, I've had spray tans, I've had fake tans,

I've had my eyebrows waxed, I've had my back, sack and crack done,

I've had my teeth whitened, I've been working out

as much as I can, and I guess I just hope it's enough, really.

This contest was so big, I couldn't just enter, I'd need to audition.

A bit like the X Factor. They even call it the Fit Factor.

Now, if Mr University was anything to go by,

I'd need to be as dark as possible. That's not good!

Then the question of which pose to go for.

Macho man, snake arms...

poo face?

I'd even dehydrated,

as it's supposed to help with muscle definition.

But frankly, it all felt like too little too late.

'70% of these entrants were guys, and most of them also first-timers.'

-Are you happy with your body?

-No.

-No?

-No way.

Arms need to be bigger, chest needs to be bigger,

and here needs to be more cut up.

Do you think you'll ever be happy?

Keep striving, just keep striving bruv, you know, bigger and better.

Yet more guys dissatisfied with their bodies.

It struck me again that throughout my entire journey,

I hadn't found a single person happy with the way they looked.

-Thirsty, eh?

-Very thirsty. Arran, did you dehydrate?

-I do it for the competition.

-But for this, no.

-Why would you not do it for this?

-It's just a casting.

You don't want to kill yourself today and have a knock-on effect.

Right, cocked up there.

Apparently, this was the last of six castings held

here as well as Leeds and Birmingham.

Hundreds had applied, and today the last few hopefuls would

perform in front of the judges. Including me.

Got through.

Got through? Yes, buddy, nice one!

It's not looking good for me.

Then, it was time to face the judges.

So what would they make of my charm?

That's how it should be done, lots of personality,

we're looking for your personality as well as your physique.

Hi, guys, you all right? I'm Tyger.

-Hi, Tyger.

-That's an interesting name.

Basically both my parents were scared it was going to

be like the golfer, Tiger Woods so they spelt it with a Y.

'I told them my life story and they weren't really interested.

'But what would they make of my body? Here goes!'

'Yeah! Have some of that!'

To be honest, no, it's not going to happen.

I know it's just not going to happen. What am I doing?!

You can always hope, can't you?

I was late back in the room, but it made no difference.

I didn't have the fit factor.

Afterwards, I bumped into the CEO of this competition.

From a marketability point of view, you're absolutely brilliant,

but you've honestly got some way to go with your physique.

But the thing is with you, Tyger, you've actually got a good shape,

so if you did a transformation, you'd find that you'd get an amazing

result and you'd look absolutely amazing.

So that is what I would recommend that you do.

But I wasn't convinced it was worth it.

It's much more about looking healthy than actually being healthy.

You know, having fake tan, fake teeth, fake everything.

It's all about aesthetics and living up to this idea of perfection.

But being honest, who's actually got any idea what perfection is?

It seemed many of the guys I'd met on my travels lacked confidence,

and were turning to grooming, dodgy supplements

and even cosmetic surgery to make up for this.

I've had problems with the way I view my body in the past

so I can understand why these guys are going to those extremes.

The pressures of selfies and social media

and constantly trying to live up to this impossible standard,

it casts a huge shadow over young men and if we're not careful,

it could actually become a bigger problem than it already is.

I'm not sure what the answer is, but I guess learning to be

comfortable in my own skin is a good starting point.

But with so much pressure out there,

it's going to be easier said than done.