Although reelsmaxxing and looksmaxxing share humble origins as trends on short-form media platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels, their presence has grown immensely, and now, Westminster’s community of reelsmaxxers and lookmaxxers will fight tirelessly to represent their school. Athletic director Shannon Plummets has classified these two new additions as winter sports since both require minimal exposure to the harsh outdoor conditions, complementing the indoor preferences of most reelsmaxxers and lookmaxxers who rarely touch grass. In fact, GHSA, when asked about the requirements needed to qualify for these sports’ state playoffs, stated that each athlete on a team must have a maximum of 2.43 btpm (blades of grass touched per month).
But how will reelsmaxxing and looksmaxxing competitions look? Reelsmaxxing will adopt a similar “meet” competition format where competitors from different schools in the area will all gather in a common space. All phones will be checked prior to the start of the competition to ensure that no cheats or unregulated programs have been installed to give a competitor the advantage. The judges will distribute scores to each athlete based on three criteria: time, content retention, and style. When the timer begins, each contestant will begin scrolling through the same selection of 100 reels and 100 Tiktoks, receiving a time based on when they reach the end. Then, each contestant will complete the same 50-question verbal assessment, testing each competitor on how well they retain information. The main purpose of this quiz is not only to reward those with the best memory but also to punish competitors who perform mindless scrolling, as any score less than 50 percent results in immediate disqualification. Finally, style is used as a tiebreaker between competitors.
GHSA regulations state, “Ts category tests chalantness and awards more points to nonchalant competitors.” In addition to the difficulty of rapid scrolling and remembering the finest of details, athletes must also always remain calm and be constantly thinking of their composure.
When junior Egan Sou, a potential D1 prospect, was asked about how he approaches reelsmaxxing, he responded, “In today’s game, rpm (reels per minute) is the only thing that matters. It’s all that differentiates athletes who have potential and those who don’t, so naturally it’s the stat coaches care most about. I’ve increased my rpm up to 25, but most D1 recruits have an average of around 30, so I still have a ways to go.” Sou is hoping to captain the team in its inaugural year and translate his passion on the screen to represent Westminster.
Similar to reelsmaxxing, looksmaxxing will also employ the “meet” format and judges will assess competitors based on three criteria. Athletes will model in two rounds, one where their facial expression remains natural and another where they “mew” in front of the judges. Mewing is a facial restructuring technique that gained popularity on TikTok that involves flattening the tongue against the roof of the mouth, purportedly to improve jawline definition and facial aesthetics. This accentuates features like hollowed cheeks and the jawline, which is often a weak spot in many competitors. The three categories judges will assess on are jawline, “hunter” eyes, and skin, where a sharp jawline, positive canthal tilt (where the outer corner of the eye is angled slightly upwards towards the temples), and a clear face all can result in more points.
A member of the junior class, Latin Boats, has recently begun undergoing preparation to compete in looksmaxxing for Westminster. Boats says, “In the relentless pursuit of the chiseled jawline, bone smashing has become the holy grail of looksmaxxing—because why trust genetics when you can take a hammer to your own face? It’s the ultimate test of dedication: some chase gains at the gym, others chase microfractures in the mirror. I’ve been at it for weeks, and while my skull might resemble a poorly handled archaeological dig, I know that true ascension is just a few well-placed swings away.”
His devotion to the sport is truly admirable and with his dedication, he will undoubtedly make a name for himself this upcoming season.
Reelsmaxxing and looksmaxxing have the potential to become extremely popular sports this upcoming year, and with competition across the nation looking tense, the entire Westminster community is curious to see who will step up to the plate and which teachers will polish Westminster’s diamonds in the rough.
