A growing social media trend called "spermmaxxing" has men trying unverified methods to boost their sperm count and fertility, ranging from eating raw garlic to dipping their testicles in ice water. The trend is part of a broader online culture of "maxxing," which refers to maximizing or optimizing different aspects of life and health. Other examples include fibermaxxing and looksmaxxing.
According to Healthline, the trend has drawn concern from medical professionals, particularly around one practice promoted by some influencers: testicle tanning. Experts say the practice may actually reduce sperm counts and increase the risk of testicular tumors.
Philip Werthman, MD, a board-certified urologist, men's health specialist, and director of the Center for Male Reproductive Medicine and Vasectomy Reversal in Los Angeles, California, spoke to Healthline about the trend. He said the core instinct behind it is not entirely wrong, but many of the specific recommendations are.
"I'm not going to dismiss this entirely. The underlying instinct that men should be paying attention to their reproductive health is actually correct. But the execution is often somewhere between ineffective and absurd," Werthman told Healthline.
He was more pointed about specific practices being promoted online.
"Raw garlic and ice baths for your testicles aren't going to move the needle in any meaningful clinical way. What concerns me more is that these trends fill a vacuum that medicine has created by largely ignoring male fertility. Men have historically been an afterthought in reproductive medicine, and when mainstream healthcare doesn't engage them, they turn to social media. That's a failure on our part as much as anything else," he said.
Werthman also addressed the data behind declining sperm counts, which has fueled much of the anxiety driving the trend. "The data is pretty alarming. Meta-analyses show sperm counts in Western men have dropped roughly 50–60% over the past four to five decades. That's not noise, that's a signal," he said. He attributed the decline to multiple factors, including endocrine-disrupting chemicals like phthalates and BPA, as well as obesogenic diets.
Many influencers are packaging those concerns into content designed to drive engagement, sell supplements, or promote lifestyle programs, according to Healthline. While some of that content may reflect genuine anxiety about declining fertility, experts say the advice being promoted often lacks clinical support.
Werthman's remarks suggest the medical community may bear some responsibility for the situation. By largely leaving male fertility out of mainstream reproductive medicine conversations, he argues, the field has left men with few places to turn besides social media. The spermmaxxing trend, whatever its flaws, appears to reflect that gap.
