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About
Retardmaxxing is an incel and looksmaxxing slang term describing someone who adheres to the philosophy of taking action without overthinking things, intentionally shutting off overthinking to avoid analysis paralysis, prioritizing instinctive, gut-level action instead. The term started spreading online as early as 2023 and became further popularized between 2025 and 2026 as looksmaxxing became less niche.
Origin
Per Urban Dictionary, "Retardmaxxing" is described as "Intentionally shutting off overthinking, analysis paralysis, perfectionism, and excessive hesitation so you can take fast, instinctive, gut-level action instead. Deliberately operating a reduced prefrontal-cortex inhibition to bypass overanalysis and maximize raw output velocity / instinct-driven decisions."
First indicators of interest per Google Trends indicate that the term has been used as far back as 2023. Though the first use of the term has not been attributed to a specific person, the term is widely considered to have been popularized by YouTuber Elisha Long. On September 22nd, 2025, Long uploaded a video titled "Be retarded with women, coworkers, and jobs" to his YouTube channel, though the video did not gain much traction, with about 171,000 views as of March 2026.
Long continued posting similar content on his YouTube channel, discussing his thoughts on the retardmaxxing philosophy and its real-life applications.
Spread
The term spread on various platforms such as TikTok and X / Twitter through late 2025 into 2026, becoming further popularized with the rise of looksmaxxing culture as it became more mainstream.
On October 29th, 2025, TikTok user @alexsedlak1 posted a video stating: "you need to be retardmaxxing," before explaining the supposed benefits of the lifestyle, which received about 365,400 views and 61,100 likes within about five months.
@alexsedlak1 ♬ original sound – SEDLAKOn February 8th, TikTok user @grantmitt posted a video using the term and expressing similar sentiments. The post received about 324,800 views and 25,900 likes in less than two months.
@grantmitt The power of Retardmaxxing For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Grant Mitt. I’m an entrepreneur & investor who built an 8-figure residential solar company. I also help businesses, PE firms, and Family offices scale. If you’re a business owner who’s looking for growth. I started a Mastermind group that offers one-on-one guidance, weekly group meetings, training, and networking with other business owners. To apply, comment “Scale” or book a quick call at www.grantmittconsulting.com #entrepreneurship #business ♬ original sound – Grant MitterlehnerSometime in February 2026, the website retardleaderboard was launched, allowing website visitors to vote on their favorite "retards," with candidates typically being well-known streamers and social media personalities.
The slang term surfaced on X around mid-March. On March 17th, 2026, X user @pmarca, real name Marc Andreessen, posted: "Current status: Retardmaxxing." The post received 2.2 million views and and 13,000 likes in two weeks.
The post was later quoted on March 30th, 2026, by X user @tonjkb, who posted a video of Marc Andreessen explaining the concept, which received about 618,000 views and 2,600 likes in one day.
Marc Andreessen explains the concept of 'Retard Maxxing'
"Are you aware of the concept of the meme of retard maxing?"
"A friend of mine sent me this thing and he said, 'Oh, here's your answer."
"You're retard maxing.' And I said, 'I'm what?'"
"And he said, 'Oh, watch these… https://t.co/KH6u1a1V4M pic.twitter.com/BZl9eSSNKz
Various Examples
@jackeditalian2.0Just R3tard Maxxx bro
♬ original sound – IG Marco.spasiano @savasoup Lowkey I feel bad 😂😭😭 #fyp ♬ original sound – dexter.films @nevergoon1000♬ original sound – Chaz Lanier
@juulianbecerraR tard max your way to success
♬ original sound – Julian Becerra
English (US) ·