Jules Von Hep spent 20 years as a celebrity spray tanner, working with Hollywood actors and Victoria's Secret models. What did he learn? That every single person, no matter how "perfect," apologised for their body. Joined by expert Consultant Clinical Psychologist Dr Brendan J Dunlop, this episode explores the staggering impact of beauty standards on mental health.

This episode tackles the body image crisis, exploring why we are all conditioned to dislike how we look. We explore the drivers - toxic masculinity, social media algorithms, and stagnant marketing and discuss the shocking stat that 48% of men are struggling in silence with body image problems.

Jules shares his powerful journey from body dysmorphia to true body confidence, and Brendan gives practical tips for mindset shifts to love your body. This episode will teach you how to normalize the "body wobble," reframe exercise as self-love, and finally build a better relationship with the person in the mirror.

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Timecodes:

00:00 How Body Dysmorphia Shaped My Life

01:05 Launching a Body Confidence Brand

02:15 Expert Opinion: Are Male Body Image Issues Common?

03:09 48% of Men & Boys Struggle With This

05:10 Spray Tanner's Secret: Everybody Has Body Doubts

06:30 Common Body Image Triggers

08:00 Where Do Male Beauty Standards Come From?

09:35 How the Social Media Algorithm Feeds Body Image Insecurity

10:30 The Truth About Men's Underwear Models

12:10 Wellness Culture and the "Homogenization" of Looks

13:30 Why the Male Body Standard is "Stagnant and Boring"

14:20 Ozempic, Steroids & the Warped View of the Male Body

16:20 Internalized Phobia: Body Image in the Queer Community

18:05 Strategy: How to "Flip the Script" on Negative Self-Talk

20:55 "Don't Punish, Nourish" Your Body

23:10 The RuPaul Rule for Self Compassion

25:05 The "Drip in the Ceiling": An Analogy for Mental Health

30:15 Mindset Shift: Confidence is a Journey, Not a Destination

32:00 Two Practical Tips to Build Self-Love Today

More from today’s guests:

Jules’s book ‘The Confidence Ritual’ here

Brendan’s book ‘The Queer Mental Health Workbook’ here

Resources:

Been There - Been There is a charity with an app that connects people aged 18 and over with a vetted and trained Mentor to help with any body image issues they may be experiencing.

Young Minds Body Image support here

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