Nottingham Laser Clinic - Advanced Lipo in the press
September 15th, 2008 admin
Super-fit, handsome and with a stomach that would make Brad Pitt insecure, Dean McEvoy doesn’t look like a man in need of cosmetic surgery. Yet after this picture was taken, Dean spent £3,000 on a painful operation to remove the bags and wrinkles under his eyes. And before you ask, we couldn’t see them either.
The 39-year-old businessman from Preston, Lancashire, was in the grip of a bloke breakdown – a term coined to describe the increasing number of men consumed with dread about the ageing process.
Dean became paranoid about his image after his teenage daughter teased him about his looks.
“She started joking about the bags and lines under my eyes,” the divorcee explains. “I work out five times a week and am very conscious of my body and appearance. I certainly don’t think of myself as old.”
Like Dean, more and more men are resorting to nip/tucks to hold back time. A new glossary of terms such as moobs (man boobs), menopaunches (male muffin tops) and manbags (guy eye bags) are only further fuelling this male body crisis.
Coupled with this, guys are drawing inspiration from stars such as George Clooney, 47, who publicly admitted having the manbags under his eyes removed to make him look younger and fresher.
U2 frontman Bono, 48, is also suspected to have had the area around his eyes “freshened up”, while The X Factor’s Simon Cowell, 48, has admitted to having Botox and has also had dental veneers fitted.
“I began to worry that I wasn’t looking and feeling as good as I should,” explains Dean. “Looking in the mirror every morning, the face staring back at me looked older than I felt.The bags and wrinkles became increasingly obvious to me, and I knew I wouldn’t be happy until I’d done something about it.
“Looking good is important to me, and in the circles I socialise and work in, there is a pressure to look your best. I didn’t want people thinking I was getting old before my time.”
Dean decided the only answer was to have his manbags removed in an hour-long operation carried out by Harley Street surgeon Angelica Kavouni.
While people have commented on his fresher and more youthful look, he has not publicly admitted to surgery as he feels there is still a taboo attached to it for men.
But he adds: “I think my generation of men are becoming very proactive about identifying things in their life they’re not happy with, and doing something about them. Since having the surgery, I’m much happier when I look in the mirror and feel I’ve regained some of the confidence I’d lost.
“Why wait until you’re in your 50s, realise you’ve let yourself go and make yourself feel better by buying a Porsche? I’d rather solve the problem now with a minor operation, and avoid becoming one of those men who have a clichéd mid-life crisis.”
The bloke breakdown came earlier for Spencer Clayden. Despite being just 26, he paid £2,500 for Advanced Laser Lipo, which sucked fat out of his stomach, giving him the washboard tum he’d dreamed of.
“I used to get embarrassed about getting changed in the gym in front of other men, and trying on clothes in shops. But as soon as I had the operation, I felt so much better about myself,” explains Spencer.
Although extreme, Spencer has no regrets about resorting to expensive surgery to rid him of his supposed menopaunch.
“I felt my body wasn’t as good as other men’s and it was affecting my confidence,” says Spencer, a managing director of a house sales website.
“I know I’m only in my 20s, but I’m already aware I’m not getting any younger.
“I feel under pressure to be seen as successful and good-looking, and that pressure gets stronger with every passing year. Like women, men are now bombarded with images of toned male models and attractive celebrities – we feel pressurised to live up to those images.
“I want to go into my 30s feeling good about myself. Of course, everyone has to face up to getting older, but you have to try to stay looking as good, and feeling as good, as you can.
“At the moment I’m not planning any more surgery, but I would definitely consider it in the future if I become unhappy with another part of my body.”
Spencer recently got engaged to his girlfriend of eight years, Nicky, 27, and she has never complained about his body.
But he says: “Looking at other people who are doing well spurs me on to be high achieving and look good, too. It’s definitely an encouragement to take action. I don’t want to be left behind.”
A recent survey by Norwich Union found that there is enormous pressure on men in their late 20s and 30s to not only be a success in their career and family life, but also to look the part.
Some spend as much as £2,000 each year on life coaches and self-help books, while the number paying up to £5,000 to have their manbags removed has more than quadrupled in just two years.
More than a third of 30-something men say they have already seen a friend or colleague go through a bloke breakdown, often triggered by a relationship collapse, money worries, missing out on a promotion at work or a bad experience at a school reunion.
Life skills teacher Stephen Russell, better known through his books as The Barefoot Doctor, has counselled dozens of men going through bloke breakdowns. He says: “There seems to be a period between the ages of 28 and the mid-to late-30s where some kind of huge change happens for men whether they want it to or not.
“When guys get to about 30 they start thinking about how they want to make something of themselves in the world. Maybe it’s down to testosterone levels or perhaps it’s something to do with the biological need to have children starting to kick in and therefore the need to succeed,” he says.
“It ties in very strongly with self-improvement like cosmetic surgery, because men want to look as good as they can, to be as good as they can on every level.”
Spencer says his procedure has done wonders for his self-confidence.
“Cosmetic surgery isn’t a miracle cure but it has made me feel I’m looking my best and am ready for whatever life has to offer.”
For more information contact Nottiingham laser clinic nottinghamlaserclinic.com or call (0115) 959 9407
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