What Is the Gladiator Male Makeover?

The Gladiator Male Makeover is a plastic surgery trend targeted towards male patients. It is particularly popular with clients hoping to avoid or postpone “dad bod” (characterized by torso fat, body hair, and soft body curvature). This process can include several steps, including liposuction, removal of male breast tissue, sculpting of the pecs and abs, hair removal, facial surgery, and a male-targeted version of the Brazilian Butt Lift. As more and more men start to embrace the transformative abilities of medical aesthetics, this trend is quickly growing in popularity – you might already have seen some influencers posting about their results! 

What Happens During a Gladiator Male Makeover? 

There are a few possible elements to a Gladiator Male Makeover: 

• 360° Liposuction: This procedure uses a small incision to remove pouches of fat from the abdomen, sides, and back, offering a treatment that goes around the full circumference of the body. The removed fat may also be purified and treated allowing it to be re-injected back into the body for fat transfer sculpting or augmentation procedures. 

• Gynecomastia surgery: Gynecomastia is the presence of excess breast tissue in the male body. Among the most common of male cosmetic surgical procedures, the removal of this tissue can usually be done through a small cut near the nipple, resulting in a need for only one stitch.

• Body sculpting: As mentioned above, fat that has been removed from the body can be treated for re-injection into other, more preferred areas of the body or face. Injection of fat can be done in the abdomen to create the look of the coveted “six pack”, known as abdominal etching. Other common areas for fat transfer include the pectoral muscles and shoulder muscles. 

• Facial augmentation: Men everywhere are embracing new ways to get the look of a male model, including rhinoplasty (nose jobs), jaw and chin implants, neck surgery, injection of fillers, and hair removal treatments. These treatments focus on creating a chiseled, contoured look to the face, neck and shoulders. 

• The Brazilian Butt Lift: As we’ve talked about before, the BBL is one of the procedures that necessitates the re-injection of purified fat removed by liposuction. The BBL targeted towards men is less about creating a shapely silhouette around the hips and bottom, and more about “perking up” flat or sagging buttocks.  

What Are Some Issues With the Gladiator Male Makeover? 

The GMM can be extremely expensive, particularly considering the number of add-on elements involved in the process. While the baseline liposuction and gynecomastia treatments can cost an average of $20,000, and the addition of the BBL alone can run anywhere from $6,000 to $15,000. Rhinoplasty, the most common surgical procedure requested by men, can cost between $7,000 and $14,000. All told, the full suite of procedures entailed in the Gladiator Male Makeover could easily cost a client well over $60,000.  

In addition to the prohibitive cost, there are other risks of surgical cosmetic procedures. Even liposuction and gynecomastia procedures that are minimally invasive, such as single-stitch options, can have an extensive recovery downtime of 4-6 weeks depending on your lifestyle. Furthermore, no surgery is without risk, and that includes cosmetic procedures, which can include not only complications during the surgery but also pain and scarring during the recovery process. Finally, as with any cosmetic procedure, there’s always the chance that you aren’t satisfied with the results – and are out all that money! 

What Are My Alternatives? 

If you have body shaping goals that make the Gladiator Male Makeover tempting, but are concerned about cost, risk, downtime and results, there's good news! There are significant non-invasive options in Venus Concept’s state-of-the-art medical aesthetic devices to help accomplish your goals, such as the Venus Legacy™, Venus Bliss™ and Venus Versa™ systems.  

Venus Bliss™ fat treatments provide similar effects to a liposuction treatment by using diode laser applicators to reduce fat in chosen areas of the body. The system also incorporates Multi-Polar Radio Frequency and Pulsed Electro Magnetic Fields (PEMF) to achieve smoothing and cellulite reduction effects in the body, offering you a more structured and chiseled figure without the invasive nature of surgery. Those who use the Venus Bliss™ system can anticipate an easier and faster recovery period with no downtime compared to those undergoing a liposuction treatment.  

If you’re concerned about visible signs of aging, sagging, and body softness, there is Venus Legacy™, the all-in-one treatment system that highlights cellulite reduction, wrinkle reduction, and body smoothing. Venus Legacy™ has been approved by the FDA for claims that it temporarily reduces the appearance of cellulite – and this is without any downtime or even discomfort at all! The highly advanced device uses the same RF and PEMF technology as the Venus Bliss, but also incorporates cutting-edge VariPulse™ technology to ensure treatment success. And if you’re looking for photofacials, hair removal and skin resurfacing, Venus Versa™ may be the right treatment for you. This unique system integrates Multi-Polar Radio Frequency and Pulsed Electro Magnetic Fields with laser hair removal and skin resurfacing technologies.  

I’ve Already Had a GMM – Now What? 

If you’ve already undergone a Gladiator Male Makeover or similar procedure, the Venus Legacy, Bliss and Versa systems may also be of use to maximize and maintain positive results.  

A common side effect of any liposuction-based procedure is skin sagging at the areas of removal. The Venus Concept line of treatment systems offers numerous treatments that can help with body contouring and skin tightening during post-surgical recovery. Furthermore, the ability of the Venus Bliss to use targeted lipolysis allows for delicate, minute adjustments to the shape of the body, creating your personal chiseled and contoured look. These treatments are non-invasive and have zero downtime. The body contouring technologies offered by the Venus Concept can also be instrumental in restoring treatment areas from sagging (a common post-surgery effect of reintroducing fat deposits into the body for sculpting purposes), helping you recover your desired appearance and post-surgical ideal. These treatments can help you keep your preferred body shape for as long as possible, with minimal recovery time, in order to best achieve your personal appearance goals.  

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