Five Great Reads: Perils of high-impact exercise, the journo taking on big tech and birthdayzillas
The Guardian’s weekend wrap of essential reads from the past seven days, selected by Jacqueline Housden
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Good morning. Maybe you’ve been worrying about the rise of Silicon Valley billionaires and what it means for humanity, or whether your exercise regime is hurting your health, or if those adult birthday invites and plans are just getting way out of hand, or … maybe you have not. Regardless, that is where some of our best reporting went this week. Enjoy
1. How a young Nigerian man was lured to London in an organ-trafficking plot
This story begins at a market in Lagos, Nigeria, where a teenager called Daniel is selling mobile phone accessories out of a wheelbarrow, hoping to escape the dim economic prospects of his country – they call it “japa”, or as one Lagosian tellsAlexis Okeowo, “like running for your life”. When Daniel was given the chance to start a new life in the UK, he had no idea what was expected of him in return – and that he would be targeted by an organ-trafficking plot.‘It’s still going on, largely unreported, largely unchecked’:This case is the only successful conviction for organ trafficking under the Modern Slavery Act in the UK. Frank Tietie, a human rights lawyer, says there is a simple reason that such convictions are rare, particularly in Nigeria: “Those who are involved are usually very powerful people, and they’re able to influence our justice system.”
Notable quote:“He had not told me anything about this. I would never have agreed to any of this. My body was not for sale.”
How long will it take to read:11 minutes
Further reading: ‘For me, there was no other choice’: inside the global illegal organ trade
2. The brief life and sudden death of Zyzz
Aziz Shavershian was an Australian teenager who became a fitness influencer in the 2000s, a bit of a pioneer – filming his workouts and thoughts, and posting them to YouTube. He was skilled in rage-bait long before anyone had heard of it. But in 2011, “Zyzz” made headlines when he suddenly and unexpectedly died, aged just 22. Now, 15 years later, the truth about his death is finally being revealed
A ‘camaraderie of training together’: The story has come outected by the film-maker Selina Miles. Aziz and his older brother, Said, were born in Russia to Kurdish parents who then migrated to Australia. In the film, the boys’ friends – many of them first-generation Australians – describe struggling to fit in but finding community in bodybuilding
Fame, gains and hate: Aziz needed money to maintain his appearance and began to increasingly experiment with substances untested on humans, and without the recommended cycling on and off. As his fame grew, so did the gains. But the hateful comments from strangers also multiplied
How long will it take to read:Just under three minutes
Further reading:‘So destructive’: women are paying for face scans that tell them what cosmetic procedures to get, andFrom bone smashing to chin extensions: how ‘looksmaxxing’ is reshaping young men’s faces
3. Why do so many fitness fans end up needing surgery?
Extreme exercise seems to be a bit of a theme this week and this story might be enough to make you put off that hardcore session at the gym (did you need convincing?). Anna Moore takes a look at the dangers of people pushing themselves too hard in their workouts and asks what lessons the rest of us can take from them
Not enough or the wrong kind? Each year, more than a quarter of a million people in the UK have joint replacement surgery and by 2060 demand is expected to have risen by 40%. So what’s going on – is it too much, too little, or the wrong kind of exercise? A consultant orthopaedic hip surgeon, Giles Stafford, has some insight. “There’s clearly a genetic aspect, but also a big mechanical aspect too,” he says. “We all have a certain number of cycles in us before the damage sets in, and someone who is going to the gym, running marathons, taking on high-impact, high-intensity, repetitive exercise programmes might hit their number younger and faster.”
Squatters beware: Several orthopaedic surgeons have expressed reservations about high-intensity, high-impact regimens. “Anything that involves a lot of deep-weighted squats, and repeatedly taking your body to end range under load, can damage your joints,” Stafford says.Another specialist says he has seen patients in theirmid 20s and early 30s who have lost a lot of cartilage from under their kneecaps after these (yeeeaargh!)
How long will it take to read:Just under five minutes
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Stuck in an endless doomscroll? Worried about the creeping control technology has over our lives? You are not alone. In a new book, the journalist Gil Durán argues that many of big tech’s billionaire owners have seized economic and political control and are steering the fate of the planet towards their own bizarre, apocalyptic visions. And Durán is fighting back. Everyone’s addicted to the billionaire money:According to the author,who worked in communications for Kamala Harris when she was California’s attorney general, the Democrats are as much as fault as much as the Republicans for failing to tackle this new power. “They have failed tremendously to stand up to billionaire power because the only people as addicted to billionaire money in American politics as the Republicans are the Democrats,” he says.
Notable quote:“In fighting against billionaire power, we find the key to all of our problems. Every moment is an important opportunity to wake people up and to start to fight back.”
How long will it take to read:Just over three minutes
5. The terrifying rise of birthdayzillas
It’s the weekend, as you might have noticed, and it’s possible you might be going to a birthday party. If your invite started with a WhatsApp group you never signed up for or an expensive-looking invitation in the post, and the actual event seems a bit OTT for a fully-grown adult who isn’t turning a major milestone, then you are not alone. AsMeena Alexanderfinds out
What IS going on? Where once a slice of cake sufficed to ring in a new age, Meena writes, today it’s not unusual to throw a fully catered party, rope your friends into a series of activities or organise a group holiday abroad. Lauren, a 29-year-old from Edinburgh, has already run through her annual leave allowance. “I’ve been to eight 30ths this year and the most low-key was a dinner in a private room that still set me back £100,” she says
Lovers, haters and the why-the-hell-not brigade:Some have had their friendships – and bank balances – sorely tested by this phenomenon, which one puts squarely on the “main-character energy” of their generation, and are left feeling like the “poor friend”. But as Krisha, who flew to the Dominican Republic for a week of hiking, safaris, horse riding and massages to mark a new friend’s birthday, asks, why not “spend on a bucket-list experience” in a time when saving for a house deposit feels futile? “I find it interesting that when I tell people I flew across the world for a birthday party they say it’s insane, but when it’s for a wedding they don’t question it.”
How long will it take to read:Five and three-quarter minutes
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