Before bonesmashing and meth, men ate steak and eggs to get jacked. Matt Lewis—known online as Silverback Tarzan—is a 53-year-old hunk who’s built a 400K following by looksmaxxing naturally. He encourages men to tap into their masculinity and the cosmos in order to optimize their appearance. His shtick sits somewhere between self-help and satire—except he’s completely sincere. So what’s his secret to macho self-mastery? We administered a questionnaire to find out.
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What do you do?
I’m a social media creator and campaigner.
Where do you live?
Portslade, Brighton.
What is your purpose?
We [Matt and his partner, Tara] have built Silverback Tarzan as a campaign for social change. A place to explore how we can make better choices for our own health, relationships, and for the whole web of life. Understanding our connection to each other, to all the details of our planet and our place in the cosmos.
How did you get your name?
I chose it. It’s kind of tongue in cheek, but it is also something I wanted to live up to and it gave me a vision of myself to grow into.
What’s your workout routine?
I train almost everyday. These days, my training is almost entirely bodyweight workouts. Although I do like gym sessions, especially when it’s been raining for days and I have one set of clothes left because they’re all muddy from doing breakdancing in the mud.
What do you eat?
I eat plenty of protein to maintain my bulk (many eggs a day, cheese, fish, white meat, some red meat, and a lot of nuts), varied fruit and veg to keep my vitamins and minerals up, and a minimal amount of complex carbs to keep my energy going.
How many hours of sleep do you get?
I get 8-9 hours of sleep most nights.
Are you all-natural?
Yes.
Are peptides fair game?
What are peptides? Honestly, I don’t even think about supplements of any sort because I don’t use them or believe in them.
What do you read?
I haven’t been much of a reader until the last few years. I’ve enjoyed some philosophy, breathwork, psychology, and religious books as I like looking at how other people and myself perceive the world.
Who do you follow?
I don’t really follow anyone apart from family. I don’t really scroll. I prefer creating content. Even before socials, I didn’t even have a TV. My time is precious, and I’m always up to something.
What’s your vice?
Avoidance dressed up as productivity.
How do you relax?
Listening to tunes, dancing, moving, and my favorite is lying in the sun with the rays hitting my skin—the moments when the body smiles.
What’s your biggest red flag?
Low-level bullying that people pass off as confidence.
What’s your guilty pleasure?
I don’t really do stuff that I feel guilty about for pleasure. If it’s fun, I do it. If it would make me feel guilty, I wouldn’t do it.
Enlightenment or a six-pack?
Six-pack.
Who’s your favorite Instagram hunk?
Anatoly [@vladimirshmondenko]
What do you regret?
I regret trying to be a hero instead of holding connection as a priority. I regret not noticing earlier that society makes you try to be a winner when all we are after is connection. Not understanding earlier that life is a rat race, and I wish I’d slowed down and seen and felt the abundance earlier.
Who do you listen to?
I love listening to a massive range of tunes, but especially old school acid house and ambient electronic beats. Stuff that makes me get a vibe and that leaves space for me to rap along to. The Prodigy, Frankie Knuckles, Leftfield, Emancipator, Bob Marley, Nick Mulvey, Fink, John Kennedy, Pitch Black, Random Rab.
What is it all for?
It’s all for smelling, tasting, hearing, feeling, and experiencing. Doing the job of being conscious for the cosmos. Feeling the joy, pains, tasting the fruits, the sourness, hearing the bird songs and the car alarm irritations. Experiencing the joy and the hurt.
