{"id":863757,"date":"2026-08-22T00:12:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T00:12:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/863757\/"},"modified":"2026-08-22T00:12:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T00:12:19","slug":"zyzz-aziz-shaver-exclusive-stan-original-documentary-poster-boy-becoming-zyzz-director-selina-miles-on-telling-his-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/863757\/","title":{"rendered":"Zyzz, Aziz Shaver exclusive: Stan original documentary Poster Boy: Becoming Zyzz director Selina Miles on telling his story"},"content":{"rendered":"

Long before the era of modern fitness influencers, one man ruled Sydney\u2019s festival circuit: Zyzz<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Born Aziz Shavershian, Zyzz burst onto the scene in the late 2000s and became one of Australia\u2019s first-ever internet personalities. His online fame was fuelled by YouTube flexing videos, a passion for bodybuilding, and a signature festival aesthetic that consisted of impeccably styled hair and little more than tiny shorts. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Aziz Shaver, known online as Zyzz was one of the original influencers, but his tragic death at age 22 has been explored in a new Stan documentary, Poster Boy: Becoming Zyzz. \u00a0Stan<\/p>\n

At the time Zyzz\u00a0made a name for himself, Instagram had only just started; he had built a following on YouTube and online forums. But in 2011, at the height of his viral fame, tragedy struck when he died suddenly on holiday in Thailand aged 22.<\/p>\n

Today, 15 years after his tragic death, his story still dominates the internet. The newly released Stan Original documentary Poster Boy: Becoming Zyzz<\/a> explores his rise to fame and the controversy surrounding his passing, answering some of the questions fans have been asking for years. <\/p>\n

The documentary\u2019s director Selina Miles spoke to nine.com.au about the project and the relevance of sharing his story now. <\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, his fan base online is pretty staggering,\u201d Miles said. \u201cEven now on Instagram there\u2019s over 3 million posts that have been hashtagged with Zyzz… so you really can\u2019t underestimate the size of his following.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miles believes the character Aziz created and the message he spread resonated with a lot of people, particularly young men. \u201cI think that there hasn\u2019t been anything like that since, as far as I\u2019m aware, just in terms of the scale and the time in which it started, and just it\u2019s a bit of a phenomenon and a one-off,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The passion for an \u2018aesthetic\u2019 body that Zyzz strived for has been compared to the modern-day looksmaxxing culture in young men. \u00a0Stan<\/p>\n

Miles also noted strong parallels between Zyzz\u2019s era and current social media trends. \u201cI think there are a lot of parallels between Aziz\u2019s story and some of the things we\u2019ve been seeing in the news more recently around looksmaxxing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, although this did happen 15 years ago, it feels like there\u2019s a lot of modern-day relevance and there\u2019s some really valuable lessons that we can learn from Aziz\u2019s story.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looksmaxxing<\/a> is an online self-improvement practice from the manosphere focused on obsessively maximising physical attractiveness. Popular on TikTok and Reddit, the practice is frequently criticised for pushing extreme behaviours \u2013 ranging from severe fasting and dangerous DIY facial surgeries to steroid use and toxic, beauty-obsessed \u2018blackpill\u2019 ideologies.<\/p>\n

However, when it comes to looksmaxxing versus the \u2018aesthetic\u2019 message Aziz preached, there is a clear distinction.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Zyzz\u2019s legacy is something his brother Said Shaver (pictured right) has been promoting since his sudden death in 2011. \u00a0Stan<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems that a lot of the modern looksmaxxing vernacular is about being better than others, and it\u2019s hyper-competitive,\u201d Miles explained. \u201cAnd it seems to be built on this belief system that the way to get ahead is to put down other people, so I think that that has evolved.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe main difference that people point out between Aziz\u2019s message and the message that\u2019s being shared by modern-day looksmaxxers is that one of his famous quotes is, \u2018We\u2019re all going to make it,\u2019\u201d Miles continued . \u201cAt heart I think [Zyzz] really did want to portray a message of inclusion; it was about self-acceptance and self-love and not taking yourself too seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n

While that belief was clear throughout the documentary, Miles acknowledged the complexity, noting she doesn\u2019t know if he always followed through with his actions and wouldn\u2019t call him a martyr.<\/p>\n

That complex culture extends to his family. The legacy Zyzz started has been carried on by his brother, Said Shavershian \u2013 who still goes by the username Chestbrah. Now 40, Said remains deeply ingrained in the bodybuilding world and openly uses steroids.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s interesting to see that despite what happened to Aziz and the harms that he experienced as a result of his involvement with this bodybuilding culture that his brother kind of stayed a part of it,\u201d Miles explained. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think that we all cope with grief differently. There\u2019s a lot of the story that I wish we could have included in the film, but I think this is how he\u2019s learned to cope, and I think he\u2019d be comfortable with me saying that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Some of the people who were closest to Aziz in the lead up to his death spoke in the documentary and shared their side of things. \u00a0Stan<\/p>\n

Miles believes Said is much more informed of the risks than his brother was, noting that more research and harm-minimisation advocacy around steroid use exist today. <\/p>\n

Ultimately, Miles wants viewers to see the nuance: while Aziz was an inspiration to many, he also made catastrophic errors.<\/p>\n

The documentary features interviews with those closest to Aziz leading up to his death, though his parents are notably absent on camera. However, with their help, Miles revealed the official cause of his death for the first time in the documentary. <\/p>\n

While Aziz had an enlarged heart, the toxicology report found his cause of death was acute respiratory failure due to the combined use of morphine, cocaine, and benzodiazepines.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of our participants were very aware of how divisive this persona is and how it can sort of inspire different reactions in different people,\u201d Miles explained. \u201cAnd there was a healthy respect for what it would mean to participate. Then on top of that, these are Aziz\u2019s closest people, so I think there\u2019s a sense of protectiveness over their friend.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carrying such a personal story was significant for everyone involved, but their shared goal was clear.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no denying that Aziz was divisive, but his legacy is something that millions are still talking about now even 15 years on from his death. \u00a0Stan<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I think at the end of the day, they all really were on the same page about wanting to make Aziz\u2019s life and his legacy mean something positive, and to help other young people that look up to him, just to have all the information,\u201d Miles explained. <\/p>\n

\u201cTo understand what happened to him and, and for this to be a cautionary tale,that can hopefully protect other young men from going down the same path. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think that was a really big motivator for everyone involved.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Stan Original\u00a0documentary Revealed – Poster Boy: Becoming\u00a0Zyzz\u00a0is now streaming, only on Stan<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The National Alcohol and Other Drug hotline (1800 250 015) provides free and confidential advice about alcohol and other drugs, including available treatment options, and automatically directs the caller to the Alcohol and Drug Information Service in their state\/territory.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Long before the era of modern fitness influencers, one man ruled Sydney\u2019s festival circuit: Zyzz. Born Aziz Shavershian,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":863758,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[64,63,134],"class_list":["post-863757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=863757"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863757\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/863758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=863757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=863757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=863757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}