However, the idea that it's only girls that are under pressure to look good, stay slim and have the perfect body no longer holds true. According to research firm Mintel, the men's UK grooming market was estimated to be worth 663m in 2003, up by 16 per cent at current prices since 1999, with young men making up a substantial part of this purchasing group. Younger men, eager to try new products, are targeted by clever marketing strategies designed to part them from their money in exchange for the latest brands.
Take Ebele Diai, a 15-year-old from east London. He does boxing training to keep fit, have fun and, he says, to have a good body. Ebele says looking good isn't really a choice: it's something you have to do to make yourself stand out from the crowd. "You have to look good so people will take you more seriously," he says. "When I go out with my friends it's important how I look."
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