I figured I would get this out there while it's fresh on my mind. In the five years I've been involved in pickup, I've gone on three bootcamps. One was with Stylelife and the two others were with Real Social Dynamics. I may talk about the Stylelife bootcamp, but right now all I'm going to say is it's mainly like any typical PUA bootcamp where the instructors give you an opener to use and then tell you to use a line or "DHV" on all the girls you open. The instructors don't get laid, at least not with the girls that they cold approach in bars and clubs, but they're really good at convincing you that they successfully do every week. It really doesn't matter at this point because Stylelife, like much of the rest of the pickup industry, is going the way of the dodo. I want to focus on RSD for two reasons though. Number one is because I went on both bootcamps relatively recently (first one in October 2015 and second in February 2016). Second and most importantly, RSD is not your typical run-of-the-mill pickup company; they were the first pickup company to make it to the mainstream, they've become the #1 frontrunner and flagship company of the pickup industry for many years, they have the most number of followers and a very strong YouTube presence, and unlike just about every other company in the industry, they have evolved with the times past running routines and gimmicks and placed much of their focus on natural game and inner game/self help. Also, an RSD instructor gets laid FAR more often than any typical PUA guru, so they do at least practice what they preach. With all that said, when you pay $2,000-$3,000 for an RSD bootcamp, you're definitely going to get one badass bootcamp that just totally blows the competition out of the water and you'll go from "chode to champ" in only 3 to 5 days, right? Well not quite...
First of all, before I get into talking about my bootcamp experience, I just want to say that I'm not here to bash any of the instructors. They all do their jobs well and everyone has a different bootcamp experience. I'll even still watch the occasional RSD video on YouTube because, while some of their advice might still be ingrained into old school pickup or typical self-help advice, they still put out good content from time to time.
Just a little bit of background too, I first heard about RSD like most people - by reading The Game. I wonder if Neil Strauss realized that he heavily promoted RSD in his book when he was trying to condemn it and its founder Owen Cook aka Tyler Durden. I first took interest in it myself when I watched Julien's free tour video titled "Rejections and the Harsh Truth of Pickup", and I got hooked from there. However, it wasn't until I got really sick of the canned routine shit and all the drama that happened with Stylelife that I decided to check out RSD more. Luckly I knew a guy who lived locally that used to be a bootcamp assistant for Brad and he let me borrow a bunch of his DVDs, including Foundations and The Blueprint. It all definitely changed my perspective on pickup and meeting women in general after being exposed to canned routine game for so long, and the product I really got a lot out of was Ozzie's book The Physical Game, which I still think has a lot of great stuff in it even to this day. It wasn't long before I went to my first RSD live event, which was Alex's free tour and Hot Seat in October 2014 (one of his last). I thought just going and attending that was a real transformational experience, and it clearly changed the way I viewed pickup and how I went about doing pickup in general. If I got that much out of doing a hot seat, I was sure to get a lot out of a bootcamp. However, due to obvious financial reasons, it would be another year before I would attend a bootcamp.
In early 2015, I started following Todd a lot. I liked his videos because he said a lot of stuff I could really relate to, even if much of it was ingrained into old school pickup as he was one of the original residents of Project Hollywood. Therefore, it was only natural that I would choose him as my bootcamp instructor (on top of enrolling in Valentine University and buying 3 Girls a Day), and what better place to do it than New York City - a place I've never been to but always wanted to go to for many reasons, super hot women being one of them.
I'll try to remember as much as I can. Basically the bootcamp followed the free tour. I was instructed to meet outside this hotel in a relatively quiet area of midtown. Todd arrived with his assistants as well as Madison, who was an up-and-coming instructor at the time. Instead of three bootcamp students, there were six of us and it was both Todd and Madison conducting the bootcamp. I didn't really know who Madison was at the time and I never saw any of his videos, but I was about to find out. So basically the bootcamp started out with the instructors briefing us with what to expect, and their whole mantra was "The first rule of bootcamp is to do whatever the fuck your instructor tells you to do". So that means if your bootcamp instructor tells you to approach and open a set with some big ass alpha dude making out with some hot chick, or some bitchy-ass looking girls ready to tell you to fuck off as soon as you approach, you better do it or else...
So after briefing, they had us all jump into an Uber to drive over to the venue, which I forgot the name but it was some little crowded dive bar in the Chelsea/Meat Packing District area. It's a good thing I'm somewhat used to such venues, being someone who used to hang out in the SoHo/Hyde Park area of Tampa all the time, so I can't imagine how this would have been had I gone in as a complete newbie. Once we got in, Todd started telling each of us which groups to approach. I got really lucky that the first girl I approached was into me and I was dancing with her like crazy, but I didn't find her very attractive and I felt I could do better, but unfortunately things went downhill from there. Madison told me to do some crazy ass shit I didn't want to do because only a creep/weirdo would do it, so he made me do pushups in the middle of the bar, sending a message that he will embarrass the fuck out of you if you don't do what he says. There came a point where right there and then I almost wanted to say fuck it and leave, but I didn't want to be a deserter and plus I paid good money to be there, so I hung in there.
Basically what RSD instructors like to do on their programs is have their students spam approach every girl in the club, and instead of just leave if the girl doesn't show any sign of interest, they make you 'plow' through until the girl just gets up and leaves or until she just finally caves and starts showing interest. I hear some instructors even force you to go as far as only leaving if the girl threatens to get the bouncer or physical violence, even if it means following the girl if she gets up and leaves. Their advice is still ingrained into old school pickup when it comes to how a girl reacts, making you think that the girl is simply rejecting your approach rather than her just not being interested in you based on your looks or style. It really fucks with your head because they make it seem like you have control over every single situation and that you just have to push past a girl's "bitch shield" and a girl will only be attracted to you if you're "in state" and "in total congruence".
I'm not going to go into too much detail for the rest of the Todd/Madison bootcamp because much of it was pretty much the same. We spam approached girls in popular bars and clubs AND out on the street, something I struggle with and for good reason; it's just unnatural and downright creepy. I don't know about you, but I don't like being approached on the street, so why would some chick? There was one part of the second night of the bootcamp though where one of the guys got with this pretty hot girl and Todd thought it would be the perfect opportunity to distract her not as hot friend, who I ended up making out with. Me and the other student pulled them to this 24 hour diner, but they were with one of their other friends who hooked up with these two other guys. I didn't care to go all the way and I'm glad that I didn't because I wasn't really attracted to the girl I was supposed to be with.
Overall, the first bootcamp was OK. It was cool to hang out with Todd in person and all that jazz, but I definitely do not believe it was worth $2,000. I think a properly run bootcamp should be tailored to the student's interests and strengths rather than just trolling places that are popular but not so exclusive that you can't get in. But I couldn't be quick to judge because I was already set to do the Miami Model Season 5-Day bootcamp, one that I hear that's so badass that only alumni students can go on it, so it was like I had unfinished business. I heard Tyler himself was involved with this bootcamp and so were several other instructors. I was in for a real treat, and this would DEFINITELY be the bootcamp experience I've been waiting for. Right?
First, let me just come out and say it - I LOATHE Miami Beach. It is one of the most god awful places in existence and is only one step above being a third world dump. Everything there sucks. The parking, the people, the hotels, the traffic, the customer service, the price of everything especially alcohol...the beaches are pretty nice, but even that gets ruined whenever they have these major parties where no one bothers to pick up after themselves. But some how, some way, it's one place I visited FOUR times in the last two years - all pickup related. However, every minute I spend there, be it a day, a few days, or heaven forbid a week, is complete misery and hell. With that said, I did vow that this would be the very last time I would ever visit South Beach, and I certainly would be going out with a bang since I would be there for five days.
I booked at a shitty hostel where I had to share the room with some douchebags because you have to pay a ton of money to get standard quality in South Beach. Usually I don't make a big deal out of where I'm staying because I usually only go there to sleep, but the experience in South Beach is so bad that even sleeping is painful. Most of the week, I was not well rested, I didn't eat the best of foods, and the only exercise I got was from walking a bunch. Anyways, this five day bootcamp was the same week as the RSD Winter Summit, where I got to meet all the instructors in person. They were running the Model Season bootcamp a little differently this year where instead of switching off instructors, you stick with the same one throughout the entire program, so I chose Max since I thought he was the coolest. At the time, I was doing the Good Looking Loser approach anxiety program, so I felt like I was much more prepared for this bootcamp and I knew what to expect. Max was definitely a cool guy, but blurted out the same mantra of state control and how a girl turns you down only because you weren't in congruence or some BS like that. I won't go into too much detail with this bootcamp because much of it was the same - spam approach every girl you see and plow through the interactions. The major difference was the two extra days we had, we did day game out at Lincoln Road Mall, where we would embarrass ourselves trying to hit on these model girls who could barely even speak english only to be blown out in the worst ways possible. I'm surprised from this experience I wasn't physically assaulted. In fact, I'm surprised in the five years I've done pickup that I was never physically assaulted, even though there were times I felt like I deserved it. The last night of the bootcamp was pretty much a bust. Imagine every RSD instructor as well as all the bootcamp students and a ton of guys attending summit all meeting at Nikki Beach on a Sunday night trolling the place.
At the end of the day, an RSD bootcamp isn't much different from any typical PUA bootcamp. Sure, they don't make you recite any canned openers or routines/gimmicks to go up to use on the hottest girls in some exclusive nightclub like LIV in Miami, but spam approaching a bunch of girls in the venue and out on the street isn't much different. It's especially bad when the venues that they choose to run bootcamp at are venues heavily frequented by many PUAs, like Delano or Lincoln Road Mall in Miami. At this point, I say it's not worth it, but everybody's bootcamp experience is different. There was one guy who got laid every night on bootcamp, but he was an extremely good-looking European guy who was already getting laid a lot prior to the bootcamp. Not sure why he wanted to blow $3,000, but whatever. I really think a bootcamp should be tailored to the student's strengths and interests; not to his weaknesses or what's mainstream and popular. Neil Strauss himself at his conference I attended in 2014 flat out told me in front of the audience there that just meeting girls who want to do latin dancing is lame and I should be doing bar cons instead to reach out to more women. Fuck that. I can't say for sure, but I imagine that if I requested we went to a latin dance social on bootcamp, they'd do everything but with the excuse that I need to get out of my comfort zone, another BS mantra of the pickup community. Okay, I can understand getting out of your comfort zone by leaving your bedroom at least every once in a while, but forcing yourself to endure venues you don't even enjoy with people who don't even get along with?
Ok, I've rambled a lot on the subject and I'm sure I will ramble even more on another day at another time. For now, I'm going to go out and do something I really enjoy - attending a latin dance social.
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