The Don Bootcamp - NYC, May 2008 (With Big Buiness, Cajun & Kisser)

The best way to describe the bootcamp feeling is the "I know Kung-Fu" line in the Matrix movie. It literally feels like you got plugged into a computer program that suddenly shows you how to be a kung-fu master. Thankfully you don't have to worry about a big black guy trying to beat you down afterwards. Maybe they do this in the other bootcamps I don't know.

Well anyways I just finished up a great BootCamp with The Don and others at NYC a few weekends ago and I have been bubbling to write about it but I have been freaking lazy and traveling for work.

If you want to get the short version here is a small breakdown. But the for real fun stuff then you gotta read the whole thing.

Pros
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Amazing instructor/student ratio (1:2)
Great instructors, really personable and everyday guys
One of the best nights out ever
The stuff they teach really works

Cons
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Too much information to process
Some better class materials or taped sessions would be nice
Need some way of keeping the momentum going after class is over
Not free and I can’t take it every week


First about me:
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I am your average 30 year old computer geek dude. I do well at work, keep fit, help the old lady cross the road and do all that boring stuff that most normal people do. I can generally be social but my tendency is to not be unless forced to for work or otherwise. I can get wicked nervous opening to girls (alcohol usually helps) and also usually run out of steam in a conversation (nothing usually helps).

The main reasons I got interested in this is because:
a) I got out of a very long relationship and have had trouble getting started again.
b) Due to work and my general network I get to meet some pretty nice women I would really like to have more luck with
c) And goddamn it how cool would it be to be able to just freakin attract hot women at will. I just had to see if the rumors are true.

About my Classmates
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We had a great class of people who clearly had a wonderful life and a good direction of where they were going. My biggest concern going in was that I was afraid of going to a class full of college students trying to game on myspace.

Seriously though, one of the best parts of the bootcamp is that there were just some really cool guys there who have a great life but just haven't really figured out women yet just like me. I will definitely be keeping in touch with and going out with these guys.


About our Instructors:
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The Don - He led the seminar and was to me really the ideal game I would like. He was roughly my age and maturity level and you could tell he was just good at what he does. He has a very simple straightforward teaching style that I really got a lot out of. He has the perfect push/pull intelligent humor down and some really pretty amazing insights into how girls work. He didn't really get into the sets itself but stayed close and then gave me advice before and after. If he wasn't into gay porn I could totally see us hanging out - a real guy's guy.

Big Bizniss – We worked together quite a bit and he was an awesome guy. He pushed me into a bunch of sets and also winged for me. He is sarcastic, witty and someone I can relate with. He would come in, wing and then leave and the girls were like where is your friend. I would definitely like to learn more from him in the future.

Cajun - Well, cajun is pretty much famous (keys to the vip show) so I don't have to say much but he has what I would call rockstar game. I probably could never get away with what he says or does but it’s pretty awesome to watch.

Kisser - He is a new instructor and has just an awesome natural game. He fly's in completely under the radar and says routines with so much conviction it feels like he just made it up. He has a great energy level that really helped on the first night and we worked together quite a bit.


cont'd

Classroom
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I am not going to write too much about the classroom because honestly I believe that the greatest value was the nights out in the field. The classroom was a great compliment and it helped lay out the structure for the in-field. It followed the syllabus and structure on the website and the best parts were when the instructors share their routines and go over what they do in the field. There were some good classroom demonstrations and I never felt the urge to sleep once (which is a big accomplishment).

Honestly what I realized from this was that you can read books and even take seminars/classroom time but it didn’t really make sense until you practice it. This was the biggest takeaway from the classroom sessions. You got introduced to the material and then you had to go try it out.

I think the biggest cons are that there is so much information from the seminar that you wish there was some way to remember all of it. Taped sessions would be nice to go over later. I think it can be done effectively enough to really help people to replay the seminar before a night out. Also more live interactive sessions would be nice to hammer the points home. I mean basically its information overload so having a way of going back to the material would be really nice.


In – Field
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There were basically two nights of going out at a pretty cool venue with a wide range of beauty and ethnicity available.

Night 1 – This was the first night and I have to admit I was pretty nervous. I came in a little later than everyone else and took a drink to settle down with Big Biz and Cajun . I then talked with The Don a little bit about my opener and he suggested that I warm up with an average set. It seemed to go okay but the friend was really mean and The Don helped prop me up a few times. We left them cuz they were lame and then I got another drink and Don had me open some more. As the night wore on I got more and more comfortable and The Don had me open a 3 set with a direct opener which was just freaking money (I walked up to them and said sorry I am late… and it actually worked… I later realized that it could have been a number/kiss close). The Don then pushed me to open a mixed set of 6 people which I still think was my best accomplishment of the night. I went in delivered opener, built rapport with guys found out they were all in relationships and still ended up being a pretty cool guy when I left the set about 10 mins later. Then I wandered around and stumbled into a set that Kisser then winged me on. This was my idiotic move of the night as I had a cute Eastern European girl who wanted to give me her number and I said no. I don’t know why and please don’t ask.

So Night 1 was a success for most people. Everyone in our group approached and there were no slaps or drinks thrown at us. I think everyone at the end of this night realized that hey talking to girls isn’t all that bad after all. I was severely made fun of in class the next day for refusing to take the girl’s number.

Night 2 – This was the monster night. We were now armed and ready to perform. The classroom had told us how to basically get to a point where we can Number close or more. It was up to us to basically put together this and be aware of how to do it. I have to admit that I was pretty excited because I was starting to understand how things work and I wanted to see if I could start really putting it together with some skill. Well the feeling that we got working as a group and just really owning the place and the ability to move around was amazing and alone worth the price of the whole bootcamp. Seriously its thats good.

I opened some sets but honestly I mostly went in to wing because the rest of class was doing so much good work. It really felt like we were just working together as a team – it was amazing because we were all relatively new to this. We were getting girls telling us they have boyfriends but we are so much more interesting. It was just so amazing to see how the method works in building up attraction and comfort and just completely getting girls into almost a starry eyed state. I noticed several sets that didn’t want to move away from us. By the end of the night I was on such a high that hot girls were opening me. I was like what the f*** is going on here.

So Night 2 was I would say was an amazing success. I personally ended up with a few numbers and a girl that was pretty much ready to do anything (if it wasn’t for her friends – this I need to get better on). In the debrief the next day everyone admitted to having a crap load of fun and some numbers to follow up on. We finished up with what to do next and how to capitalize on our knowledge and make it better.

I must admit that I was a little sad when class ended because it is really a great experience to share with a group of people. Lets face it girls are a major part of any straight guy’s life and thoughts and it was so comfortable to share this with other people and have hope that it can be overcome and see the living proof in the instructors.

Conclusion
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So what now right? Well here I am 3 weeks later reviewing my notes and in the process of putting this monster review together and have had some time to really think about what I have learned and what has changed with myself.

Well first off I can say that my interactions overall are so much better. I know how to hold myself in a conversation better and am just able to relate to girls better. I had a full close Day 2 that I pretty much followed the textbook on. I have to admit its scary the first time when you can say that tonight I will get laid and it happens. I had an unexpected SNL when I was out at a conference.

But honestly though regardless of what may happen afterwards or what you choose to do with the skills you learn you really owe it to yourself to completely sign up for a bootcamp. Other than being a freak nasty boogie down time (yes I just said that) you learn some really amazing things about humans in general, techniques that you will invariably use and will help in any personal and social interaction.

Thanks for the props... Yeah, it's pretty amazing. The stuff really works when you do it by the book. It still shocks me sometimes too. Which keeps it fun. Sounds like all you guys are doing really good. NY is a great town for bootcamps...

Keep it up.

Thanks for the positive review, Press. Glad you had an awesome time. You certainly kicked ass in the field! You really do an awesome job with your body language too, conveying that you own the place and that you are super-comfortable with yourself. The girls are naturally drawn to you, before you even open your mouth!

Great job. Keep up the good work.

- Kisser

Keep in mind The Don litterally eats lightning and shits gun powder.

Originally Posted by Press

Then I wandered around and stumbled into a set that Kisser then winged me on. This was my idiotic move of the night as I had a cute Eastern European girl who wanted to give me her number and I said no. I don’t know why and please don’t ask.

By the way, this was one of the funniest parts of the evening. Not only did this little hottie want to give you her number, but she wanted to bounce you out of the club and ostensibly take you home with her! Haha -- sorry we didn't mention during the first day of seminar that if a girl is begging to take you out of the club with her, the answer is always YES!

Awesome weekend guys!

All of you guys did some impressive shit, I was surprised by how quick you all caught on. BE RIGHTEOUS!

Originally Posted by kisser

By the way, this was one of the funniest parts of the evening. Not only did this little hottie want to give you her number, but she wanted to bounce you out of the club and ostensibly take you home with her! Haha -- sorry we didn't mention during the first day of seminar that if a girl is begging to take you out of the club with her, the answer is always YES!

That was cold blooded... but hysterical. Always take their number just as a courtesy. They take rejection a lot harder than we do.

I second all that was said above. Thanks for the great review, and, barring anything ridiculous, if a girl is trying to sleep with you, LET HER!