Pawnstar's Bootcamp Day 1: Knowledge Itself Is Not Enough

"[APB] does not fool around immediately he's launching into a conversation about number of sexual partners and the girl is quite enthusiastic."

-Pawnstar

I give you Pawnstar- of Sydney, Australia fame- and a field report of his first day of bootcamp here in Austin, Texas. Except at the very end of the night, even on a Thursday, the Warehouse District and 6th Street overflowed with college coed talent!

I'll preface this review by describing my current progress in the game which can simply be described in two words...the beginning. The bootcamp was held in Austin, TX and the journey here involved a fourteen hour flight to LA and then a three hour connecting flight to Austin.

I think that that alone is ample testament to the amount of help I needed.

So what does one expect on day one of training? Let's start off with APB. It's clear from the start that the game is deeply ingrained in his nature.

We're having our first meal in Austin and already he's gaming the waitress. For him this is not an act, there is no switch that he can turn on or off. He's taken the game and made it part of his soul.

Which is fine because this is what I want. It's why I'm here.

APB thoroughly dissects the intricacies of his ABCDEF method. The first day is devoted to A (approach, attract) and B (buying temperature). We go through a series of exercises and tailor an approach that is unique to my particular set of cirmumstances. We discuss in minute detail the specifics of each step and the transitions between them. And so I am now ready...in theory...but to paraphrase Bruce Lee, knowledge itself is not enough, it must also be applied.

Which brings us to the field.

I don't remember the name of the first bar we visited but I remember that I was nervous. I had reason to be. APB explicitly told me to work on my approach anxiety back home and indeed I did...I picked the ugliest girl I could find, went in for the approach...and walked right on by her without saying a word. In other words I choked.

Would Austin be nothing more than an awkward repeat? Thankfully no.

I knew what was going to happen so I pushed myself into a set with one guy and one girl. At the time I was surprised that I even managed to get in set at all. Looking back I guess it shouldn't have been that surprising. To fail would be to acknowledge that I had flown halfway across the world to go sit in a bar in Texas, shaking in my boots, wishing that I could walk across the room and open that set.

I eject pretty quickly and go sit back down. Pretty soon APB has a cute waitress sitting at our table. This guy does not fool around immediately he's launching into a conversation about number of sexual partners and the girl is quite enthusiastic.

The waitress goes back to work and APB points me to a mixed set with a cute blonde. There is one guy and two girls and I shoot him a quizzical look. We're doing mixed sets already? He tells me go open the blonde one and I shrug my shoulders and do just that. I stay in set for a long time but I don't really pump the buying temperature. We talk a bit more, she introduces me to her friend and then I leave. Didn't execute the full game plan but for my first "real" set I'm happy I stayed in.

Our next stop was "Glass" and at this point I ask for a demo.

APB says "Pick a set, any one" and I look around for a tough target. I point him to a mixed set with one guy and two girls. They're standing in a tight circle which looks tough to crack. APB waltzes in and smoothly opens them up.

He pulls me into the set and distracts the other two while I focus on my target, the cutest one of the night. My game is a lot tighter this time around and I pump the buying temperature and start busting on her. She says she loves working with kids and I say "Paediatrics?". She says "I don't want to be a doctor" so I smile at her and say "They didn't let you into med school?".

She gives me this look and then turns around to her friend and loudly says "This guy is cool".

I get more IOIs, she's touching me and standing well into my personal space. At this point I should have pulled her away or done something to isolate her but I hesitated and the moment slipped by.

The bar started started dying down and the rest of the night was uneventful. I only approached two other sets that night but this was due to lack of opportunity rather than lack of trying. They were unattractive and overweight and rather strangely these were the ones who shrugged me off.

APB warned me that the unattractive ones offered the most resistance and I was a little sceptical at first but truer words were never spoken.

All in all a good first night. I'm happy with the training and I'm happy with how I applied it.

-Pawnstar (Sydney, Australia)