Review Detail

OK, this is review is long overdue. I took the workshop late January, and started the review shortly afterward, but never finished it. This is my second attempt to post to the review section in masf; the first was lost in the void. There's an LR that follows from this, "LR: Shocker day at the mall." Here goes:

I had been involved with the community a bit over a year by January, but had been out of commission and stagnating for more time than I had actually been sarging and improving. I found myself very rusty with newfound approach anxiety. My skill level is about intermediate. Brad P. came to Dallas in late January 2007, and I thought the 1-day intensive workshop would be just the kickstart I needed.

Brad hosted a meet 'n greet seminar and a club game seminar the Friday before the workshop. Fresh material is relatively uncommon in the community nowadays, so I was pleasantly surprised to hear Brad explain his "shocker" opener, as well as his take on clubs and club game. OK, so an opener is no big deal--it just gets you in set. Brad's "shocker", however, is a multitasker. It's fun, is capable of conveying high value and social awareness, is entertaining, and also feels a little more natural than the all-too-common opinion openers. Brad explains this in detail in the free seminar, and also in his e-book.

I've heard other PUAs argue that looks are not important for those with good game. Brad's philosophy is that you shouldn't start out digging yourself out of a hole if you don't need to. Good style conveys social awareness and value, and will help to open up sets. This makes great sense.

The club game seminar was really enlightening and really new. I had already observed Asian Playboy expertly put these principles into practice. Brad really spells it out for the rest of us, and provides a system that seems pretty straightforward and doable. It became clear to me, though, that advanced club game will probably not be my thing.

The 1 day workshop started Saturday morning in the boardroom of Brad's motel. There were three students, each of us with different skills and needs. We started out by talking about what we wanted to get out of the workshop. He is very flexible and will tailor the workshop to the students' needs. Since none of us were able to hit his fashion seminar scheduled for Sunday, we decided that we'd sacrifice (or combine) a portion of the Day Game portion for a mini fashion makeover. We discussed various principles including opening strategies (including each student selecting and delivering openers), the Horse-girl opener, some day-game issues, social value (that you bring to the girl), and fashion.

We hit mall#1, which, for some reason, was target poor. He had each one of us walk, commented on body language. There really were really very few sets to open, so we headed to mall#2, where he did the fashion makeover. He determined that my best bet was to go with the "well-dressed, normal" stereotype. We found a (not very expensive) jacket to update my look. He determined my jeans were too loose, so I spent some time looking for a new pair while he helped out another student. As I worked my way down the jean sizes, he gave his seal of approval on one. Dubious, I asked a couple of girls near the fitting room, and got the thumbs up. Another student got an even more comprehensive makeover, including a new hairstyle, new pants, shirt, jacket. Brad also suggested that the hat that student was wearing could be good, with the right stereotype, but stressed the need for congruence. The lucky third student needed no real tweaking, but got a cool T-shirt anyway. I didn't bother opening any sets while not directly observed by Brad. I saw the other students open a couple of sets. Brad had requested that we not give each other any feedback or critique during the workshop; not only because we paid for his advice, but because he prefers to dispence certain amounts of information at a time, and in a certain order. He has some background in education, and realizes that too much information is sometimes detrimental; he prefers to guide his students using just the right instruction at the right time to foster real insight rather than rote behaviors.

After a dinner break, some last-minute makeover points, including putting shiny stuff in my hair. We hit a club district where he sent each of us into several sets. The pickings were fairly slim here, HB-wise. Most of the cuter girls at multiple clubs were married. One guy tried to fight Brad after the guy's new wife was clearly very flirty. I also watched Brad get a hot (and busy) bartender's number within about 60 seconds of approaching the bar.

Finally, in search of better targets, we hit the final venue, which was target rich. As we passed trough a bar area, one mixed set engaged Brad (I didn't see, but think someone opened him on his T-shirt) This was a mixed set with at least 2 girls and 1 guy. Two of them were together, and fed Brad some info which he used to game the third girl, who not only was one of the hottest girls in the bar, but also a high value professional. Over no more than 5 minutes, he had her starry-eyed. The basic structure involved initially ignoring her while talking to the other two (and determining who was with who), getting some information which he turned into a fun "mind-reading" game/joke. When some classic crooner song started playing, he spun her around and danced with her, singing the words with her while maintaining eye contact. Looking at her, I could tell this was probably the highlight of her month. Shortly after, he left the set only because he had 3 students to coach. He watched each of us in more sets, joining one of my sets as I engaged a target. Afterwards, as we were leaving at 2am, I could see his hottie from the earlier set craning her neck to follow him as he moved through the room. Her male friend finally chased him down for her. Brad deftly got the number, and we headed out to the critique session.

Over a late-night breakfast, he discussed with each of us his observations. You can really tell he has some counseling and educational background. He is a pretty astute observer, and seemed pretty good at making constructive criticism. Ultimately, he summarized with a couple of major points and assignments per student. For my part, he suggested I work on projecting less of a "safe" image. For another student, he suggested getting really fluid with a routine stack for ready use in the field. For the third, he had much more extensive advice, spanning inner game, identity building, posture, calibration, fashion, target selection, and more.

Would I recommend a Brad P program? Definitely. Brad P is really a pro, and this is reflected at every level. He knows his stuff, and can prove it in the field. He will try to figure out where you are, and give you just the right advice to move you on the path. I saw him deliver difficult but very pertinent advice in a respectful, constructive, and positive way. No less important, but also a measure of a pro, you can count on him to be on time, to focus on you, and to give you all the time and instruction you paid for.