Background
I recently did a 1 on 1 with Gareth Jones down in LA and thought I'd write a review before I forgot the important details. Forgive me if the post is a little long.
I did the Seattle BC in Nov of 2010 with Gareth and JT. It was great and I learned tons. Being pretty new to pickup, ie only being in a nightclub like 3 times in my life before that and not having a single cold approach it was pretty intimidating but it was great to actually do it. Somebody else has written a much better post on that bootcamp than I could ever write but I'll say that even for a rank amateur such as myself, knowing that you can approach is so liberating. My approach anxiety before the bootcamp was 8 out of 10 but got much better. I still have it but it's controllable now.
Unfortunately the times I went out after the bootcamp I was encountering sticking points in terms of generating buying temperature and appropriate kino and having a very difficult time getting past any compliance tests.
I did think about going to another company and doing a bootcamp with them to see what else was out there but it was the little things that convinced me to stick with ABCs. During the Seattle bootcamp, JT sent an email out to us saying that if we were having problems finding a place to stay we could bring a sleeping bag to crash at his place. I wouldn't expect this from anyone quite frankly. I mean JT and Gareth both live in California and don't have a mansion that they stay in when up in Seattle so that was very unexpected. Another couple of things convinced me that these guys really care. One bootcamper couldn't get into a club (don't want to give too many details away that may identify anybody) and it wasn't JT's fault by any means but he said," look next time we're up here, come by and you can do a night out with us." Another bootcamper had trouble with a bouncer and JT just took care of it. Again it wasn't his issue at all to deal with. He could have just said nothing and not have gotten involved but he stuck himself out there to help his students out. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't sign up for a bootcamp and not have a place to sleep or anything and expect JT and Gareth to let me crash at their place but it was nice that they offered.
More than JT's and Gareth's pick up abilities, these qualities were what made ABC's stand out in my mind. These guys really care and want us to learn. Don't get me wrong, they have great skills. Gareth had a brunette whose friend kept having to physically pull her away over and over again from him. It was hilarious. JT opened up a model and her friend and then put me in the set only to have me fail terribly
One image from the Seattle bootcamp I will not forget is of JT standing in line for the bathroom, wiping his brow and then some blonde girl that he hadn't even spoken to coming over to mop his brow. Unbelievable!
Because of this I decided to do a 1 on 1 with Gareth seeing as JT sent out an email about his rates going up (his rates have already gone up, this was in the New Year's period I believe). I can't resist a deal!
Day 1
Unfortunately I was sick during this 1 on 1. My voice was cutting in and out. On the first day, it sounded absolutely terrible and squeaky. The structure of the 1 on 1 is very similar to the bootcamp. Essentially day 1 is A's and B's, day 2 C's and D's and day 3 is E and F. Also you're supposed to go out every night. It's like doing a premium bootcamp essentially with you as the only student. During the classroom portion of the Gareth just reformatted my body language. My body language was terrible. This was the reason why I kept getting blown out of sets so easily. Although it must have been only 20 minutes of me walking and him making corrections it felt like forever. He helped me with posture and stance. We reviewed kino turning and the rest of the normal 1st day stuff. I did need it and it helped. I needed more help with buying temperature.
Night 1
For the night time portion, we had to change the structure because my voice was dying on Friday so we went shopping instead. I have to say I was a bit nervous to go shopping with Gareth. If you look at pictures of him, he looks like a rocker (probably because he is one). Long hair, necklaces, rings, sunglasses the whole nine yards. Myself I can't see myself ever wearing things like that. I think when JT first saw me at the Seattle bootcamp, he asked if I was in software (I'm not) so obviously my own sense of style is not that great. After a dinner of sushi we hit the Promenade and I watched Gareth go into action. He is a shopping NINJA. Looked through the suits at Zara and picked one out, tried it on with a couple of shirts and shoes and boom we're done! All in all I think it took less than the time it took us to eat dinner. While we were shopping and walking, he did give me some ideas of what to look for on my own. Tips regarding better styling of my hair and other important small details were given as well. It was very enlightening.
Day 2
Again the things covered were essentially C and D. We went over them in greater detail than in the bootcamp in terms of personalizing stories and having Gareth quiz me on various situations. How do you do this? What do you for this? It was intense. It was great. I felt I was finally getting this stuff internalized. My story telling ability wasn't the best either but Gareth tweaked a couple of them for me. Well maybe he had to rewrite them
They came out much better than before at any rate.
Night 2
Hit up a nightclub in Hollywood. My voice was still coming and going. Did a bunch of kickstarts to get warmed up and then did a bunch of approaches. They went reasonable well but my voice couldn't compete with the volume. Got my body language a lot better as well. Also talked about how to hit the clubs solo. This is a key skill because going out with friends isn't always reliable and especially if they don't know about pickup they won't understand. We left probably around 1ish and then hit In N Out (I've never been) and then had the standard debrief on the drive back to my hotel.
Day 3
Went over E and F. Also reviewed sticking points from last evening and how to fix them. Essentially Gareth really helped me fine tune it even more. I didn't do the iGame stuff again because I just went over that in Seattle so it was the shortest day. I was able to take advantage of Gareth's musical background as he gave me a bunch of vocal projection exercises too. I have problems being heard in the clubs. Unfortunately Gareth's car got towed as well so the day did not go so well for him. Despite that he was ready willing and able to game, keeping the energy up on the way to the club.
Night 3
Went to a hotel bar for my Sunday night infield. Approached a ton of sets. I actually began forgetting who I approached at one point. Gareth watched carefully and gave some great critiques and helpful suggestions. How to transition better and be more alpha. How to position myself better. My comfort zone was really pushed here. He said that don't leave a set unless she fails compliance tests. It was almost nerve wracking sometimes.
As an extra bonus JT the Tiger Mom PUA Tran showed up! Even on his days off, the guy is still hitting the clubs! Despite my 1 on 1 being with Gareth, JT also pushed me into sets and critiqued me. Both of them opened up sets for demonstration purposes and at the end of the night JT just manhandled this hot blonde girl. It was amazing. Great night and really pushed my limits.
On another tangent, one set JT got me involved with was with a professional working lady. Having never been involved with a situation like that, it was interesting to say the very least! Of course, JT's comment was if you're really good you can get it for free.
The 1 on 1 was worth it. If you're thinking a 1 on 1 just sign up already. I wished I learned this stuff years earlier. The 1 on 1 focused attention while intimidating was also very helpful. You will come out better.
I feel that I made some great progress here despite my lack of voice. I wished that my voice held up so that I could have done all 3 nights but I still think I've improved by leaps and bounds. There will be a lot of hard work still but I feel that I have the tools to get it done!
If you want to make rapid progress just sign up for the 1 on 1. The personalized attention cannot be beat. Hanging out with Gareth gives you the model to which to aspire. One of my mentors said that be careful who you learn from because it they don't excel at it then you will never know how good you should be. Well, Gareth embodies the concept of being a master PUA. I met his girlfriend on night 3 and she's a knockout. He talks the talk and walks the walk. What's even better is that he's willing and able to teach you how to do it and walk you through the painstaking steps of being a better man. He sees the little details that you can't really see about yourself or may not notice and will help you fix them by pointing them out.
I wouldn't hesitate to do another 1 on 1 if I needed more help or encounter more sticking points that I can't seem to break past.
