Becoming the Gray Man
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- čas přidán 4. 02. 2023
- What does it mean to become a gray man? Let's explore the concept of being there and yet not there. For prepping or survival, this may save your life.
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It's not about not being noticed, it's about making people believe what you want them to believe about who you are, what you have, what you are capable of. A grey man will look entirely different based on the setting and situation you are in. Sometimes you want to appear a week, sometimes you want to appear dangerous. Sometimes you'll want to look like you are alone, other times with a group, Ect.
Those are excellent points. Thanks for the input!
The Gray Man, in my mind, is
"you will see me as i want you to see me, now. Then you will forget me immediately."
When i go out into their society, i look like a bit of an eccentric man, a patterened shirt, a green vest, jeans, simple walking shoes, a hat. i mutter a bit to myself, or my dog, and just glance at the phone in the cart.
Totally harmless, totally forgettable.
good.
Great Advice.. I live in Appalachia, We're already in the Apocalypse 😂😂, Around here everyone is poor, so it's best to look poor too.
Dark worn-out hoodie, dark sweatpants, old worn out shoes. If you look wealthy or like you've got your S#it together you'll become a target for the local "revolting peasants". 😁 thanks 👍
Interesting take on it. Thanks for sharing that.
Situational awareness has always been a part of my life. I have taught my wife and she sees very small details. Now she see out of place things in movies.
Well done. If you can get family on board you have accomplished something.
These are the best gray man advices I ever listened to. 10 years ago I started full tactical. Everyone noticed me, my tactical pants and molle backpack with all equipment hanging from it... Now I have the cheapest color backpack from Decathlon 😅
Thank you. So cool to hear from someone who proves the point!
@@dadbudgetadventures yeah, I was like a target... people I didn't even know, started approaching me with questions "where did you buy this and this..." I went with collegues from work to vacation and they comment my "readyness"...
Finally I said "ok, this is not what I want... if I am that visible now, what would it look like in SHTF?"... Ditched my MOLLE backpack, MOLLE vest, TACTICAL pants... I wear what normal guys wear when they go to the gym: tracksuit, avarage backpack... nothing fancy, just REGULAR...
It's interesting that when I see guy with molle tactical backpack, first thought that comes to my mind is: "he is a prepper... he must have some cool stuff in that backpack" 😆
If anything, he has a paracord 😆😆😆 and a knife 😆😆😆
ANother tip for blending in.
Besides clothing,you need to cloak the energy you give off.
Ive worked security and law enforcment for a long time.'
I can spot troublemakers about to do something, by their energy,its hard to explain.
Hiding in plain sight or cloaking is a mentaility.
Its being super non chalent and shapeshifting your energy into something else.
So you dont stand out.
Ninjitsu has a lot to say to this topic as well.
For sure. Simple things like not constantly touching your holster and not being obvious about trying not to be obvious.
This advice is spot on !! I've developed this "shapeshifting" as part of my situational awareness protocol.
I call it my Chameleon Posture. If my-feet are on the floor in Walmart, my Chameleon Posture is in Walmart. If my-feet are on an urban sidewalk, my Chameleon Posture is on a city street, If my-feet are in a corporate board room, my Chameleon Posture is in a corporate meeting.
Now, while my Chameleon Posture changes to better fit my surroundings, my survival posture never changes. The Protocol that runs on top of ( governs ) my Chameleon Posture is my survive-at-all-cost routine, that never changes..... For me, this all started the split second I held my firstborn child.... I have developed and taught this to everyone I love !!
@mrd6869 To Your Point on how you can spot troublemakers: As I became aware of your "shapeshifting " my "Chameleon Posture" I was blown away by how I could see into other people's intentions. I'll never have the type of training and practical application you must have, but, over the years, the more I practiced my "Chameleon Posture", the better "Read' I would get from others.... I've gotten almost good at this, so much so that I've been amazed how low-level-thought-process some people can be, as well as how horrifically dangerous some people can be.... Very Powerful Gray Man Tool.
I think a lot of it has to do with intent/attitude and focus. I've noticed bad actors either stare a lot or avoid eye contact. Either way they're fixed on an objective like a coyote stalking a rabbit. Even if they're not looking directly at it. That focus also radiates their mental/emotional aggression. If your attitude and emotions mimic other people in your environment you won't "print" yourself.
If you're alone having no intent and no emotional focus on what you're looking at you can be looking directly at someone and they probably won't notice. Look at someone with focus and emotional energy and they'll lock onto you like a heat seeking missile. At least that's what I've noticed.
I was blessed with this since I was young. Can pick up on negetive vibes in people. I have always paid attention to my surroundings all my life.
GREAT ADVICE! I wish more and more people were "aware" because we seem to have a whole lot of people that need this lesson. Thanks again Mr. L.!!
Yep. The world is full of perpetual victims unfortunately. Thanks for the support!
Np. I will teach more if u need more advice
I'm constantly astounded by the amount of people who just don't notice me or pay me any mind when I'm out and about lol
Great Video. I listened to an interview with Nick Hughes, a former French Foreign Legion soldier became a bodyguard, and the concepts you speak about here he also mentioned.
I’ll have to go look for that. Thanks for the tip!
My father told me you get ammo first. With ammo you can get anything else you need.
It certainly can shorten negotiations
How about a rifle? Or are you throwing ammo ?
I just finished watching a post apocalyptic zombie show, and now it all makes so much sense, I’m changing my air filter and locking all my doors and windows. I also ordered some khakis off of Amazon. All joking aside, great video, and a whole lot of information I never knew.
Thank you. Good luck keeping the zombies at bay. They can be pretty sneaky.
Dogs! Having at least 2 dogs working in tandem will keep people away just by their presence alone. When I walk down the street with a pitbull and a Rottweiler, people move to the other side of the street. Dogs are always working, always aware whether you realize it or not. Step out the door with your dog, step in the door, walk around a corner. You'll notice your dog will scan the area making sure there is no threat. They are highly in tune to body language and will often react to someone who is acting unusual. Lastly they are focused when you are not. Given the choice, most dogs will choose to rest or sleep somewhere between you and the entrances to your home. They can pick up on smells and sounds and notify us of any intrusion and they are most likely going to meet the intrusion before we even get our bearings. I'm speaking of a dogs natural instincts, of course you can train them to become more focused, to guard or attack, but even an untrained dog is better than none.
Absolutely. And they love you at the same time so it’s a win win.
Yep....wish I could afford to buy a Malonise. I'm not sure if that's how you spell it. 😂 But would love to have one.
@@sharonbice7490 I have a mal/Shepard coming in a couple weeks. Free to a good home.
Also suggest getting minimalist shoes/boots and getting used to them now. A lot of people in the military get medically discharged because of injured feet caused by their toes being clamped 24/7 by non flexible boots.
Good suggestion. Always break in your boots before you have to rely on them.
I find moc toed boots a lot more comfortable than normal boots. As a plus, they in no way look military.
Regarding backpacks: even student bags will draw attention. Right now, today, not-so-friendly homeless ppl, vagabonds, freight train jumpers & similar look for ppl with backpacks to rob. Granted the better the pack the more likely you will get robbed but even student bags draw attention. Now imagine a SHTF scenario where there will be even more not-so-friendly ppl out there. I'm not saying don't use a pack, you do need to carry your stuff afterall, what I'm saying is do not develop a false sense of security because "I'm just using a crappy old Walmart brand of student bag & not some $300 backpackers bag. No one is gonna mess with me." ANY backpack will draw attention, prepare for that, keep that in mind.
That’s a valid point. Anything you do can draw attention. I’m top of everything else, situational awareness and readiness is paramount.
@@dadbudgetadventures Including doing nothing if everyone else is doing something it draws attention.
True, but, nothing guarantees your safety in this sort of situation. All you can do is mitigate the risk as much as possible. You want to look bland and unappetizing. Tough enough to put up a fight but not coming off as a predator. Just playing attention to your surroundings does a lot to help with that. Because most people who get jumped right now are not paying attention. Usually they have their noses buried in their phone. Hell, people have walked into traffic because they had their noses in their phone. Your body language will also signal whether you're predator, prey, or just someone better left alone. So there's a lot of subtle things you can do to help keep you safer. Safer, not safe. Because there is no safe place in an apocalypse.
I had my wallet stolen out of my purse in the market. I had an expensive wallet sticking out and was totally vulnerable. I felt so stupid !! Thanks for the info !!
Always glad to offer anything that helps.
Smart advice......thank you
Thank you for watching. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Great information as always!
Thank you. Always great to hear people are getting something out of it!
WOW, this is just awesome advice.
Thank you for sharing all these helpful tips.
I'm so happy I found your channel. I'm looking forward to the next video.
GOD BLESS YOU
Thank you. I’m so glad you found the channel!
Lots of good points. Since I've retired, I've made it a point to dress more in accordance with the style of the people in the small town I now live in.
That’s a great plan. Look like everyone else and nobody notices.
A Great video! Best Gray man video ever. Thank you,
Thank you. Much appreciated.
Great advice! I wish I had seen this when it first came out. And wish it had been around awhile back, could have used these for an inservice video. I went through my Tactical-cool period many years ago, and tried to advise young officers and especially young plain clothes officers about this. I watched so many savy young street cops go into plain clothes assignments, and immediately go to the plains clothes tactical officer starter kit. Long hair, chin mullet, a couple of tats, over sized Carhart t-shirts and 5.11 pants. I would ask them, do you really think you're fooling anyone? You're a middle aged male, driving a Ford or Chevy with tinted windows, with a goatee and a earring. You are the police. It took a few months for them to get over themselves, but most did. Really enjoyed this, brought back some fun memories. Will be going back and watching more of your older content.
Yep. I knew a lot of those guys. They usually end up on strike teams or SWAT and don’t last very long undercover because they can’t NOT broadcast who they are.
Another great information video sir keep up the great work
Thank you very much
Just found you today. Enjoying the common sense approach and the fun MRE videos. Learned more about situational awareness reading the book the Gift of Fear. Keep up the good work providing real like options.
Thank you so much!
I lived in Skid Row LA from 2003-2018. I practiced the Gray man principle. I also carried a black MOLLE backpack the majority of time I was there. No tried to jack me for my pack or anything. Wearing excessive amounts of camo in public, in an urban environment. People aren't going to trip if you're wearing camo pants, or a camo shirt, but will get eyes on, if you're fully decked out in it.
For sure. But the farther you are away from it the less they notice. There’s definitely a tipping point to the scale.
@@dadbudgetadventures I was close up, far away and somewhere in between. I took public transportation because I didn't have a car, and nobody really cared. Other people were also rocking MOLLE packs (Chinese knockoffs.) I ran with a Condor sling pack, a Maxpedition Falcon II, and a LA Police gear old version 72 hour pack.
Being a gray man is more than appearance. It's keeping your head on a swivel, without looking like your keeping your head on a swivel. It's about being subtle. For example I would get hit up by a drug dealing wanting to sell drugs to me. Instead of blowing up, and going off on them, I'd say "nah I'm good," and kept it moving. Being gray and blending is much more, than the color or pattern of your backpack, clothing etc.
Great lesson thanks
Glad you enjoyed it.
Great stuff.
Thank you
I have watched and enjoyed many of this channels MRE videos. I'm glad to see he produces videos on this type of content as well. I look forward to seeing more.
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.
Great video and well presented, thanks
Thank you
The name James Bond is a grey man name. The writer of the books thought it was the most boring name imaginable, so it would be good for a spy.
That’s pretty cool
Hi new UK viewer here 🇬🇧. Really enjoyed that video…well presented and straight to the point 👏whilst we don’t have firearms here we still have to be very aware of our surroundings as there are more and more shady people around everywhere. I’ve subbed and look forward to more 👍🇬🇧
Thank you and welcome. Always great to hear from overseas viewers!
Hello to any of my friends in Shrewsberry, I miss you.
Great video
Thank you!
A lot of your "grey man" advice is also very useful to people going on vacation. Let someone else look like a target.
Speaking of traveling, in some countries it was illegal to wear camouflage clothing. If you wore military style clothing, the security forces automatically assumed you were a member of a rebel group.
Definitely. Traveling anywhere makes you an automatic target and most people think nothing of looking like a tourist.
Great point about the camo too.
The grey man concept to me is, people can see you but nobody cares who you are.
Pretty much that in a nutshell
Even better if they can't remember you either. That way if someone comes looking for you nobody will remember seeing you.
When I was 30, a guy tryed grabbing my purse coming out of mall, I grabbed my purse, twisted the strap while he had a strong hold on it, swung my arm up high, then straight down, he did a flip in the air and hit concrete hard and there were by standers that came running. He took off running in pain. These days, by standers will just ignore it, sad to say.
If they don’t ignore it they will film it on their phones
I find the psychology and what people accept as their "baseline" to be a fascinating topic. What stands out in any given crowd, of course, depends on the crowd and what they'll accept depends on not only where they're from but where they're at - they may be rioting uptown but be from the outskirts, for instance, and there could be two completely different socioeconomic cultural dynamics at play (or more)!
It's amazing to me how many people avoid looking at other people in public spaces - for fear of antagonizing predators, I guess? But humans are no different than big cats in that we're ambush predators so if you notice them, and they lose their element of surprise, your risk of becoming a victim goes down *significantly*
And remember to nod downward, never upward as nodding downward is a respectful sign of acknowledgement whereas nodding upward can be interpreted as a challenge signal by certain types of people - like saying "What's up? You want some [trouble]?"
I highly recommend reading at least one good book on body language (I've read 3 myself and watched countless videos as well). These days you can probably find videos on body language cues in the context of self-defense even!
Stay safe out there y'all!
That’s great information and definitely warrants more education on the matter. We can all stand to study the art of body language interpretation. Thanks for the input!
10 years ago I quit wearing jewelry. Last year I starting using coffee to shade my white hair when folks kindly started helping me out on the regular. Old ladies look like easy victims. This year I downgraded my clothing to match locals instead of downtown office workers, my former habitat.
I think age is only a factor in as much as one acts like they are old and fragile. Confidence and presence goes a long way. But it certainly can be part of a profile if one looks old and acts weak as well.
@@dadbudgetadventures beacon white hair is my main indicator, I have a 5 acre food forest on the side of a mountain for exercise every day, and at 69, no meds or wrinkles. Still, I toned down that brilliant snowtop and no more helpers, it was the culprit :)
You'll never know unless you cross them.
That’s the idea, at least
I have avpided public spaces as much as possible for about 4 years now, Im alway grayman mode and armed with multiple options, when I go out I get what I need and leave. I prefer it when there are no people around. Always look non threatening .
Great practice. Thanks for commenting!
The Average Joe. Homeless. Old. Handicapped. Worker. Shopper.
This is easier if you don’t try!
That’s a great observation. Lack of effort translates to lack of notice.
New Sub, old grey beard. Good video.
Thank you. So glad to have you along for the ride.
OGB! I like it.
Excellent video! Audio was a little low and difficult in some sections of the video.
Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for commenting!
Do something about skunk beard stripes.
Even a tablespoon of coffee combed through will temporarily reduce it.
Yep. Personal expression and style go out the window when times get tough. Until the, though, I think I’ll keep it 😀
@@dadbudgetadventures I hear ya, but I have already toned down my style. Even pure white hair instead of pale brown gets comments. It was pretty though, like my grandfather's white hair and gleams in the sun. Coffee hair is pretty and soft. My Yerba de la Negrita make light brown curly locks, but ran out this year. Time to harvest and dry next year's crop this week.
How to blend in? Try to pretend that you are normal
But normal is relative. Every situation is going to have a different version of normal.
What is This backpack?
The one in the video is from Bondka. It was a gift from one of my kids and was really the only one like it I had at the time. It’s not an ideal choice because it is a bit on the outdoorsman side but it worked for this application.
Without any effort or forethought, as my years of life have progressed, I have become more and more the "grey" man! 😂
Yes. I feel that is a true identity for me anymore
Even more important: not being remembered. If you're so bland nobody can remember you 10 minutes from now you're doing it right.
Absolutely
If everyone else is also wearing multicam, can I still be a gray man?
Sure. Why not
@@dadbudgetadventures Sweet. LOL
Keep up the videos. Thanks.
I understand why people abide by the gray man theory but the fact is that if it's truly a shtf situation gray man or not people are dangerous and will hurt you and take your stuff no matter how you look.
Probably. But not very aspect has to be about an apocalypse. If that happens it’s spiked codpieces and shoulder pads for all.
That's why it's important to have situational awareness down to a science
Well. If the world gets to the point where it's this bad. No matter what u dress like etc. u r still a target because if ur out there u have something that other people need. Some of this info is good but I hope no one talks for this shit. This is more good for every day life, that's it.
People do change in extreme circumstances but human nature still works the same to a degree. This is a baseline plan and you have to adapt your baseline to match.
Um, sir. You have almost 3k followers.
Yeah we are getting there. Hopefully it will continue to grow.
I think the term is " Gray person " 😂😂😂. Great video. God bless 😊
For some, probably.
Nope, women should wear a fake mustache to blend in 🤪
I hate the Gray Man... the gray man is nothing more than the tactic of camouflage. Terrain dictates tactics.
I think, as with most concepts like this, you have to look at it as a starting point to be built upon. There is definitely a spectrum of application.
@dadbudgetadventures I don't disagree with you there, but I am also award of where the term originated in the survival community. It was the first put forth in Invisible Resistance to Tyranny and to he honest the idea was to resist tyranny by cowardice. Which is in part where I hate the term from, the issue is people relying on a tactic (camouflage) as being a whole strategy. That's not to say the tactic is bad, but that not knowing the difference between a tactic and strategy is going to get a lot of people in trouble in a crisis situation.
That said, I think your video has some great information that will help a lot of people. And, I would love to see a video on transitioning from the Gray Man and why having the flexibility to be both Invisible when you need to and stand out as a hard target when you need to is or might ne valuable in a survival situation.