New Delhi: Gone are the days when men were taught from an early age how to treat women, be a gentleman, and the rules of courtship. Now, all that and more can be learned in a “natural attraction bootcamp.”
CNN recently followed one man who attended a bootcamp in Nashville, Tennessee and his endeavours in “picking up” women.
The man, “Steve Crook,” was a 55-year-old divorcee who wanted to shed his “nice-guy tendencies” and become more “alpha.” He told CNN that he was very “picky” when it came to the women he spent his time with, describing his type as more “Barbie.”
Over the next three days, CNN watched as Crook attempted to talk to women in public spaces while his dating coach, Matt Artisan, watched from afar and gave him quiet feedback through his earphones.
Artisan is an award-winning dating coach with almost 138,000 followers on Instagram. He runs The Attractive Man dating academy. According to ABC News, which dubbed them “seduction bootcamps,” one three-day workshop with Artisan can cost $1,000 up to $2,500, plus food and drink.
While this may appear odd at first glance, such bootcamps are quickly gaining ground across the United States. They may vary from one-on-one advice from dating coaches to intensive programmes one can enlist.
Meet The Attractive Man
According to The Attractive Man, a professional training and coaching organisation based in Los Angeles, their goal is, “Help people to eliminate approach anxiety, build unbreakable inner-confidence… And effortlessly attract & date beautiful women.” The academy has been around for almost a decade, with the coaches often referred to as “pick-up artists.”
According to their website, one can enrol in a three-day bootcamp or an “advanced immersion” seven-day bootcamp. These camps are available across the US and the world, with an intensive schedule spanning till November 2026.
The website also offers programmes such as Language of Attraction, Turn Her on Through Text, and Infield Mastery.
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But why do men need “coaching”?
As the male loneliness epidemic continues, more and more men are starting to feel “socially isolated.” Although almost an equal number of US men and women reported feeling lonely, a Pew survey from 2024 found that men were less likely than women to reach out to friends or family.
Some men, according to CNN, reported feeling scared in a post-#MeToo climate. While others blamed dating apps and political ideologies. Or they are simply not getting the results they want.
According to dating coach, Pratik Jain, for Indian men struggles in dating don’t stem from bad intentions or lack of effort but rather from never learning how to date or approach women in the right manner.