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.
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.
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.
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.
Getting backpacks at a goodwill is a good idea. They may be already "broke in" giving them a well used look.. also, they are cheap. Your not afraid to lose it.
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 😅
@@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 😆😆😆
There's a guy in our tiny blip on the map town who walks miles and miles around our neighborhood multiple times a day. Looks either off-duty or retired something or other. His build, haircut, clean shave, the way he carries himself...but combine that with the biggest giveaway (imo) is the fact that he wears a tactical vest all the time and I'm willing to bet he's got stuff "hidden" in pockets and under his shirt, too. Edit: a word
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 👍
@@dadbudgetadventures My Father always pointed me one thing about going by railways: you need to look like ordinary worker, or, as @frankprit says, poor man. Ordinary jeans trousers, ordinary jacket, even a little bit dusty, stained. Than no one will rob you, poje or harass, because no one want to rob poor worker.
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.
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.
Taking different routes back to home base is a NO - NO!! If you have survived taking the route the way you've always done then you can be pretty sure the predators that could follow you aren't present and your path is safe. NOW - if you start taking all kind of different routes back "home" you risk exposing your presence to predators that happens to be along those routes. It is also about knowing your "neighbors" and trusting the ones you've seen before. Think about it: If suddenly a new person appears in "your" neighborhood (because he wanted to take different routes every day): What do you think about him? He could be a friendly or a bad person. Some could even eliminate the stranger "just to be safe".
Yep. We are as grey as we can be but living so rural...if you weren't born in this podunk blip on the map, you WILL stick out. And even though we've been here over a year now, we still get dirty looks and side eyes.
@Wastelandman7000 Agreed. The only thing about me that stands out is the unusual color of my glasses. They're quite old and when I picked them out, I wasn't too concerned about being grey. It's on my list of things to replace and I'm going as boring and generic as I can this time.
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.
@@dadbudgetadventures Talk of footwear got me to thinking. I have worn boots all of my working life and still do. Flip-flops are great around the house and carport. Never would I wear flip-flops out on Philippine sidewalks and roads. Not enough protection in good weather and if there is any nasty flood water, dang, you can not see what you are stepping on. The risk of injury/infection is not worth it. The one concession I have made is thanks to my fantastic Brother-in-law. He often spends lunch time poking around UKAY UKAY (used clothing) shops in search of clothing for his family and items large enough to fit me. Occasionally, he scores a pair of branded like new sneakers for me. Not the same level of protection as my beloved boots but workable much of the time. For many reasons, I will never look like a local and I must keep that in mind.
I unload (I'm picky about how things get Tetris'd lol) but still keep a watch out of the corners of my eyes as well as directly looking around and the whole time, my husband scans/stands guard. He's big, tall dude with better vision than I have.
In "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", author Douglas Adams describes an "SEP" field used to hide spaceships. The field does not make the spaceship invisible, but anyone who sees it views it as "Somebody Else's Problem" and ignores it. A similar concept to the Gray Man.
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 !!
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 agree about trying to blend in with the crowd, depending on the situation. For me, in a TEOTWAWKI situation, as an individual, I would avoid other people and towns/cities whenever possible. At least until I have had the time to recon/observe them to see if they might be hostile or friendly. In general, cotton is not a good fabric in bug out survival situations, except in bandannas. Rip stop nylon, wool or polyester are better choices for clothing as they dry quickly or shed water. Cotton absorbs and holds water and can lead to cold weather injuries, blister and chaffing. In a survival scenario, anything, however minor that slows you down or makes you stop traveling, is a serious threat to your survival. Consider that staying home, and prepping/hardening it may be your best course of action. I believe, that in most end of civilization scenarios, anyone out moving around is an easy target for the bad guys. If bugging out is the best choice, then think and move tactically, stay off the roads/trails, use light and noise discipline, take your trash with you or bury it and then camouflage the hole. Most people, especially in urban areas, do not know how to do these things. Luckily, we live in an age where we have social media, such as RU-vid, where we can learn these things before needing them. If you have access to CHATGPT, ask it to summarize the top 25 threats to human survival. That should make people think about what the threats are in your neck of the woods. Think what would happen if an EMP destroyed (not just knocked out) our electric grid? We would all suddenly be living back in the 1800s and most people do not have a clue how to live/survival in that situation. People would start dying in just a few days; sooner for those who require electricity for their medical devices/oxygen.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Many years ago, a mechanic friend of mine told me about maintaining a low profile. He always carried large amounts of cash because he would often buy used cars and motorcycles to resell at his garage. He never wore jewelry, he drove a beater truck, his clothes were many the same clothes he wore in the shop, and nobody would suspect he was a very wealthy man.
I practice these skills when I go out to eat. I try and sit where I have a good view of all around me, because I discovered as I got older that I enjoy watching people, all types, interacting. I like being a fly on the wall, not drawing attention to myself, but just eating and watching. The waitresses know me and likely know what I am doing, too! Ha ha. I drive a black older SUV, nice but not outstanding. Internally, it is equipped with day bag, camping gear, bugout bag, and weapons, all covered with a $5 throw away Mexican blanket, no need for prying or curious eyes to see. I wear old man clothes, nothing name brand. Or expensive. Old ball cap completes my look. When out and about, just want to underwhelm anyone I am in contact with. Tho college educated, I speak the local southern vernacular to keep from standing out….I also keep my opinions to myself.
Learned some of these lessons the hard way, unfortunately. My wife has the least amount of situational awareness, so I have to work twice as hard! One of the things I've learned is to watch how people act; even the honest ones. The "that looks odd" stuff starts to stick out after awhile. The thing I notice first is when people (I don't know how to put it) quarter towards me. Not walking straight towards, but acting like they are going in another direction, but definitely drifting towards me. I always take evasive action at that point and put distance between us.
I’m in the same boat. My wife, no matter how much I stress it, has no awareness of anything around her. It does become a full time job doing it for both of us.
"Soft guage vision" meaning you see everything in your field of view. It takes much time to get to the beginning, after that it takes more to be able to use it. It takes time but you can practice all the time. Sound works in the same way.
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
Great Video. Thank you. Classic workwear and streetwear works everywhere. Jeans. Merino socks. Hikers. Hoodie. Cap. T-shirt. Jean jacket or Carhart. Pack or sling bag. One thing to consider is to take a couple pairs of jeans and a jacket and over-dye them with a wash of brown, green, and a bit of black rit dye. The clothing still looks like normal clothing, however, if you have to step into the bush or the shadows you are already halfway there. In the film biz this is called "knocking the colour down" it simply mutes everything without it looking obvious.
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 👍🇬🇧
This is so.true. How many people don't have spacial awareness..ie they wander slowly in the middle of the pavement/sidewalk obvious to anyone around...I play a game of who I could pick pocket, who I could mug who is not aware of the risks...even in places when you should be aware like in the centre of a city, in a rough area, late at night...thankfully I was trained by my father to be aware, but lately living in a safe place I've become bad at it and need to start being more alert
Most people are completely unaware of anything beyond the screen of their phone. Transitional spaces like parking lots and driveways are the most likely places to find trouble. People need to start there and then develop the skills to protect themselves in other public spaces.
I preach foot protection all day long. A stainless sole insert found on industrial supply websites to protect from nails. Ankle support to protect from ankle injury. Learning what you personally need. I learned by mistake that my feet stay warmer with hot weather boots in 0° temps vs insulated “breathable” cold weather boots. Break the boots in. I make them my daily wear. Industrial appearance that isn’t tactical. Caterpillar high tops where I could have just come off the construction site.
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.
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.
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.
Superior presentation of what the gray man concept is. I am not the only foreigner of European descent living in our Philippine province of Bulacan. There are not many of us, that is for sure. Truly blending in will always be problematic. With blond hair and skin that glows in the dark, I do kind of stand out, want to or not. My almost thirteen (13) year run has been mostly safe and problem free. I learned from Beautiful Bride that neighbors wanted to invite us to their church, and did not because they "are were scared of me, I look so serious." Someone got the idea that I am a retired General and spread that rumor! I take care to walk like there is a ramrod down my back so as to not aggravate a disk in the lower back, injured years ago, will not pop out and cause me pain. Yeah, I do practice situational awareness, constantly scanning my surroundings. You could fall into an open manhole! Locals will say "do not walk the highway late at night." I have walked the General Douglas MacArthur national highway (rt 2) through several towns, late at night and never a problem. Now that I have passed the seventy (70) year mark, it may be time to exercise additional caution. The mind is young but the body is getting older. I like the hooded sweatshirt idea but in our tropical climate, I have to find something in a breathable fabric.
My way of being a gray man is by acting like I'm the harmless dude, the dude that don't know squat about guns, never look like I'm gathering Info on the people around me, act as if I'm learning as I go along. It's best to be considered as an idiot then to open your mouth and remove all doubt.
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.
In Canada, we have not had the right to bare arms. We carry bear spray in the bush, just in case we encounter a bear, and most of us have met bears without any incidents, nor the need to use the bear spray. In fact, I have had my bear spray expire without use. But this does not excuse us in any way. Be prepared! Crime has increased 38% in Canada, under the present economy. Apathy is also on the rise; people just don't bother to say hello as you pass them on the street. We were known as a friendly nation, but, that is a legacy that has faded in my lifetime. Your advice is sound, my friend. Your videos are thoughtful, provocative, entertaining, and deserve more subscribers. And, we would call him, 'The Grey Man' - just sayin'. Cheers, eh.
Very nicely presented and very accurate. Being "gray" is the art of hiding in plain sight. If you carry a pack, don't use a surplus military one since they're very distinctive. My day pack for example, is blue and gray for example, and shows no external molle panels, those are hidden inside. It's made by Vertx, but has no external tags to identify it as such. I'm thinking about sewing a tag on it, something like "Disneyland" or something similar. The downside to this is that some tags can make unmemorable things memorable. If Mr. Bad Guy is communicating with someone to follow me, "the big guy with the blue Disneyland pack really would mark me, so maybe that's not a good idea.
The Gray Man: 1) Situational awareness 2) Look and act “like everyone else” Hence: Nothing unusual about you, what you have or what you’re doing. (Read: relative deception depending on your mission set)
I employ this yard saling. Sellers will "adjust" the price of things if you wear pricey clothing. I always drive our beater looking pickup. And use generic terms on specialty items that I'm interested in, such as record player vs turntable.
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!
How do I protect myself when the criminal becomes President of the United States as happened in 2016 and may happen again? I grew up in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, a challenging neighborhood in the 1960-70s and I spent 11 years in an army special forces battalion (Orev Golani, IDF), but I feel powerless and vulnerable when the criminals are at the top.
The only reply I saw here seemed more an attempt to ridicule you, but what you are asking is a very valid question. With criminals in power, and willing to use that power against their own people, such as the recent DOD directive authorizing deployment of military personnel to use lethal force against US citizens in support of law enforcement, the gray man is more important than ever. You ask how you protect yourself from that, and the answer is, you do it by vanishing. You aren't going to fight against it; that will just get you killed or locked up. Instead, you go gray. If you are in a crowd of Trump supporters, you wear a MAGA hat. If you are surrounded by Harris supporters, you carry a Harris/Walz sign. Being the gray man is not about making a statement or pushing back. It is about not drawing the attention of those who can and will crush you. And it genuinely doesn't matter what side of the isle you are on, because in a society this polarized, it just takes a misunderstanding from the wrong person to lump you in with the enemy. Of course, we all want to stand up for what we believe in and try to make a difference. But you can not do that if you are dead or unjustly imprisoned.
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.
@@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.
There's so much camo fashion out there these days as well as military surplus that I don't think you need to avoid all that entirely - If you're fully geared up in camo with tacti-cool gear, then, yeah, you're a target and there's nothing "grey man" about that. I go for the bum look all the time, a discerning eye might make out I'm wearing or carrying some nice bit of gear/clothing so I'm always a bit disheveled. People too clean-cut with crisp stylish/trendy garb are targets - People with military training trying too hard to be the grey man almost always stand out
That’s something didn’t consider with this is that your bearing and presence might also make you stand out. Gotta look aware but not overly confident in how you carry yourself.
So this argument about the “don’t dress tacticool because it will just make you a target”, is kind of the same reasoning I’ve heard my whole life for why you shouldn’t “open carry”. My counter to this has been and will always be the same reason I don’t carry a concealed weapon, if I feel like I need one, I probably shouldn’t go there. Conversely, if I feel like I need to go there, have no choice, I’m not carrying concealed, because if I need a weapon, I’m going to need it right now, not a half second later because I had to dick around with clearing my shirt to get to my weapon. So….circumstances dictate, and sometimes it’s better to go ready to go, than to go with nothing or very little and hope nobody decides to target you because you look like an easy target.
My counter to that is that you never know where the threat may arise. It may be your neighborhood grocery store. My community had such an incident a couple years ago in one of our wealthier areas. It’s not a matter of staying away from where you shouldn’t be, it’s a matter of being prepared wherever you find trouble. And if you’re open carrying and the threat is behind you, guess who the first to fall will be. A good guy with a gun is useless if the threat neutralizes him before he knows there’s even a threat. Seeing your gun won’t stop a psychopath, it just makes you his first objective.
@@dadbudgetadventures yeah, I’ve never worried about them seeing the gun, or weapon, and it being a deterrent. I could care less. In any kind of physical altercation seconds matter. Sometimes tenths of seconds. Being able to draw a weapon and engage a target in a half a second, is better than drawing in one and a half or two seconds concealed. If I’m ambushed from behind…..it’s probably not my problem anymore. That’s how I see it.
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 :)
@@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.
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.
Those boots he held up as an example of what you should wear, if I saw someone wearing those, I would immediately think I was looking at a player. I think good footwear choice is a real give away. That said, good footwear is essential, so we're kinda stuck there. Desert Storm colored though, as in the example, is out.
Most of this is Common Sense and basic Human Nature. People recognize things that stand out because it could be a threat, and at the least is "not normal" - Just be aware of your surroundings, pay attention to your body posture and how you carry yourself, and at least outwardly project confidence and disinterest. In most cases just doing that allows you to be left alone - even at a mall where people working booths are trying to stop and sell you something most of the time doing this they will leave you alone. Humans are still Animals, we like to think we're civilized but we most certainly are NOT. Most problems are easily avoidable just by being aware and not being perceived as weak or wounded. Eye contact is a HUGE thing. Too little, and it's taken as avoidance or weakness. Too much, and it's threatening or confrontational. You want the other person or people to KNOW that you are aware of them, but that you're not worried and going to go about your business. ( The eye contact at least IS situational. There will be times where you don't want any, and times where you'll want more) Sometimes things still happen - particularly due to desperation or deliberate malice. Those encounters can't always be avoided. Think back to Highschool - The jocks were popular and usually liked. The weird/band kids were known but not liked, and everyone else in the middle was mostly unmemorable if they weren't a friend or acquaintance. Ultimately - TRUST YOUR GUT. 9/10 times if you get a gut feeling, something IS off. It's your senses noticing something you may have missed and trying to alert that something isn't right. - On a different note that's still related to this subject - Psychopaths and Sociopaths are generally amazing Gray Men. They are the people equivalent of Chameleons to the outside world. It's an interesting topic to read up on if anyone has the time. Everything from their tendencies, rationale, to how some mimic emotions because what they actually feel are nowhere close to what everyone else does. I think a LARGE part of why this is though, is because from their perspective blending in is a must and the ability to read people, know what they want and how to benefit from that are skills that would be good for anyone.
You don't even have to have a disaster to be one. I am a grey man everyday, from my intell background in the army formerly. I carry the same habit still and just move around and try not to cause a problem or anything that will get me noticed, or remembered, Dress the base line and not stand out. Be the person seen, but not remembered.
Almost got robbed at a gas station early in the morning not too long ago. I got out of my truck to get gas a d i always lock my doors while fueling. One guy came around my truck and started trying to talk and distract me while the other guy was going to come up behind me. I knew what was going to happen the second i got out my truck. So i told the guy i knew what he was doing and showed him my conceal carry. They walked away and never seen them again.
My position on that is that it should be a case by case thing. You need to assess the threat before determining the response so you maintain the upper hand.
@@dadbudgetadventures Agree. As I think about it, I'm not that scary, even obviously armed. I think the default has to be "find out the hard way." Thanks for the response.
Then you have lost the element of surprise, which they usually have. Also heat is a magnet for trouble, high value and desirable. Keep it out of sight, but handy.
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 .
A fire team of four guys will take over a twenty person compound in 72 hours. The first 71 hours will be them watching you, one hour to accomplish the task. They will see guard schedule, which ones sleep on watch, who carries weapons like they know what is going on. You need full time, no other job than watching guards.
A backpack and heavy duty boots? 100% No. Unless everyone around you have a backpack and set of heavy duty boots. Nothing screams prepper who has something I need like a giant pack.
If most people have no idea what or who the grey man/woman is, and if they forget him/her in a few minutes, then he/she is doing what he/she intended and doing it well. Dress like a jungle warrior ready for war, then everyone will remember you. Dress like a 304, looking for a customer, then everyone will remember you.
Get a plash platka poncho..they are milsurp from Russia ww2 Era. I can have my premium.backpack loaded with gear my 1000 dollar arctertx super jacket and a rifle slung under there and I just look like a homeless hunchback.
You got to be kidding if I see some guy looking like he’s going on a day hike no teeth am questioning that may work in the world now but shtf situation everyone everything is suspect
Nowadays somebody NOT hunched up over their phone is a person of concern for me. Accordingly, being on your phone might be a part of your blending in strategy
Nobody thinks Im carrying a PDW and handgun on me because I dress like a hipster. I immediately assume every dude with 5.11 gear, cargo pants, and a baseball cap on is carrying.
Wearing bright colors is PROBABLY not a good thing. a white dress shirt is best worn under a dark colored jacket, for instance ( the jacket and shirt give you more places to conceal surprises, if a situation develops. I have a vest with 3 pockets, one of them is inside the body of the vest, my shirts ALL have pockets. This gives me 4 places to conceal, not including my jeans. A bad guy looks for easy victims, not a prepared fighter.
Depending on the situation, bright colors are preferable. Example: we have children. Bright colors can help if someone gets lost in a crowd. On the rare occasion that we go somewhere like a zoo or a park, you can bet your biscuits I'm dressing all of us in bright, memorable colors. And always ALWAYS remember what shoes the children are wearing!
