Nick Kho (Papa) and the business side of pickup
Nick Kho, known as "Papa," co-founded Real Social Dynamics (RSD) with Owen Cook ("Tyler Durden"). RSD's in-field bootcamps are the product the company is best known for, and this article looks at how that business worked.
Papa in The Game
Papa appears in Neil Strauss's The Game (2005). According to Wikipedia's summary, he was one of the residents of Project Hollywood, the Los Angeles mansion Strauss describes as "a high-end mansion and a lifestyle plan." The other residents included Strauss, Mystery, Playboy, Tyler Durden, and Herbal. The same summary says the house eventually fell apart because of rivalries between members, and that Papa and Tyler went on to lead RSD.
If you haven't read the book, Neil Strauss and The Game covers the story, and Mystery and the Mystery Method covers the workshops RSD's own were modeled on.
The company they built
RSD was based in Los Angeles. Sources differ on whether it was founded in 2002 or 2003. What matters is the product. An archived Wikipedia entry from the mid-2000s describes the core offering as an in-field bootcamp:
- Multiple days, usually three.
- Theory sessions in a classroom.
- Live fieldwork in bars, clubs, and coffee shops, with coaches watching.
- Advice on fashion and image.
RSD also sold DVD sets, audio programs, and seminars, and later posted seminar footage online. So the business had three layers: the live bootcamp, recorded material for people who couldn't attend, and larger seminars.
Pickup had been taught in small workshops before. RSD's version ran for larger groups and in cities across the US and abroad. Real Social Dynamics and the rise of the pickup bootcamp goes through the format in detail.
What's documented about Papa himself
Less than you'd expect. The coverage of RSD that's easy to find is mostly about Cook and about instructors. The documented events involving the company are:
- November 2014: Julien Blanc, an RSD instructor, had his Australian visa cancelled and was refused a UK visa after a global campaign over videos of him. Details are in Julien Blanc and the visa bans.
- November 2014: Global News reported on an RSD seminar video in which Cook described a sexual encounter. The report is about Cook. More in Owen Cook (Tyler Durden).
That's the extent of what a reader can confirm from reputable sources. Papa's current activities aren't well documented, so this article doesn't speculate about them.
What to take from Papa
The useful part of the business story is the structure. A bootcamp is a schedule: instruction, then action, then feedback. You can build that yourself in one afternoon.
- Book the whole block in advance. Pick a date, a venue, and a 3-hour window. Write it in your calendar like a class.
- Spend the first 20 minutes on one idea. Choose a single thing to practice, like your opener or how you hold eye contact. Don't try five.
- Do the fieldwork in pairs. Each of you aims for at least five approaches. Post a plan on Wingman in Flow if you need a partner nearby.
- Log each approach as Success, Rejected, or Pass. Flow counts only successes and rejections as approaches, so the total reflects real attempts.
- Finish with a 10-minute debrief. Write down one thing that worked and one thing to change. How to write a field report gives a simple template.
- Book the next block before you leave. A repeating weekly session is what a bootcamp really sells.
If someone says no or turns away, you stop and leave politely. That holds on every approach.