Here are some points for your consideration in adopting the "Grey Man" concept.

1. No "tactical" clothing. Seasonal appropiate clothing plse.
2. Leave ur ARs, AKs, and ur "plasma rifle in the 40 watt range" back in ur BIL. When u go out foraging, carry a hi-cap auto concealed.
3. Use a sports bag to carry finds back to the BIL.
4. Try to use food that doesn't need cooking. Smell carries a long way...
5. Adjust to a non-threatening demeanor. Don't stare at people. Walk don't run. Slouch a little and keep ur head down as much as possible.
6.If possible, relocate every few days. If not, keep activity at ur BIL to a minimum.
7. Do not make contact with anyone u don't know.
8. Have ear buds for ur transistor radio so u can keep up with whats goin on w/o giving away ur location.

plse add any points u might have thought of.

In a post disaster situation, where desperate people are looking for whatever they need (food, water, medical treatment, etc.), wouldn't a non-threatening, slouching guy, who avoids eye contact, while carrying a sports bag of "Stuff" with him...scream "PREY" to the predator minded criminal element?

I'd think a guy who looks like trouble, but has his mind something else besides you...so it would probably be best to leave him alone and seek weaker prey elsewhere, would be a better route.

Of course the down side that, is that when the authorities show up, you're number one on their radar. Unless you can quickly camouflage yourself when national guard and police vehicles start arriving, by putting on a Hello Kitty T shirt and a cap sporting a Greenpeace logo...and maybe change your facial expression from a grim faced, rough customer to a doe eyed, "In shock", refugee who asks for directions to the relief camp.

I guess my point is, a survival situation can be very fluid, with changing elements while you are outside on the ground. If you are passing from a gang/looting area into a secured zone, you should be able to blend in to either, as the need arises.

 

The plain truth of the matter is it all depends on the predator.
Maybe you'll come across someone whos having a bad day, and wants your jacket, or simply your soul.
Too many variables for this to ever be a viable strategy.

 

naw disagree....i said LOOK non-threatennig. Didn't say u had to BE a victim. Thats what the hi-cap auto is for. :

 

then you run out of ammo for your little gun because you look like an easy mark. I agree that you shouldn't dress like a soldier (target) but the concept here is "grey man" not "pink man" isn't it?

 

whats "pink" about an hi-cap auto? U gonna walk around with a rpg-7 on ur shoulder?...Oh and thanks for such a considerate criticism....really helps with the subject. Plse continue to shower with ur pearls of wisdom...

 

2 cents.

be invisible, even in plain sight. armed, but not appear to be. blend into each situation. do not bring attention to yourself. be safe.

 

no bumper stickers to draw unnecessary attention.

 

5. Adjust to a non-threatening demeanor. Don't stare at people. Walk don't run. Slouch a little and keep ur head down as much as possible.

I learned a long time ago a purposeful walk and situational awareness was very important to keep me safe in my travels. I would never slouch or keep my head down. But I wouldn't stare at people. Living in an urban area for years I knew many people who were mugged or attacked. I don't think it was entirely luck that I wasn't.

 

If there is still some order, I'll wear high vis. Its amazing how may people ignore construction workers. Spoken from experience.

 

Believe it or not there is validity in this statement. For years I did work that required me to access; highly secure, typically inaccessible areas. I always wore a construction vest.

In five years of doing that I only had a few people ask me what I was doing, most ignored me and left me to my business assuming I was working on something or was supposed to be there

 

Power perceived is power achieved.

Roll out in two's or three's (the more the better) loaded for bear. Show everyone you mean business if they want to do business. Inner city thugs use this tactic, everybody's scared of the cowards now.

Imagine how brazen they will be when 5-0 does not exist. You won't be safe in your home.

 

Power perceived is power achieved.

Roll out in two's or three's (the more the better)...

Agreed.

I taught Hapkido/TKD along with an urban self defense course at UofM for a number of years and 'head down' 'gray man' is a seriously flawed posture to take aside from a large crowd.

Head up!

Let everyone know you are aware of your surroundings

In an crowd, fine, don't stand out.

But post-SHTF moving alone - absolutely present a posture of awareness and determination.

Gray man misconceptions are like zebra stripes - they only work within the herd. Once sepparate from the group, gray man behavior needs to end.

 

OK,then, fair enough:. I would have to point out the obvious and say your behavior would depend on the situation. If there were a relatively short, non-critical interuption in services ( like a hurrican rather than nuclear war), we all presumably have enough to get us by without having to leave home at all. And if you do leave, you could likely exersize much the same degree of caution as you do normally.
In a longer term situation,as things get more serious and therefore dangerous, you have to weigh the risk of leaving at all. Again, many of us here are able to hold out OK for longer than a 2-week power outage, but when it starts stretching into months,most people will need supplies, necessitating leaving the safety of your home or BOL.
Again, you'll have to weigh the risk/reward ratio, and some sort of intel gathering capability would be crucial ( so everyone should have a couple battery operated radios, especially with short-wave capability.)
If you're hearing valid reports of looting and other violence in your AO, then unless you have a trained,well armed fire team, you should probably just hunker down and ration what little food you have, and hope to wait it out. Getting killed on a food run with a high risk/low probably of success doesn't help anyone,especially the family you left behind.
So basically, in the relatively short term event you're describing, I would think it unwise to venture out much at all, (unless it's touching base or running a neighborhood watch with your neighbors), and in a longer term event,even more so, unless truly critical. But remember, if it's critical for YOU....then it's probably critical for countless others, making it very dangerous,even wearing a nondescript blue windbreaker with a Glock in your belt.
This is another good reason to prep as thoroughly as possible, so you don't even HAVE to leave the safety of home during stressful times. :thumb:

 

Thanx MD....a person would be better off if u were their neighbor!

 

I live in a city. I would wear army gear but only so that I could pretend I was a homeless Vietnam Vet type guy with no money and crazy as a loon. That probably won't work for anyone who is much younger than I am. But being a stinky homeless guy is a great way to blend in. First thing you say to people is
"got any change"? You walk like your drunk and if some one is stupid enough to attack you you have the advantage because of concealed weapons and a lot more speed than a drunk should have.

 

I live in a city. I would wear army gear but only so that I could pretend I was a homeless Vietnam Vet type guy with no money and crazy as a loon. That probably won't work for anyone who is much younger than I am. But being a stinky homeless guy is a great way to blend in. First thing you say to people is "got any change"? You walk like your drunk and if some one is stupid enough to attack you you have the advantage because of concealed weapons and a lot more speed than a drunk should have.

Grey-man of this variety, or walking down the street with an armful of flyers will get you ignored a lot, and generally not interfered with. It's a very good way to get to a place where you can observe some urban phenomenon that you are interested in....

I think it could be a possibility in say a refugee or meeting strangers type situation but I'd definitely like someone with a rifle as backup in a location that is discreet but maintains a long and wide degree of visibility to cover me. Doing a recon of an area i think would be a wise move before trying this also. I wouldnt look too clean or well taken care of if I was gonna do this either and try to blend into a crowd not just a random guy walkin around town.

Used to be referred to as 'trollin' for boogers' in San Antonio back in the day....

 

I think it could be a possibility in say a refugee or meeting strangers type situation but I'd definitely like someone with a rifle as backup in a location that is discreet but maintains a long and wide degree of visibility to cover me. Doing a recon of an area i think would be a wise move before trying this also. I wouldnt look too clean or well taken care of if I was gonna do this either and try to blend into a crowd not just a random guy walkin around town.

 

like the concept, in a march or die situation it is worth a try.

 

Part of the Gray Man concept to it's fullest extension is wanting other people to fail at it so they'd be noticed and they'll provide convenient distraction.

Disinformation and misinformation are good techniques.

 

It is surprising how being old makes you a person of non interest. I would try to look like me if I wanted to go unnoticed.

I agree leave the long guns at home, carry a good handgun and know how to use it well. Even dry fireing is practice if that is all you can do. Being dressed poorly should make it easy to conceal even a full size gun. I wouldn't carry a tiny handgun if I was expecting trouble. No one shoots them very well.

 

Carry something like a G-19, with 33round "happy sticks" with both light and laser set up. There's also a neat little setup for adding a small shoulder stock (not kosher pre-paw) that you can carry easily along your side under your armpit.....VERY FAST!

A bulky overcoat will protect you from both the weather and knife slashes, it will cameoflague your out line and anything you might not want to be easily recognised by others. You also need a stout walking stick, one that you can turn into a spear really fast with say....a Bushman knife. A good stick can be very handy.

It wouldn't hurt to carry a cardboard sign like many road side beggers have these days, with something about working for food or something written on it. Also carry your sleeping bag inside a rolled up dirty blanket, all rolled up into a tube and slung over one shoulder.

Now you look like a bum.

 

I sure wouldn't throw away a nice stout stick if I had one in hand. Didn't you see the staff fights in the old old Robin Hood TV series.

 

In my opinion, trying to look like a bum or trying to project an image of power both draw attention, the whole anti-point of gray man as I understand it. Jeans, sneakers and a t-shirt are much more gray, assuming all the articles are bland and not too new or too grungy. A bland ball cap covers your hair and, for me, makes it much harder to identify and remember people. Towns are filled with types dressed this way and there's nothing memorable about them, which is what I think we're aiming for.

 

EXACTLY!
Striking a happy medium by just looking normal --- like the other 99.99% of the populace, would be the way to go.
Think about all of the people you ignore on a daily basis, to the the point that they don't even register on your subconscious --- then go back, analize their make-up & emulate it.

 

Being grey and not standing out is often paramount to safety. At the same time, if everyone is dressed to fail, t-shirts in a blizzard for example, you may not want to fitvin that well.

Common sense will or should dictate your choice.
When everyone else is wearing wool and heavy duck clothing, spandex running shorts may not be a wise choice.

 

There is a science to being a grey man. observation and emulation with the least notice is the goal.

This includes shopping habits as well....

hard to hide that prepper lifestyle if you are buying 6000 rounds of ammo and 100 lbs of rice from wally world every month....

 

Good post, Goblin. I too, am interested in how to remain the grey man.
When living overseas for considerable time, I was obsessed with speaking and behaving like those around me. Many don't realize that mannerisms, gesticulations, even walking is different between races and cultures.

A good idea is to remain removed from an area for a long while until one's studied how the local populace is speaking, and their body movements. Are they malnourished and ambling slowly, are the dour and keeping their heads down, etc.

Several of the SAS manuals have some good advice for blending in as well, such as appropriating the clothing of labourers (if they're still around).

 

The scenario is a SHTF situation or natural disaster. So in an urban environment who is going to not attract attention or be rolled by local teenage
thugs looking to take advantage of the situation?

A stinky bum. Preferably one who looks like he is prior military and is a little
crazy. Why? Because you don't know what will happen when you screw with him.

So when the SHTF if you want to look like a middle class victim, dress the part and thats what you can become......Personally I don't want to fit in and look average, I want to look like the guy people avoid because I have no money,
and just need a little work for food.

 

A stinky bum. Preferably one who looks like he is prior military and is a little crazy.

Bums get rolled all the time and the homeless are victimized frequently by thugs just for kicks. I think some posters are talking about presenting yourself in such a way that others don't even notice you while some are talking about presenting yourself in a manner which would dissuade harassment. Two different things and appropriate for different situations, I suppose.

 

I never saw how the grey man concept works works in a serious bug out scenario. If it gets to the point where I'm on foot in a bug out situation I'll probably be walking with a fairly large pack cause this disaster is going to last longer then 3 days. And no matter what color or style that pack is what's going to distinguish me from the sheep is that I have one as opposed to the 99% of people who don't and will be dragging suitcases or bookbags.

 

not intended for long term bug-out. guy ....

 

Like I was saying in the Rambo thread, this is the grayest of the grey here. This dude wants to be "passable" now:

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/v.../data/2.0/video/bestoftv/2013/06/15/ac-day-in-the-life-of-kristin-beck.cnn.html

 

ok I want my 10 seconds back.... seriously

 

I didn't read everyone's post but I believe in chaos no one can just "blend in" with a crowd. Everyone would be considered a target if things really got bad. If I'm a bad guy I'm shooting everyone no questions asked. Grey man mentality works when black and white (and I don't mean race) are blended thus concealing grey man. But in chaos black and white (again I don't mean race) are separated. Therefore grey man only sticks out like a sore thumb. My opinion, but does anyone agree?

 

The grey man concept is not so much about blending in, because as you say, that's pretty hard to do. It's about not standing out.

If you're looking at a crowd of tired, hungry, scared and unprepared people and you spot a guy who is clean shaven with clean hair, wearing designer clothes and expensive shoes, carrying a bright colored brand new high dollar backpack stuffed to the gills with "something," isn't he going to draw your attention more than the rest of the mob? That's the look to avoid. Meanwhile the rest of the mob shuffles along while attention is focused on this guy.

On the other end of the spectrum is the bum. That's about as close to true camoflage as you're likely to find in a crowd. The homeless guy that looks like a walking pile of dirty laundry and you can tell what he smells like even at a distance just by looking at him. You know he doesn't have anything worth your time. Who is going to want to dig through a pack full of dirty socks and unwashed underwear just to find out?

While I practice grey man now, I'd like to be able to emulate the bum look. But it's harder that it seems. I'm considering spending some time photographing them to see if I can identify the cues that makes the look believable.

 

The gray man concept is okay for some people. Other people will use the camouflaged man concept. With the camouflaged man you use stealth to move, watch and listen to what is going on all around you. You make it a point to not be seen at all, heard at all and carry whatever you need in case you need it to help yourself or somebody else out of trouble. You do the unexpected and move slowly and silently all the time. You are in no hurry. I understand that there is a difference between the two types of men concepts and that both of them have their uses. But I tend to find that the camouflaged man concept or hidden man concept is one that more people will identify with and often will confuse with the gray man concept. So, don't get the two confused. Be flexible enough to consider using both ideas based upon what you see in front of you.

Pittmania, the idea of the gray man was to think along the lines of "the old ninja idea of blending in." Years ago, when ninjas would go on a scouting mission they would often assume the role of a priest, a worker, a laborer, a salesman and so on. They did not come off as being a fighter, spy or warrior. Modern times have transferred that concept over to adopting the identity of being a telephone repairman, a cable t.v. repairman, a water line inspector, a utility worker, a paramedic and so on. The odds are that an ambulance with a wounded person, no matter their color, will be able to pass through just about any color zone or race barrier area because even rioters understand that they might soon need that ambulance too. So, maybe or maybe not some things will work when it comes to blending in and keeping you from getting hurt. Who knows?