How to Lock A Place Down
You ever enter a place with such swagger and importance that you think, “This is what 6 year old me envisioned being treated like when I would be older”? I’m talking dapping up the bouncer as the line to get in wraps around the block, velvet ropes (stanchions), being ripped open for you to squeeze past the group of NYC 8s wondering who you are, skipping lines as you give Maria the bathroom lady a kiss on the cheek and ask her about her daughter as you go in to do your thing, walking into the kitchen at your steakhouse to greet the chef, getting comped for new meals and desserts you never ordered, getting your girl freely through the rock climbing gym despite her not having a membership, or a plethora of other highly smooth, low-profile, high-action activities that’d make any individual buzz with curiosity as to who you are and why they don’t know you. Can you imagine going through your entire life, your parents going through their entire life, slaving away doing what they’re told: stay in school, work hard, don’t skip class, pay your bills on time, climb the ladder, be a good boy, be a good citizen, and eventually things will fall in line, only for them to not even experience a single second of what I’ve just described? Can you imagine being the one, the first and potentially only one to be treated like royalty in your family or friend group? As if you’ve been living a completely different life, you have a whole different identity from what your close ones know? They look at you with bewilderment, gazing into your eyes thinking, “Is this the Raw I know? How is he so connected? Was he in the Mafia all this time?” You owe it to your family to live like this and bring them along. You owe it to your friends and women to show them what a smooth operator they’re lucky to be dealing with. You owe it to yourself to live life with cheat codes that cannot be applied in GTA nor with solely money. You need more than just that to be likable and revered in clubs, bars, cafes, gyms, steakhouses, and any other venue you frequent. We will discuss the process of locating the best spots for locking down, figuring if they’re worth the squeeze, and the three main things you need in locking them down, and how to go about it, step by step.
Before that, let’s watch this legendary scene in Goodfellas where Henry takes Karen into the backdoor of the club through one of the most iconic one-shot scenes highlighting pure class and the highest level of locking down a place you can possibly imagine. This is what everyone should aim for when locking a place down, and while this is a movie, there’s no reason you cannot aim for this at your favorite spots if you hammer away at the main principles well enough.
Best Spots to Lock Down
Any place you find yourself frequenting at least once a week, preferably 2-3+, is ideally a spot you should think about locking down. Generally these will be places you either live by or work near. Reason I bring this up is that you don’t want to waste your time and resources locking down a spot you’ll visit once a month because you need to be remembered. One of the best ways to be remembered as well as one of the three main components we’ll discuss in deeper context later on is consistency. The more they see your face, hear your voice, call out your name, the better they’ll recognize you and feel like you’re a friend or family.
Great spots I recommend locking down:
Bars you frequent. There’s two types generally, some may argue a few more. First is a dive bar where you’re going to drink, get away, and be left alone. Pull up in a wife beater and sweats after a heavy bag sesh with zero problems. You don’t go there to pull or to impress, just your own little sanctuary. The other type of bar is a high-end one, think hotel bar in the city or a rooftop spot or essentially where an espresso martini is a minimum of $20. The more expensive the better since it makes it more exclusive which leaves out bums and unnecessary noise and potential violence.
Clubs. Never was a huge fan of clubs and loud scenes, definitely not anymore. However, it’s a great spot to have locked down and I to this day still have one small but good rooftop club/bar spot locked down. Have met one of my great friends on Twitter there and we go there every time he comes to visit. Bouncers know me, bartender essentially gives unlimited free drinks, bathroom lady loves me and all my friends and girlfriends I bring there, bartenders on the rooftop know me, etc. It’s good to have these in case you or the people you want to show a good time are into that. Great for building and making connections and memories.
Gyms. Whether that’s lifting, rock climbing, MMA, kickboxing. It’s good to know you’re well-respected and well-known. It’s a status thing. Can also avoid having to deal with the occasional nonce who complains about you dropping the 225 lb barbell from shoulder height as you power cleaned it for reps. Just speak to manager or have the faggot speak to manager and see them skirt the issue away on your behalf.
Restaurants. The best place to have locked down, or at least one of the most vital. There’s also two types of restos. Similarly with the bar, it’s a low-end, chill, no need to dress up type of vibe, and a high-end spot where the lights are dim and you can take girls on dates to impress and later undress.
Steakhouses/Fish Markets. Get best sourced food. Have the butcher/owner’s contact so you can always ask what’s good before showing up. He can save you great cuts, give you some good pricing, etc. Your diet is extremely crucial, might as well get super close with your dealer and supplier; not talking about just food either.
Worth The Squeeze
Certain spots are not worth it. The way I judge it the staff and the customer profile. Similarly like you would in business. How’s your client and how is their ideal customer profile. Can you vibe with that? Are the staff rude? Are they purple-haired, bull-nose ringed up libs who you know will give you flack for being you? Are they cool? Do they smoke? Do they drink? Are they fit? Do you share common interests? Can you find something interesting about them you can “grease” them with apart from cash (more on this later)? How about the customers? Are they chill? Sexy? Fat? Loud? Poor and problematic? Rich and pretentiously gay? Certain times you may want a poorer crowd for higher test such as a boxing gym. Other times you may want a more rich crowd such as a cigar lounge. Are there hot chicks at the yoga spot? Or are they for post-pregnant chicks tryna lose extra weight? All of these should come into factor before you decide to truly devote time and resources into locking down. This is why you should case your neighborhood before you truly settle down in one or a few spots. Keep a notes tab on your phone, give ratings, be analytical, this can affect and impact you for life if you choose to be around for that long in that area. And if in the end you decide this is the perfect place with staff, clientele, and location near you that you frequent enough, then it’s time to start locking the place down like Fort Knox.
Three Main Things
You need three Cs to lock down any spot: