The Gray Man concept or strategy is an approach to coping in a potentially hostile environment, by not attracting attention to yourself.

Here are the particulars.

1 – The gray man concept is psychology-driven

What you wear can certainly have an effect on how gray you are but you have to go a bit deeper than that. Regardless of what you’re trying to do and how you’re able to do it, it all comes down to psychology – in particular, the psychology of your adversary.

It’s not always good to just walk around with a gray hoodie like this (although they do have their place and I have one I’ve used on surveillance) or to not carry something or act in a way that draws attention to yourself. It’s the attention that we’re trying to avoid.

The Reticular Activating System (RAS)

The RAS is a part of your nervous system at the base of your brain at the top of your spinal column and filters all your sensory input (except smell) so your mind isn’t overloaded with everything.

What we want to do is use our knowledge of how the RAS works in order to make us essentially invisible if possible, and not considered a threat or a target if not.

2 – There’s a science behind how people see you

When someone glances your way, they make a subconscious scan of what you look like and quickly file it away. They notice the broad strokes of how you look and not necessarily the details. It’s these broad strokes that you want to either manipulate or diminish.

How can we use this knowledge to keep someone from paying too much attention?

Well, if someone is in a crowd of people who are all wearing casual clothes and you wear something drastically different such as a business suit, when people do a quick scan of everyone as they walk through, your identity will be distinguished from the rest. Instead of a sea of subtle changes that blend in with everyone else, their RAS will pay particular attention to you and may even bring it to the point of conscious thought where it could lead to them actively watching you.

If you’re going to try to blend into an area, you need to not just think about not wearing colors that may stand out, look at the general look of what everyone’s wearing and try to come up with the average look. If you’re at a beach and everyone’s wearing bright tropical colors, wearing something bland may actually get you noticed. In the same regard, if the majority of people are wearing blues and greens and you have the same style but it’s red, you may also stand out and garner some unwanted attention.

3 – Your actions are part of your persona

3a – Follow the crowd

If you’re wearing the right clothes in the right area with the right crowd but are the only one standing when everyone else is seated at a table, you’re gonna get noticed. If you’re at a library where everyone’s studying and you’re eating a sandwich, you’re gonna get noticed. Just like your clothing, try to take a quick inventory of what the typical person is doing and do that.

3b – Act like you’re supposed to be there

This is pretty much the opposite of the last paragraph but is something to consider.

If you’re trying to maneuver through an area, sometimes people pay less attention to you if it looks like you’re focused on being somewhere or getting something done. I’ve also found that if you have something to support that look, such as walking around with a clipboard or a notebook, their brains assume you’re supposed to be there. This is pretty much what the guys above did with their orange vests and isn’t typically what you might do but there are certainly situations that it works.

4 – How you do something is as important as what you’re doing

Once you’ve decided on something to wear that will allow you to be in an area and not have someone take notice, you have to work on your demeanor. This part here is HUGELY important and usually how I used to pick out surveillance operators when I was on a counter-surveillance mission.

Your demeanor is basically not just what you’re doing but how you’re doing it. If you’re walking around with your head on a swivel looking for a threat, you look suspicious. It may work as part of a defensive posture so you don’t look like a victim but it could also draw some attention.

It’s the same thing as when you travel. If you walk around looking like a tourist, you may draw attention by criminals. They can tell by not just where you go and what you do but how long you stare at something or how you’re continually scanning the area because you don’t know exactly where you’re at.

Basically it comes down to acting natural. People have expectations about how someone stands/sits/walks/performs certain actions/etc and if you do those things differently than their expectations, their RAS will kick in and now you’re on their RADAR.

In a survival situation, it is more than likely that the person or persons who draw attention to themselves will come out worse for wear.

The folks who stay completely hidden will likely, eventually, be revealed.

It is the folks who “hide in plain sight” and us the Gray Man concept that most likely will succeed and maybe even thrive.

To read more on the Gray Man Concept, check out Graywolf Survival.