Beta Male Camp

A camp in the works

Reject alpha.
Embrace beta.

Alpha camps charge up to $18,000 to scream at you in the mud. Looksmaxxers rate everyone out of 10. We want to do the opposite: a camp built on kindness, positivity and hyping each other up. We’re still building it, and we want your help.

Help us build it (if that’s okay) How beta are you?

Alpha camp vs. beta camp

They pay $18,000 to get yelled at. You could just not.

 
Alpha camp
Beta camp
Wake-up
3:32 AM. Peel off the mouth tape.
Whenever, honestly. There’s coffee.
Water
Ice plunge, 34°F
Lukewarm soak, 72°F
Motivation
A man screams that you don’t belong here
Someone asks how you’re doing, and means it
Your face
Hit it with a hammer (it’s called bonesmashing)
Moisturizer. SPF if we’re feeling bold.
Other people
Mog them. Rate them out of 10.
Hype them up. Compliment the fit.
Crying
In a pool, in your underwear
At a dog movie, fully clothed
Women
“Never chase. Be the prize.”
Say hi. Ask a follow-up question.
Price
$18,000
To be decided, fairly. You help decide.

The alpha column is based on real camps and looksmaxxing trends covered by NPR, People and Harper’s. We didn’t have to make any of it up.

The whole idea

Keep the kindness. Lose the fear.

The internet is full of guys telling other guys to be harsher, colder and more judgmental. We think that’s backwards. Being kind isn’t the problem. Being scared is. So we keep the kindness, lose the fear, and judge people by how they treat others, not by their jawline.

We keep

  • ✓Hyping up your friends
  • ✓Holding the door, even from forty feet
  • ✓Asking how someone’s day actually went
  • ✓Apologizing to furniture
  • ✓Crying at dog movies
  • ✓Being nice to everyone, including the guy who tried to mog you

We lose

  • ✕Rating people (and yourself) out of 10
  • ✕Eating the wrong order and saying it was great
  • ✕“Whatever you guys want” when you have an opinion
  • ✕Freezing when she says hi first
  • ✕Typing “haha” and dying inside
  • ✕Saying sorry eleven times in one email

The science

Nice guys don’t finish last. We have receipts.

Alpha influencers say kindness is weakness. Decades of research disagree. The traits they make fun of are the ones that make people like you.

One honest caveat Kindness works when it comes from confidence, not fear. Pushovers don’t do great either. The sweet spot is in the middle, and getting there is the point of camp.
BETA MALE CAMP Science Dept. · Register 01 Cashier: a guy who complimented your shoes
  • Kind men were rated more attractive. Dominance alone added nothing.+1 βJensen-Campbell, Graziano & West, 1995
  • Calling a man “dominant” made women like him less. Their top picks: sensitive and confident.+1 βBurger & Cosby, 1999
  • Status earned through respect gets you liked. Status taken through intimidation doesn’t.+1 βCheng, Tracy et al., 2013
  • Only 3% of British women view the internet’s most famous “alpha” favorably.+1 βYouGov, 2023
  • Humble dating profiles were rated more attractive than arrogant ones.+1 βVan Tongeren, Davis & Hook, 2014
  • Asking follow-up questions makes people like you more. Even on speed dates.+1 βHuang et al., 2017
  • After a conversation, people like you more than you think they do.+1 βBoothby et al., 2018
  • The “alpha wolf” was just the dad. The scientist who made the term famous spent decades correcting it.+1 βL. David Mech, 1999
TOTALBETA 8 · ALPHA 0
15% of U.S. men have no close friends (up from 3% in 1990). Camp is also for that.THANK YOU. SORRY. THANK YOU.

The plan (so far)

Here’s what we’re thinking.

These are ideas, not a schedule. Every activity has a meme name and a real skill behind it. Tell us which ones you’d actually want, and pitch your own, in the form below.

72°

The Lukewarm Plunge

Kick-off icebreaker in a hot tub set to room temperature. Real skill: meeting new people with zero pressure.

hype

Hypemaxxing

The opposite of mogging. Real skill: giving compliments that land, and taking them.

hi

Talking to Anyone 101

We start with a cardboard cutout. She’s very patient. Real skill: saying hi without freezing.

yeah no

Disagreement Drills

From “no yeah” to “yeah no.” Real skill: disagreeing without a fight.

↩︎

Sending Food Back

Supervised, at a real restaurant. Real skill: asking for what you want, kindly.

♡

Operation Hype

A kindness field trip: compliments, thank-you notes, volunteering in town. Real skill: spreading it.

8pm

Campfire

Real talk with other guys. Real skill: making friends who actually know what’s going on with you.

?

Your idea here

What would you want to do? Tell us in the form.

The Beta Manifesto

Reject alpha. Embrace beta.

  1. We don’t mog. We hype.Making everyone around you look worse isn’t a personality. Making them look better is.
  2. We judge people by how they treat others.Not by their jawline. Everyone’s a 10. Fine, a solid 9.
  3. We do not cold plunge.We lukewarm soak, like civilized men.
  4. We moisturize.We do not hit our faces with a hammer.
  5. We ask the follow-up question.Science says that’s rizz.
  6. We hold the door. Even from forty feet.The awkward half-jog is a small price for kindness.
  7. We never pay $18,000 to get yelled at.We’d rather spend it on snacks for the group.
  8. We are kind on purpose.Not because we’re scared. That’s the difference.

Be beta. Be better.

The Beta Pledge

Join the movement. Quietly.

You don’t have to come to camp to be part of this. Sign the pledge and spread a little kindness (if that’s okay).

– betas have signed

I reject the 3:32 AM alarm, the mouth tape and rating people out of 10. I embrace hyping people up, holding the door and asking the follow-up question. I’ll judge people by how they treat others, not how they look. I will be kind on purpose, not because I’m scared. No worries if not.

Your first name shows on this page for everyone who visits.

The quiz

How beta are you?

Ten questions. No wrong answers. (There are some wrong answers.)

Interest form

Help us build it.

Tell us what you’d want out of a camp like this. Your answers decide what we build, how long it runs and what it costs.

Price

TBD

We want it accessible and fair. A basic version should stay affordable. Extras like a private chef or nicer rooms would cost more. Your answers set the options.

  • Location: wherever most of you are
  • Small groups, around 20 people
  • Length and format: you tell us

01About you

02What you want out of it

What would you want from camp? Pick any
What would you like to work on? Pick any
Which activities sound good? Pick any

03Format and budget

What format would you come to? Pick any
What would you spend on that?
Which extras would be worth paying more for? Pick any

04Last thing

Only the camp team sees what you send here.

Questions

You were too polite to ask.

Is this a joke?

The memes are jokes. The kindness is real, and so are the skills: conversation, saying no, disagreeing kindly, making friends.

Why are you doing this?

Because guys keep getting told to be colder, harsher and more judgmental, and to rate everyone by their looks. We think that makes people miserable. We want to spread the opposite.

Where will it be?

Wherever most of you are. Tell us where you’re based in the interest form, and we’ll set up camp where the most interest is.

How much will it cost?

We don’t know yet, and that’s on purpose. We want it accessible and fair: a basic version that stays affordable, with extras like a private chef costing more. The interest form decides.

Will I become an alpha?

No. Sorry. You’ll become a better beta, which the research says people like more anyway.

Is there an ice bath?

No. There is a lukewarm bath. Participation is optional, like everything here.

Is this a pickup-artist thing?

No. We don’t teach lines or tricks. We practice talking to people like a normal, friendly human.

Is this therapy?

No. It’s practice and community in a low-stakes setting. If anxiety is seriously getting in the way of your life, a therapist is the right first step, and we’ll happily say so.

Will anyone yell at me?

Nobody yells. The loudest thing at camp is someone hyping up your outfit.