Thread by @NeelBParekh

I got kidnapped in Salt Lake City earlier this year.

Waterboarded, hooded, handcuffed, beaten. The works.

And I did it on purpose.

Here's the story👇

I got a text from an entrepreneur friend that said 'Do you want to get kidnapped?'

He had found an Urban Escape military course to train special forces how to escape hostile situations. And he convinced the instructor to offer the training to civilians.

I said Hell Yes.

The training focus on getting special forces ready for hostile environments and how to escape/blend in. It helps in situations like:

✔️ Military coups
✔️ Government overthrown & city is in chaos
✔️Escaping false custody and evading

AKA nothing I'd ever be involved in.

The training was meant for actual military personel going into conflict zones...

Then there was me - skinny Indian dude with a cleaning company 👳

▶️ THE TRAINING

We met at a hotel in SLC for 2 days of "classroom" training.

It was looong days of learning how to do things like:

✔️Break out of handcuffs
✔️Pick locks
✔️Evade kidnappers when you escape
✔️Navigate a foreign city where you don't know the terrain or map

▶️ THE INTERROGATION EXPERIENCE -

On the 3rd morning, we got "kidnapped", hooded, handcuffed and brought to a hotel room for the interrogation.

The kidnappers came into the room and proceeded to hit us with stun guns, beat us with sticks, and waterboard us.

They did this to increase our heart rate.

Increased heart rate + fight/flight mode = inability to think critically.

The intent of this punishment was to simulate a state of panic, and then we had to use our training to focus on calming down our minds so we could escape.

I was in the classroom with a small group of other entrepreneurs from our same group.

We got the vanilla version of real military training bc we were just cilivians, so wayyyy more tame.

But...waterboarding and getting hit sucks no matter how tame it is.

💧WATERBOARDING -

We were allowed to tap out whenever.

I lasted 12 seconds.

I thought I could just hold my breathe and be ok...NOPE. Your mind goes straight to instinctual panic mode and you can't think.

If I ever get threatened with real waterboarding, I'm out ASAP.

▶️THE ESCAPE -

After the torture, the kidnappers left the room.

This is where the training kicked in. I had to get my emotions under control and escape

First thing - getting off the handcuffs. You just need a bobby pin or hair clip. Its surprisingly easy with a bit of training

▶️ INTO THE UNKNOWN CITY -

Once the cuffs were off, I took off the blindfold and left the hotel from the back entrance.

We were only told the first meeting point in SLC to get further instructions.

No phone, no wallet, no money. Just figuring it out on my own from here.

▶️ THE MISSION / BOUNTY HUNTERS -

The goal was to survive the whole day and complete the special missions around SLC (below), WITHOUT getting recaptured.

They planted bounty hunters to patrol the city and recapture us. So I had to use back alleys the entire way.

The first checkpoint was a grocery store on the other side of town. All I was told was the name.

I had to figure out where I was and how to get there.

I quickly realized that asking strangers to use their phone map when I looked homeless wasn't working. Asking WORKERS worked.

▶️ SPECIAL MISSIONS -

I met up the contact at the grocery store 1+ hour later.

We were given a list of tasks to complete by the end of day to "escape the city", without getting captured by the bounty hunters.

These special missions would test the skills we learned in training.

Some of the missions were:

1️⃣ Create a fake ID card
2️⃣ Get $2 off a stranger to buy bus fare
3️⃣ Use a stranger's phone to call a specific number to get further instructions
4️⃣ Pick a Master lock
5️⃣ Find a food source and potable water that would last you days

The goal was to push our comfort zones mainly around SOCIAL ENGINEERING.

In an urban environment, you need to talk the talk and be resourceful.

Creating fake authority, making up stories on the fly, etc is CRITICAL

In short - act like you belong and find strangers help.

▶️THE DISGUISE -

The night before, we were allowed to stash a grab bag in the city with some food and a disguise.

SLC is full of white people, so I would stand out IMMEDIATELY.

So....I went with a disguise as a construction worker 👷 Complete with the Monster Energy.

✔️ Key lesson -

Service workers are the BEST disguise. You're hidden in plain sight. No one thinks twice about service workers.

Constructions workers, UPS driver, mailmen....these people go about their day and work and no one suspects anything.

▶️THE CAPTURE -

We got spotted by the bounty hunters in an outdoor mall.

We knew they spotted us, so we RAN. Through the back entrances of the mall, through a restaurant, sprinting through the parking lot, throwing away disguises.

Adult version of tag. By far the most fun part

▶️ MISSION COMPLETE -

We got the missions completed by the end of the day. Some of them were HARD...most surprising was how hard it was to bum $2 off someone.

I walked 13 miles at least and was completely exhausted, but beyond stoked to have made it to the end.

▶️ LESSONS LEARNED -

There were a ton of lessons learned...how to break out of false custody, how to pick handcuffs and locks, how to blend in with the crowd.

My biggest takeaways were around human nature and how to properly social engineer situation.

Some takeaways below 👇

✔️Be a background character -

A Gray Man is a person who can blend in with the crowd and be easily overlooked. A service worker or a boring looking dude.

Being a Gray Man is the BEST way to navigate a conflict zone.

Example pic below of a Gray Man/Normal Dude:

✔️ Carry a clipboard, get access anywhere -

My partner was a "construction manager" and I was the worker.

We were able to get into ALL of the secured access area of the mall, where extra food/water was stored.

We just said "Need to do a building evaluation". No questions asked

✔️ Hospitality workers will help you more than randos -

Civilians on the street are wayy more suspicious of strangers.

But speaking with SERVICE WORKERS, who are paid to be nice to customers, is much easier since they will hear you out.

Any hotel concierge is a cheat code.

✔️ Bless the Mormons -

SLC is known for its Mormon population. WHO ARE THE NICEST PEOPLE EVER.

Its insanely hard to ask strangers for something on the street, most people are suspicious.

The Mormon population always lent a helping hand when asked.

▶️ WHY I DID IT -

Do hard shit, live a good life.

One of my goals in life is to collect unique experiences, and this was definitely one of them. Simple as that.

Or maybe I just watched too many Jason Bourne movies 🤷‍♂️

Feel free to follow me for more stories @NeelBParekh

I mainly post about SMB, life as a digital nomad, building my company MaidThis Franchise....

....and occasionally crazy experiences (doing a desert island survival in a couple months)

✌️