Subpar reporting helped turn Brian Robinson into both a “subway molester” and a “railway Romeo” in the same day.
Robinson, a 48-year-old Brooklyn resident, has graced the pages of multiple publications this week, including the New York Post, Gawker and Salon to share his experience meeting women on New York City’s subway system.
The Post’s article paints the picture of a modern-day Casanova — slick-talking, charming and “smooth as advertised.” Gawker and Salon paint the picture of a “pale and sweaty” creep, barely keeping his pants on as he latches on to unsuspecting maidens of the metro. And aside from minor issues, like Gawker getting his age wrong, each story leads the reader to believe Robinson is actively picking up women on the subway, something he hasn’t done in years.
The end result has been a portrait resembling something between Gawker’s “asshole” and the Post’s “subterranean seducer,” with reporters either praising his techniques or coming just shy of calling him a rapist. Many of these reporters, it seems, failed to contact Robinson before branding him “gross,” “a creep,” and no better than the “slimy dudes trying to fuck.”
The Daily Caller reached out to Robinson on Wednesday to discuss his subway escapades and whether or not he is, in fact, “trying to fuck.”
He is not, or at least not outside the confines of matrimony.
“The New York Post article kinda conveniently left out the fact that I’ve been married for a year and a half,” Robinson said. “I think that’s where the confusion came, where some of the other media was thinking, ‘Oh my God, this slimeball is trying to hit on women on the subway,’ and that’s not the case.”
“What’s incredible is, they’re [Gawker and Salon] basing this… No one interviewed me, they’re basing it just on the New York Post article,” Robinson said. “So the Post says ‘Lets take him out and see if he’s smooth as advertised. He’s a dog, lets see if he can hunt.'”
“I think that they got it completely all wrong. It’s amazing how they haven’t done any of their homework,” he said. “It’s not about sleeping with [girls].”
Robinson explained how his ability to communicate became an asset when he moved to New York. “I wasn’t really aware of it, but I’m originally from Oklahoma, and when I came to New York you hear all these stories about how rough and tough the city is, and honestly, on the subway platform, or on the subway train, if I’m sitting there talking to somebody, I found that having no creepy intentions, women were very nice.”
“I think part of that is being from Oklahoma, having a lot of sales positions before and talking to people on a regular basis. It is a special gift when you are able to communicate in a genuine manner with people. I’m 48, and I really didn’t recognize that until recently, a friend of mine said, ‘That’s a real gift that you’re able to connect with so many different people.'”
How did Robinson decide the metro was the prime location for meeting women? Trial and error.
“When I was single, I would try to meet women anywhere, but for whatever reason the subway really worked!” Robinson explained. “If you’ve read some of the press, my standard line was, ‘You sound like you’re from somewhere else, where are you from?’ Because I’ve traveled so much, I could always speak a little about where they’re from.”
“Sometimes I would find myself not even recognizing I was doing it. For one, I legitimately like talking to people, and two, if she was attractive, and it’s New York City and there’s loads of beautiful women and I’m a young single guy, without even thinking I would walk away and say ‘Wow I can’t believe I just got her email.'”
But walking away wasn’t always so smooth. Robinson admitted to exiting at random stops more than once. “What would happen was, you start fumbling, running out of things to talk about, and you’re like ‘I’ve got to leave while she has a good impression,’ so I would definitely jump up and say ‘It was so good meeting you,’ because once you get the number or the e-mail, you need to get out of there. Even if I was 30 minutes away, I would get off and wait for the next train.”
And the women went out with Robinson after meeting him on the metro, sometimes more than once — presumably due to their own free will. “Without question, I would say that maybe 30 to 40 percent turned into second dates, and then there were probably four or five that turned into three to six month relationships.”
Robinson has a few general rules for men aspiring to snag women on the metro.
“The headphones, ya, leave it alone, it’s too awkward, leave them alone,” Robinson said. “If they’re reading, that doesn’t mean anything. You can’t judge somebody based on their facial expressions. That’s like saying ‘Oh she doesn’t look friendly.’ You don’t know what friendly is until you actually start a conversation. You can’t judge a book by its cover.”
“It’s all transferable skills: gay, straight, women, men. You can use it anywhere. Ask someone a question, get their attention and then ask something else. Show some interest in the person and be genuine. You can do this anywhere.”
He also made sure to clarify any misunderstanding about his book. “It’s all fun. There’s some serious stuff in there, but it’s really the perfect gift for any single man who’s clueless about meeting women.”
Robinson’s book, “How To Meet Women On The Subway,” is available on Amazon.
