Date Like A Nerd

Unlock Your Player 2!

Alex

She Only Fell for Him Once He Stopped Hiding His Nerd Side

by

the Nerd Love Story of Emmy and Brian

😤 “Just Be Yourself” is the most claiché dating advice. But this episode shows you why not showing your nerd self may be keeping you from marrying your Player 2. Because you often don’t know what you might be missing until you let your guard down. 🛡️

🙅‍♀️ In this episode, Emmy and Brian share how they could not stand each other for 3 years, even though they shared the same social circles. She thought he was fake. He thought she was too much. Neither of them had any idea they would end up married.

✨ Then one weekend, Brian stopped performing. He wore his nerdy shirts, made his geeky jokes, and let himself be silly without worrying about what anyone thought. That was the first time Emmy actually saw him. And that was all it took.

🎮 If you’ve been toning yourself down around people you want to impress, hiding your nerd side because you’re afraid of how it will land, this episode is for you. The version of you that you keep tucked away might be exactly the version your Player 2 has been waiting to meet.

🎧 Listen to Emmy and Brian’s story and find out what happens when you finally let yourself be seen.

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❤️ FREE GUIDE: 🎮
Where do nerds REALLY meet their Player 2?

I asked hundreds of nerds and created a guide based on their responses.
Are you going to keep grinding without finding out the truth?

FREE DOWNLOAD

Related Episodes:

Timestamps for lazy nerds:

  • 00:00:00 Intro
  • 00:00:59 What Makes Emmy a Nerd
  • 00:04:20 A Bad First Impression
  • 00:07:58 The Big Change
  • 00:12:00 Becoming a Confident Nerd
  • 00:15:34 Starting A Conversation
  • 00:17:44 Long-Distance Friendship
  • 00:20:08 Admitting They Didn’t Like Each Other
  • 00:24:00 Dealing with Social Anxiety and Introversion
  • 00:27:35 What Flirting Can Look Like
  • 00:36:52 Dating Your Friend’s Ex

Learn to Flirt Using Dungeons and Dragons

by

with DND Charli

🎲 Practicing flirting can feel creepy… unless you know where to do it safely. Bars, clubs, dating apps, or a real conversation with someone you actually like are where things can go very wrong. But nerds have an alternative that is both safe and fun. Where mistakes aren’t punished, but celebrated! 🥳

🧠 Charli (aka DND Charli) is a science communicator, neurodivergent DM, and creator of the Your Brain on DND series on TikTok and Instagram. In this episode, she breaks down the neuroscience behind why TTRPGs can work as a social skills training ground, including flirting. From mirror neurons to the Proteus Effect, she covers why your brain can’t fully tell the difference between what happens in-game and what happens in real life.

🗡️ When you play a confident character, your brain starts to build evidence that you can be confident. When you give a compliment in character, and it lands, your brain logs that as a win. This is the Proteus Effect in action: play a trait long enough, and it starts to become yours. Over time, those in-game reps transfer, not all at once, and not because you decided to, but subtly and automatically.

💬 We also get into flirting with your friends at the D&D table, how to do it without making things awkward, and why the in-character-to-real-life progression might be the low-pressure flirting practice you’ve been looking for. It’s a safe space where you feel supported by people you’ve had countless adventures with. Romance can make for even more incredible stories for the bards to tell.

🎧 If you’ve been wanting to learn how to flirt without feeling like a creep, roll for initiative and Press Start!

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❤️ FREE GUIDE: 🎮
Where do nerds REALLY meet their Player 2?

I asked hundreds of nerds and created a guide based on their responses.
Are you going to keep grinding without finding out the truth?

FREE DOWNLOAD

Charli’s Links:

Related Episodes:

Timestamps for lazy nerds:

  • 00:00:00 Intro
  • 00:01:43 How TTRPGs Help with Social Skills
  • 00:06:52 Become More Confident
  • 00:13:41 Flirting with Your DnD Party
  • 00:20:34 Just Be Yourself
  • 00:30:05 Bonding With Players
  • 00:34:45 Tips to Get Started
  • 00:37:35 Contact

Two Nerds Afraid of Rejection Who Wouldn’t Be Engaged Without Their Friends

by

the Nerd Love Story of CJ and Ajax

🤨 Do you need friends if you want to find your Player 2? Not necessarily. But they can certainly help! From making introductions to inviting you to the right place at the right time, helping you overcome your fear of rejection, or dating one of them, friends can be the pathway to marriage. CJ and Ajax’s story is one of the best examples. It includes every single one of these! ✅

💌 In this episode, CJ shares how they met through a friend in common but couldn’t make a move, afraid that they’d get rejected 👻

Fortunately, they had friends who refused to let them miss their shot. Not once. Not twice. Three times, their friends stepped in at just the right moment to keep the story moving forward 💪

👀 Because here’s the thing nobody talks about: your social circle isn’t just where you find dates. It’s the supporting structure that makes dating possible in the first place. Without it, two people who were clearly meant to be together and lived 15 minutes away from each other might have stayed strangers forever.

🎧 Press Start and discover how finding the right friends can lead you to love! ❤️

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❤️ FREE GUIDE: 🎮
Where do nerds REALLY meet their Player 2?

I asked hundreds of nerds and created a guide based on their responses.
Are you going to keep grinding without finding out the truth?

FREE DOWNLOAD

Calix and Ajax’s Links:

Related Episodes:

Timestamps for lazy nerds:

  • 00:00:00 Intro
  • 00:00:43 What Makes Calix a Nerd
  • 00:02:09 Don’t Hide That You’re A Nerd
  • 00:05:27 How it Started
  • 00:10:51 Cosplay Conversations
  • 00:16:42 Moving Things Forward
  • 00:19:50 Convention
  • 00:25:47 Friend Intervention #2
  • 00:30:17 First Date Invite… As Friends
  • 00:37:39 Friend Intervention #3
  • 00:39:07 Failed Confession
  • 00:41:15 Friend Intervention #4
  • 00:45:36 Previous Dating Experience
  • 00:48:48 Finding His Person
  • 00:54:34 Closing

Never Know What to Say? Play “Speak Without Freezing”

by

with Catherine Richardson

💬 You’re in a group. You know you want to say something. You just can’t find the right time. The conversation moves on, the moment passes, and you spend the rest of the evening wondering why it’s so hard to just speak up 😶

🎮 In this episode, I talk to Catherine Richardson, a psychologist specializing in geek culture and mental health. She blends Acceptance and Commitment Therapy with gaming and pop culture to support neurodivergent professionals. And she just created something that might change how you think about social skills entirely.

🕹️ It’s called “Speak Without Freezing,” a free visual novel designed to help you practice what to say before you actually have to say it. Not by giving you a script to memorize, but by letting you rehearse in an environment where there’s no social cost. Think of it as a dating sim, except instead of trying to win someone over, you’re working on yourself 💪

⚠️ But here’s the challenge: practicing something in a game and actually doing it in real life are two very different things. So how does muscle memory work when the stakes are real? And what do you do when the social rules change depending on who you’re with, what culture you’re in, or even what room you walk into? 🗺️

🧊 If you ever freeze up during conversations, go quiet at the worst moment, or wait so long to say something that everyone has already moved on, this episode is for you.

🎧 Press Start and learn how to speak without freezing! 🥶

YouTube Logo
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Spotify Logo

❤️ FREE GUIDE: 🎮
Where do nerds REALLY meet their Player 2?

I asked hundreds of nerds and created a guide based on their responses.
Are you going to keep grinding without finding out the truth?

FREE DOWNLOAD

Catherine’s Links:

Related Episodes:

Timestamps for lazy nerds:

  • 00:00:00 Intro
  • 00:01:00 Speak Without Freezing
  • 00:03:19 How it Helps with Social Anxiety
  • 00:07:37 Social Anxiety and Perfection
  • 00:12:22 Skills to Learn
  • 00:14:55 Dating Sims
  • 00:19:37 How to Apply the Skills IRL
  • 00:22:14 Playing the Game While in Therapy
  • 00:23:57 Not Waiting for Perfection
  • 00:25:46 Adapting to Different People
  • 00:31:48 Social Anxiety and Cold Approaches
  • 00:36:55 Catherine’s Links

The Dirty Otaku Who Stopped Performing

by

the Nerd Love Story of Brian and Teiko

🐉 What happens when a weeb shows up to meet a potential client in sweatpants, messy hair, and zero game? Apparently… marriage and kids!

🎌 Brian had been “putting himself out there” for years. He thought he was doing everything right. He was in shape, playing rugby, feeling charismatic and confident. But something kept getting in the way, and it wasn’t his hobbies, his looks, or his love of anime.

It finally took a coworker’s offhand connection, and a client he had absolutely no intention of dating, to change his life around! 🔄

📚 For months, their relationship stayed strictly professional. He liked her. He knew he liked her. But he was a respectable teacher, and he wasn’t going to do anything about it ❌ Then one evening, a friend pulled him aside and pointed out something he had been completely blind to.

⚠️ The most interesting part of Brian’s story isn’t how he met his wife. It’s what he had been doing before her, why it wasn’t working, and what did!

👾 If you’ve ever felt like you should know how to date but can’t get past the tutorial, this episode is for you 🕹️

🎧 Press Play and learn from Brian’s evolution! 💪

YouTube Logo
Apple Podcasts Logo
Spotify Logo

❤️ FREE GUIDE: 🎮
Where do nerds REALLY meet their Player 2?

I asked hundreds of nerds and created a guide based on their responses.
Are you going to keep grinding without finding out the truth?

FREE DOWNLOAD

Brian’s Links:

Related Episodes:

Timestamps for lazy nerds:

  • 00:00:00 Intro
  • 00:01:09 What Makes Brian a Nerd
  • 00:01:47 An English Teacher in Japan
  • 00:04:48 First Impressions
  • 00:09:05 From Professional to Romantic
  • 00:12:43 Asking to Hold Hands
  • 00:17:28 The Build-Up
  • 00:21:09 How Long to Start Dating
  • 00:23:41 The Dirty Otaku Roots
  • 00:27:03 Being Yourself
  • 00:30:34 Becoming a Healthy Otaku
  • 00:36:18 Brian’s Contacts

Dungeons and Dragons + TTRPGs: Where to Meet Nerds

by

with Sean (aka MrShickadance)

🎲 Want to find love but hate loud bars and clubs? Tabletop role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons (DnD) could be your perfect anti-social social quest. But here’s the catch: you can’t just show up, roll a charisma check, and expect to find your Player 2. You need to actually make friends with the people behind the characters! 🧙‍♂️

🎮 In this episode, Sean (aka Mr. Shickadance), a Dungeon Master and content creator, breaks down exactly where to find TTRPG groups and how to use them to unlock your social tree. Whether you’re brand new to DnD or a veteran player stuck in the same campaign for years, you’ll discover how to expand your social network beyond that small party. 🗺️

🎲 Because if you only ever meet for game nights, you’ll never get to meet the players behind the characters. After all, what you do outside of the table is what turns your party members into real friends. And from there, you never know who you could meet. That’s where the real magic happens. 📝

📜 You’ll also learn the rules of etiquette before you even show up to your first session, so that you can maximize your chances of people looking forward to seeing you again. But what if you don’t want to see some of those new party members again? 🧟 You don’t have to make friends with anyone you don’t want. We explain the strategies you can use to make sure you surround yourself with people you like and who like you 🙂‍↕️

🔓 That’s what unlocking your social tree is all about: finding out those you get along with and then meeting their friends. No cold approaches. No loud bars or clubs. And no endless swiping only to get ghosted 👻

🎧 Ready to roll for initiative on your social life? Press Start now and start building your IRL party! 🗡️

YouTube Logo
Apple Podcasts Logo
Spotify Logo

❤️ FREE GUIDE: 🎮
Where do nerds REALLY meet their Player 2?

I asked hundreds of nerds and made a guide based on those results.
Are you going to keep grinding without finding out the truth?

FREE DOWNLOAD

Sean’s Links:

Related Episodes:

Timestamps for lazy nerds:

  • 00:00:00 Intro
  • 00:01:01 What are TTRPGs
  • 00:03:35 Joining A New Group
  • 00:07:45 Choosing Your Friends
  • 00:13:01 Taking Your Friends Out Of The Container
  • 00:15:57 TTRPGs Are Social Games
  • 00:20:19 Dating Between Players
  • 00:23:19 Be Open to Trying New Things
  • 00:27:08 Your First Character
  • 00:28:22 Where to Find A D&D Group
  • 00:35:41 Where to Find Sean