like bringing a knife to a gun fight. poseurs, so easily exposed, not so easily identified. poseurs are people who look like they should know what they are doing, who look like they belong, but clearly do not. before we get into why some people "affect a particular attribute, attitude, or identity to impress or influence others," we must identify some possible poseurs. i find that it's commonplace to see poseurs in the sporting arena. basketball for example. when a guy comes onto the court wearing a throwback jersey, matching nike socks/shoes, and a gallon headbands/bandanas, my poseur alarm rings.



the rationale here goes: if you can play, you don't need to dress the part. if you can't, well then, you might as well dress like mike. pretty in defeat, ugly in victory is the mantra i go by. i'm always wary of the guy who wears teal shorts, cankle high socks, giordano shirt, original la gears, and smells like moth balls. in my head i'm always like "this dude might be a player, look at how terrible he dresses, he must be good." i always choose to guard the guy who dresses like he just walked out of an and-1 commercial. chances are he'll be really good and just wipe my ass (no shame in that) or that he'll suck and i can hold my own against mr model. this is otherwise known as the "jordans test." if a guy walks in wearing signature mike jordans, he's probably super amazing or super suck. the moment of exposure for a basketball poseur is when he takes that first couple practice dribbles or goes up for a jump shot. you can kind of tell immediately if they are any good or not. don't be impressed by the shoes, it's the game that counts.



the other category of poseurs in sports is skaters/surfers/boarders. pretty much any sport where image is part of the appeal will have a plethora of poseurs. this works in life too. if the image of an activity is "cool" then there will be people who try to get the cool without actually knowing how to do the activity. how do i know this? first hand experience. when i walk onto the beach carrying a surfboard, wearing a wetsuit and staring at the waves, i feel like a surfer. at least i think i feel like a surfer. when i start to struggle with the weight of the board, the crotch tightness of the wetsuit and then proceed to run screeching away from the freezing water, i am exposed. many people can look like surfers, few actually are. i would say the percentage of poseur surfers to actual surfers in the water at any one time is seventy to thirty. yeah, i'm a super poseur surfer, want to make something of it?



the same goes for skate and snowboarders. you can wear the brands, rock the over-priced gear, make the talk, but how many people can actually carve up a slope or a street? not many. but marketing agencies have done their job well and everybody wants to look the part of boarding fashionista. the only people who will believe that you actually can skate or snowboard will be your adoring kids who will eat up anything you tell them -- because you are their sole source of dietary nutrition. the rest of the world can tell when you're faking it.



in defense of some people who aren't actually poseurs but just look like poseurs. some people are not poseurs but they do things in an odd way so that they resemble poseurs. awkwardness is a factor in all of this. some people are great at surf/skate/ball but they just look funny doing it. don't confuse awkward with posing.



so how can a poseur transform into the authentic thing? practice practice practice. just about everybody is a poseur at the beginning. but given time and effort, they start to shed the poseur label as their skills and comfortability increase. why do some people ooze authenticity? because they are comfortable. they are at ease with what they are doing and exude an aroma of naturalness. the way they walk, they way they carry themselves, they way they don't have self doubt, the way they fit right in. you can't cut corners on your way to achieving this authentic swagger. you just have to work hard and educate yourself and know that the time will come when you are no longer posing.



if you have to ask yourself "am i a poseur," then it's already too late. welcome to the club.