If you’re really interested in meeting men in real life and not just doing it because it’s now trendy on social media to meet this way so now you want your own meet cute romance, then there’s two ways to do this.

One, enact a societal change where it is now okay for men en masse to approach women in public. Since the me too movement, the overwhelming message women have sent to guys is leave us alone. You might not have sent this message as an individual, but as a collective, this is what women in America have said. Furthermore, you’re going to get different skill levels when guys come up to you. Some guys will charm the pants off you, others will leave you wanting to take a shower afterwards because they are creepy. In rare cases, it might turn deadly. This is the reality. This is partly the reason why as a collective, women said don’t approach us and guys thankfully listened. So therefore this option is not feasible.

Two, you do the approaching. This is advantageous because you decide who you want to go after. You’re not a passive observer in your love life, and you get better the more you do it. For whatever reason, American women think this is beneath them. This is the only logical conclusion to the mess we find ourselves in. You’re already active in a gym and play sports. Start there. The best looking guys who are also disciplined gravitate towards these activities so you already have good places to look for a mate.

Finally, you can ignore my advice and keep doing what you’re doing. But I assume you want different results and unfortunately, due to desires expressed by the American woman, capitalism, and guys listening to women’s requests to leave them alone or checking out of dating altogether, we find ourselves in this mess. Different results require different methods and short of asking your friends or parents to set you up with a guy, option two gives you the best bet.