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Men are Raw Dogging it on Flights

by | Jun 30, 2024 | CST Articles | 0 comments

Some men like hitting it raw — the friendly skies, that is. 

“Raw-dogging” has become the buzziest travel trend of the summer, seeing stealth plane passengers forgo the modern comforts of flying to stare at either the in-flight map or nothing at all during lengthy trips. 

No music, no streaming, no snacking, no sleep. 

The “raw-dogging” trend sees frequent flyers take long journeys without entertainment, food, books, water or sleep as a self-imposed mental and physical challenge.

“I have never seen so many people raw-dogging a flight in my life,” wrote Michelle, a stunned New York-based beauty influencer. They’re “literally just staring straight ahead the entire time.” 

The anti-indulgence phenomenon has been loosely credited to Idris Elba’s character, Sam Nelson, on the Apple TV+ series “Hijacked.” 

In the seven-episode series, the heartthrob-turned-hero, is forced to endure the more than seven-hour flight from Dubai to London without any amenities once his airbus becomes commandeered by crooks. 

Unlike other skyway hacks that put freaked-out flyers at ease, such as “going over the alpha bridge” — a sleeping trick that helps the nervous knock out while up 30,000 feet in the air — raw-dogging is all about pushing oneself to their mental and physical limits. 

“Just raw-dogged a 7-hour flight (new personal best),” a passenger bragged . “No headphones, no movie, no water, nothing.”

“Incredible,” he added. “The power of my mind knows no bounds.”

Online, some raw-dog flyers claim traveling without distractions strengthens their minds.

Men and women are challenging themselves to bypass any rest, refreshments or revelry while taking extended flights.

“I sit there in silence with my thoughts and just watch the little GPS plane.”

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bconnolly@livewell.org