Men are forking out a sizeable chunk of cash for lessons in how to attract women
It's 10pm on a Saturday night and the air is filled with chatter, the clink of ice cubes and the heady smell of booze, aftershave and hairspray.
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All around us people are chilling out on sofas, laughing and unwinding in the outdoor drinks area of a bustling Temple Bar hotel – but at my table the vibe is a little different.
For a start no one's drinking, and three of the group of five guys are wearing expressions not dissimilar to the soldiers in the boats at the start of Saving Private Ryan.
"It's time to make An Approach," one of them announces authoritatively, "I'm putting one of you into The Set."
The atmosphere bristles with anticipation as the three nervous looking lads shuffle and look around them, wondering what direction their fate lies.
It all feels a bit like preparing for war, but then love is a battlefield and, tonight, I'm behind enemy lines.
The evening is part of a guys-only dating service that offers men not only hours of theory training in the art of attracting women but also 'in field' training in Dublin's social scene where they can put the theory into action.
For the first time, I'm getting a unique perspective on what guys on the pull learn from a business that guarantees clients will "get good with women" or give them their money back.
Since starting in 2008, Kama Lifestyles (kamalifestyles.com) has had more than one thousand men through its dating boot camps, confidence courses and one-on-one tutorials.