As everyone in the southern hemisphere flocks to Europe in a desperate grasp at warmth, a social media trend of travellers “rawdogging” flights is emerging.
As someone who has travelled interstate and/or abroad basically every week of this year, I am painfully familiar with the hell that is the economy cabin, so when I discovered people were going in raw, I was rightfully disgusted.
Why are people rawdogging flights?
We live in a modern age of technology, and I — for one — think we should embrace it. You wouldn’t pick up an Encyclopedia instead of Googling it, you wouldn’t walk around with a Sony Discman when you could use Spotify, so why would you willingly sit on a long-haul flight without all of the modern technologies designed to make it more enjoyable?
Well, for 26-year-old London man West, rawdogging flights is a weird kind of meditation he developed after years of frequent flying.
“I got sick of watching the same movies,” he told GQ, likening the practice to meditation.
“Visually, you are kind of impaired. You only get to look at the seat in front of you, to your right or left if you’re at the window. All you hear is that drumming sound of the engine. It’s just white noise.”
And now, it’s a bit of a challenge for West — and others — to see just how barebacked they can hack it on a flight.
“Yup, from London to Miami this week…pure bareback no food or water,” one commenter wrote on one of West’s videos.
While the extent of rawdogging is at the discretion of the raw dogger, the general consensus is no entertainment, no snacking and no sleeping.
If you ask me, this is just another one of those weird wellness trends that men pick up in their late 20s after listening to some guy on a podcast who swears that soaking his balls in an ice bath or eating raw liver changed his life.
Some women have joined in on the trend, including one who did it on extra hard mode (doing it without a crush to hyperfixate on). Good for her.
West’s longest rawdog was a 21-hour London to Perth flight and credit where credit is due, that is certainly an accomplishment. Personally, my last London to Sydney flight consisted of drinking complimentary gin and using as many screens as I could possibly access at one time (my personal best is three, if you’re wondering).
At this point I must add a disclaimer that not eating, drinking or going to the bathroom for 21 hours is objectively a bad idea — especially when you’re on a long-haul flight that is known to dehydrate you. Please, at LEAST drink some water and maybe chuck on a moisturiser.
While men continue to flex their rawdogging efforts like a peacock flashing its feathers, I will remain firmly of the belief that a flight — even in economy — is the perfect time to indulge in a luxurious, 25-step skincare routine while sipping on a complimentary plastic cup of gin and Sprite and watching movies designed for IMAX theatres on a dirty, 8-inch plane TV.
