On the eve of MAD STARS, when another crowd of industry people is anticipating (possibly not with great joy) the international flights that will top and tail an inspiring three days, comes a bit of fun. Try rawdogging. You can even practise with the Rawdog Simulator.
Long-haul flights. Aaargh! They were never fun unless you flew first-class no matter what the ads promise. Now there’s a trend that makes them even more rigorous (that’s a euphemism), but it ties in with the new wellness movement that wants people to check in with themselves – and yes, that means no screen, no conversation, but a lot of personal reflection. So the trend of rawdogging has emerged, that is, taking an extreme no-frills approach to air travel. The challenge is to endure a flight without bringing any extra comforts like snacks, entertainment, or a travel pillow. It might also involve opting for a basic seat without upgrades and avoiding any additional amenities. A key aspect of this approach is staring at the in-flight map, often the only source of entertainment, and just getting through the flight with minimal preparation or comfort.
Essentially, it’s about embracing the bare minimum and toughing out the journey. it’s really, really tough if you’re an Aussie – unless you’re flying to Bali. Rawdogging a Bali flight is cheating.
Like all great trends, Rawdogging has spawned its own “merch” and one of the funniest is the Rawdog Simulator, a training exercise for anyone looking to rawdog a real flight. It simulates taking the longest flight in the world (JFK to Singapore) in which users’ faces are tracked by a phone or computer camera to ensure users are locked-in and focused on the in-flight map. Each passenger will have the option to download a boarding pass and depending on how long they rawdog they will receive a frequent flyer membership – in the typical Bronze, Silver, Gold tiers.
Experience the Rawdog Simulator
