Ah the Playboy lifestyle. The envy of both men and women around the world. After all, who wouldn’t want to live the life of Hugh Hefner or James Bond?
Although the Playboy Lifestyle seems like an unattainable dream for many, it is actually something you can achieve. Yes, even if you’re not a millionaire (yet), there are ways you can live like a playboy.
So how can you live an enviable lifestyle, even if you’re not as rich as Hugh Hefner, or without a shady government agency backing you like James Bond?
To answer that, first we’ll need to ask….
What is the Playboy Lifestyle?
The image of a playboy is that of a gentleman who is typically rich, or financially comfortable, and who enjoys the finer things in life. This includes dining in gourmet restaurants, enjoying a perfectly mixed classic cocktail in a high end establishment, the company of beautiful women and regular international travel.
Often, those who live the playboy lifestyle will be presented as men who are typically ‘Alpha’ male. These men might be extremely charming and charismatic, and are likely dominant in social situations.
While a playboy might also be a millionaire, or at least financially stable, this isn’t a prerequisite. You can, technically, be a playboy with a relatively modest amount of money.
The classic playboy might also be pictured in a suit, usually with a sports car, helicopter or luxury yacht in the background.
But is this a realistic expectation for most men? And do you really need to be an Alpha male to enjoy the playboy lifestyle?
The character traits of a Playboy
When it comes to being a playboy, there are several key character traits that you will need to master. These are what pretty much makes a playboy the man he is. What are these traits?
1. Confidence
The single most important factor for a playboy is being confident. This is why ‘Alpha’ males seem to be so dominant – because they ooze confidence and even have a controlling charisma that can be overpowering. Don’t mistake this confidence for an unattainable personal skill.
How to get more confident?
- Understand how to master conversation. This is one of those tricks that many people find hard to master. But to summarise our how to make interesting conversation with anyone guide: be a good listener, have some jokes and humour to hand, don’t talk about yourself all the time and ask lots of questions.
- Focus on fun. The playboy lifestyle is mostly about enjoying the finer things in life. Play sports, go to parties, do crazy shit and do it often. Be that fun guy that people want to be around because THAT is the playboy style.
- Get rid of stuff in your life that brings you down. Surrounded by boring people? Got a shit job? When you have good things in your life, you become more confident naturally.
2. Style
A playboy will look the part. Now this doesn’t mean you have to wear a suit all the time. But having a cool and minimalist style is going to go a long way to conveying a playboy image.
To do this we recommend focusing on quality rather than brands or labels. Go for simple and stylish as opposed to garish and opulent.
Genuine playboys don’t tend to wear t-shirts with Balenciaga plastered across the front. They probably wear a plain white tee that cost $300 and has zero brand name on it.
Aim to ooze style without making it obvious how stylish you are. Think rock star style or even nerd style.
3. Stay in shape
Take care of your appearance, no matter what your body type. This means you will need to work out to get your body in the best shape possible.
While you don’t need to be an adonis, with a rippling set of abs, you just need to look like you spend SOME time in the gym. Many playboys actually do have full dad bod, or even a bit of a belly.
Staying in shape also helps with your confidence and will make sure that playboy lifestyle doesn’t burn you out too soon.
How to be a playboy
When it comes to being a playboy, you will need to work out what aspects of playboy lifestyle you want to emulate. Is it the fast cars? The international travel? The money? Or the women?
Now if you’re a millionaire, you can go through and tick all these boxes.
(Want to make a million? read this guide).
But if you want to convey the sense of being a playboy, living the champage lifestyle even though you’re packing lemonade money, here are the tricks to live the playboy life.
1. Be a minimalist
A mistake that many make is thinking that the playboy lifestyle needs lots of brand names and exclusive logos. The truth is, most millionaires and billionaires don’t wear their wealth openly. In fact, some of the best known playboys of our age are quite simple in their tastes.
Just look at Roman Abramovich, Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos. Do you ever see them wearing a Dolce and Gabbana logo sweater, or rocking a pair of gold shades? Nope. These guys tend to wear simple muted colours that are simply stylish – something known as stealth wealth.
Don’t buy the most expensive sneakers or shoes, just because you think they’ll make you look rich.
And if you can’t afford a Rolex, why on earth would you buy one? A watch is a watch, and most people don’t give a shit about watches anyway.
Get a stylish second hand watch, or just get a smartwatch (they’re all the rage and way cooler than a Patek Phillipe – if you ask me anyway). Better still don’t wear a watch, cos playboys don’t care what time it is.
The basic style rule: keep it simple.
Check out our guide to being a minimalist here.
2. Be in the right places
Rappers head to St Tropez or Miami to hang out on their billion dollar yachts. Lifestyle influencers pop up in Dubai or Singapore, rocking their flash lifestyles all over Insta.
Ignore that shit. Trust me.
There are way better parties that you’ll be able to actually enjoy for a fraction of the budget in some of the coolest places on the planet.
We’ve got a list of some of the best places to enjoy the Playboy Lifestyle on a budget. But don’t assume that means cheap. We just mean you’ll get a lot more fun for your money in Bangkok, Medellin, Bali or Montenegro, than you will in Las Vegas, Monaco, Shanghai or Abu Dhabi.
Put simply, if you want to live the playboy lifestyle and travel to glamourous places, pick the places with party that don’t cost the earth.
And hey, Mr Playboy… That might be right there in your back yard.
3. Do fun shit
This is the main thing about the Playboy Lifestyle. Doing cool and fun stuff is basically what life is all about, right? And that is pretty much the ethos of the playboy.
Host epic parties, go to festivals, take up a random fun sport, hire a beach side apartment and invite your friends, spend the winter in Tignes or Val D’Isere (or if you’re in North America, head to Whistler or Aspen).
Enjoy life. Have fun.
The more you have fun, the more fun you will be, the more confident you get and the more you are a genuine playboy.
4. Do you need to flex?
OK, look, we get it. We live in the era of social media, so you want enviable images of you being a playboy on your social feeds.
But here’s the thing.
If you want to be a playboy, you don’t do it for other people. You don’t live that lifestyle for the Instagram likes.
You do it because you want to enjoy life.
You want to explore, enjoy and make the most of your time.
So there is no need to splash the cash because you think you need to (ever see James Bond pay for a round of drinks in a casino?). And there is no need to worry about what your social feed looks like.
Just have fun. The rest will follow.
5. Get the girls?
If you’re looking at how to live like the original playboy, Hugh Hefner, well yes… He did have a lot of gorgeous girls by his side constantly. And in fact, any Hollywood Star, Football players like Cristiano Ronaldo or men of success do tend to attract beautiful women.
While fame, money and timeless good looks does make it easy to get the girls, actually any guy can be lucky in love (or at least lucky in seduction).
The simple tips to win more women:
- Be fun.
- Be genuine.
- Don’t be a sex pest or creep.
- Smell good (this means wash regularly, not take a bath in Creed cologne)
- Look stylish without looking like a billboard for a designer brand (like a rockstar, bro!)
- Understand how to make a move without scaring her off, and don’t worry if you do scare her off (plenty of other fish).
- Don’t mistake confidence for arrogance.
- Avoid excessive drink or drugs.
I can’t stress how important those first two are. If I had to offer any advice to a man about how to be a playboy – it is just go out and have fun.
Find your good time. The rest will follow.
6. Cars, jetskis etc
It’s true that a key part of the playboy image is enjoying fast cars, bikes, helicopters and jetskis.
Not all of us can afford a Lambo, so don’t assume that this makes you a fail on the playboy front. Not at all. You can always hire a supercar when you’re travelling, as a fun way to splash the cash. Nothing wrong with hiring a Lambo for a few hours or days…
Or, charter a yacht with friends for a day or more. There are lots of great ways to hire a luxury yacht, such as Sailo.com.
You can even hire a private island! (yes really)
Many of these tips are also relatively affordable. Hiring a jetski for a few hours is way cheaper than buying one (plus who the hell wants to own a jetski unless you’re using it every other day).
So live the playboy lifestyle when you get the opportunity.
7. Money and success
The image of the successful playboy is that he is financially secure from either his work or his investments. But don’t think you need to be a millionaire.
The key to the playboy lifestyle is to have some form of income that is automated, or a job that allows you to live your lavish lifestyle (by the way, secret agent isn’t actually as sexy a job as 007 makes it seem).
For us mortals, how can we achieve this dream?
- Build your own business that pays you enough to live that lifestyle without putting in a 9 to 5
- Invest in opportunities such as financial products, other companies or real estate so that you earn revenue while you sleep
- Offer a high value service which can also provide the lifestyle
If you’ve read any other articles on this blog, you’ll know that we’re champions of the freelance business lifestyle, which is the most attainable way for many of us to earn those A list levels of money.
But you’re not gonna be sitting on a private yacht in St Tropez with your supermodel girlfriend if you’re a digital marketer. Well, it’s unlikely but not impossible.
No. The trick is to build up your business in such a way that it is scalable, can provide you income in perhaps 5 to 10 years, and allows you to live that dream once you have hit your goals.
There are more ways than ever to create a 6 figure business online. You just need to pick your niche, set your goals and go for it…
Read our guide: How to make a million dollars
Just get out there…
So now you know what is a playboy, and what is the playboy lifestyle. Brush up on your man skills and you’re good to go…
It also helps to have money, of course. So check out our guides for getting started with your own business or freelance job or investments.
