“I Love You, Man” Inspires Woman to Start Man-Date Business

A local woman says she was inspired to help men make he-friends, via man-dates, after watching the new comedy “I Love You, Man”. In the film, friendless Peter Klaven goes on a series of man-dates to find a Best Man for his wedding, and Halifax’s Lydia Newcombe had an epiphany. She realized that she could set up a business to help men find male friends, without having them feel insecure about doing so. She is in the final stages of her business planning and expects to be open for business before summertime.

“Lotsa guys want to hang out with dudes in the summer – for bbq’s, tossing a football or drinking beer, but don’t know where to start. That’s where I’ll come in” says Newcombe, confidently. She’ll have a small physical space, but will operate mostly online. She insits it won’t be like dating sites, but will focus more on matching guys up who have similar interests. There will be weekly workshops and seminars in order to educate men about the sensitive issues surrounding man-dates. I asked about some of the topic ideas and Newcombe hesitantly gave up a couple of them.

“I’ll be teaching men the proper technique behind a man-hug. There are so many factors that go unappreciated, and many he-friends will go their separate ways because of this” offered Newcombe. I, for one, would pay whatever it takes in order to properly understand the man hug. Sign me up, Lydia. She will also touch upon voicemail etiquette, the high five vs knuckle bump debate, and what she calls the most important part of man-dates. “Eye contact is something guys aren’t aware of, but they have to be. If a guy isn’t looking in the right places, for the right amount of time, it could mean the end of his potential he-mate”. Eye agree, Lydia.