I’m a 20-year-old guy, and there’s this dude I’ve been seeing regularly at my gym. He looks like he’s around 26–27. Last week, I decided to approach him. I just dap him up, and he was like, “Did I just spot you?” I said no, and then he asked where he knew me from. I told him I’d just seen him around the gym a few times. He then asked for my name, I asked for his, and we went on with our workouts. Today, I saw him again, and we had a little small talk. At one point, I said something along the lines of, “I won’t take up any more of your time,” and he replied, “No, it’s fine. Whenever you want, just stop and say hi.” Now, here’s the thing: I’m pretty socially anxious and awkward, and I genuinely don’t know how to navigate these situations. I would actually love to make a friend at the gym, someone I could eventually hang out with outside the gym and have a genuine friendship with. But I don’t know if he’s actually interested in becoming friends or if he’s just being nice and polite. I also don’t want to come across as immature or weird, especially since he’s a few years older than me. How do you go from being two guys who occasionally say hi at the gym to actually becoming friends? Do I just keep initiating conversations and see where things go? At what point do you suggest hanging out outside the gym? I’m probably overthinking this whole thing, haha, but I’d genuinely appreciate some advice. I’m just trying to get better at making friends as an adult. TL;DR: I’m a socially anxious 20-year-old guy trying to make friends with a dude (around 26–27) at my gym. We’ve introduced ourselves, had a couple of conversations, and he told me I’m welcome to stop and say hi whenever I want. I’d love to eventually become actual friends and hang out outside the gym, but I can’t tell if he’s genuinely interested or just being polite. How do you naturally turn gym acquaintances into genuine friendships without coming across as awkward? submitted by /u/Ok_Sprinkles_7179
Originally posted by u/Ok_Sprinkles_7179 on r/AskMen