When did you become interested in stealth?

[Ghost]

Title says it all. I'm curious to see how many people started sneaking around before they started opping, and how many people started because they found out about opping. If you could post a little background information, i'd also greatly appreciate it. I have a theory, that certain people are naturally inclined towards being stealthy and having that "predatory" mindset, while in other people it's either latent, or completely non-existent and is something that must be trained. I'd be willing to bet that the majority of well known/prolific oppers here started sneaking around at night before they even knew there was a term for it, and a community devoted to it.

[Roxas]

i was exposed to "night ops" by my friend that snuck around since he was a little kid... I've done alot of ops in a short time....never failed. he did one and failed...i feel like that's a bit weird?

i never snuck around before i was exposed to this

[Sa'Kage]

I remember the night clear as a bell, mid August, that perfect state of a cool summer night with a gentle breeze and mild humidity. The moon hadn't risen yet but there were stars in the sky. I was living in my basement, 14 years old, a week from turning 15. All of sudden there was a slight knocking on a window closest to my head. I looked up and saw Ghost's face in the dim light that was being cast. So I met him at my back deck, he told me to dress in the darkest clothes I had and meet him in my front yard.
It was simple enough being gothic and all back then, I dressed in the stealthiest hot topic pants I could find, flipped a Disturbed t-shirt inside out and went outside. All he told me was to stay close and try to be as quiet as possible.
Soon after that my knees started shaking, it wasn't the first time that I sneaked out, however it was the first time I was sneaking out and afraid of being caught for some reason.
Simply put, through Ghost's extended guidance and teachings I became an addict, and then I surpassed him in my own way as I learned my own techniques and methods of stealth, and now it is no longer an addiction, but a way of life.

[Xanatos]

Poll's still broken.

I've always had an interest in the unknown and thinking outside the box (which tended to get me into a lot of trouble with my elders). From about grade six onwards I became more and more drawn towards the night, often going for walks while the rest of the world was asleep. Not doing anything exciting, just walking and thinking without any disturbance. I was always a bit of a loner so I felt more comfortable in this environment.

This may sound a little silly, but Thief II: The Metal Age probably had a great impact on my development. I've always been a fan of videogames (not just for the entertainment value either, something which would take me years to fully realise) and I always felt clever whenever I found a way to sneak past or around any NPCs in typical action games, like I was out-smarting the program. But it was Thief II that fully capitalised on this aspect of myself, and - combined with my natural agility - my midnight walks soon became mini stealth runs. I didn't do any major trespassing, I wasn't at that point yet, but I would go through business districts and loading bays while trying not to get spotted; sneaking behind cover, sticking to the shadows, listening to the ambient sounds, etc.

It wasn't until I got caught up in Ninjutsu that I started taking my stealthood more seriously - it was around ninth grade that I conducted my first solo 'Night Op' (dressed all in black with a balaclava and snuck around where I wasn't supposed to be). I'd done 'day ops' before with some chums from school, where we'd dress up in camo clothing and pretend we were soldiers; creeping through the bush, infiltrating school grounds after hours and anywhere else considered off limits, etc. But doing it alone at night was something else entirely, and I knew that this was something I would most certainly have to do alone. It doesn't make for very good conversation:
"So, what'd you do on the weekend?"
"Oh, you know, dressed up like a Ninja and invaded other people's property without them knowing."
Performing day ops with 'friends' meant you had stories to tell that were risky (and on occasion profitable) but overall harmless. There's something rather menacing about doing the same activities at night however. It requires a totally different mindset and skillset, two things which I knew that I and I alone possessed.

My evolution with the night ran parallel to my evolution into Parkour; I was always an active 'outdoorsy' person (a trend which experienced a boost with the Prince of Persia games by Ubisoft) but it wasn't until I learned that it had a name - Parkour - and that it was a legitimate art form with its own set of moves and technique that I took it more seriously. The exact thing happened when I discovered Night Ops and realised that I wasn't as alone as I thought (at least in spirit).

Short answer: Yes, I've been up to this kind of shit long before discovering this shadowy little community and probably for longer than I realise.

[Zerg]

Stealth has been natural for me since I was a child, I was inspired by my cat. It would always sneak up on me and when I turned around I would freak out. Anyway, this community is teaching me more in-depth techniques and exposing me to the style of others, but I have always been fairly stealthy.

[Æternaeon]

When I was a little kid my cousin and I used to do what we called "Missions" that involved sneaking through the house we were in while our parents were visiting/partying and did so straight through the rooms people were actually sitting in. The goal was to sneak into a room unnoticed and grab something from it. It sounds like it would be nearly impossible but when you're so small it's not that crazy. We'd get flat on the ground and move using only our feet to push us forward until we got to the edge of the back of a couch or whatever and just wait for the right moment to cross the gap to the next piece of furniture. We got caught a lot, and often we'd just keep doing it so they were expecting us. But eventually, we got good enough that we could sneak by no matter what. You might say my addiction to sneaking started there. I also used to play hide and seek with the family dog, friends at night outside, or sometimes even pitch black hide and seek. All the time. Even as kids we all quickly learned ways to trick people and remain hidden even when you were right there all along. Things never changed, and to me that's the true art of stealth. You're not necessarily trying to pick the best hiding spot. You're trying to avoid being obvious. There's a gigantic difference.

[Teutoni]

I started really becoming interested in night opping thanks to urbex. I started by walking around my town a great deal, realizing how many abandoned buildings there were, becoming interested in what could be inside of them, and finally coming around to the idea of how much easier it would be at night. I did this for quite a few years until I discovered this site and found out there was a name for what I was doing.

[Nukes]

I feel like I'm the exact opposite. Growing up the only "stealth" I had was playing hide-and-seek at night with my neighbors or friends when they stayed over, but even then my objective wasn't to be stealthy, it was to just find a good enough hiding spot to where no one could find me (which I didn't succeed at very often.)
I didn't actually get into opping until Teu and Spetz took me on my first op into an abandoned school, and even then my stealth, or lack thereof, almost got us arrested.
Ever since then though, I've read articles and watched videos on stealth, as well as trained just in my back yard following Xanatos's homework assignments, or out on the field. I've become a lot more aware of my surroundings since opping, but I can't say it was something that sparked my interest before I started opping.

[theconfusedone]

I remember in eighth grade at a book store I bought two different books. "Ninjutsu way of the ninja" and "How to prank for kids". I got super into things back then where I would spend hours planning hypothetical pranks or invasions of castles as if i was a ninja. Eventually I got the idea to post a massive picture of a teacher that I hated with a big x over her face on the side of our gym. The only way I would be able to do that would be at night. I realized the ninja book would help a lot with it's stealth lessons and they just sort of merged. I spent hours planning that "prank" and of course I never went through with it or even mentioned it to anyone. But the idea of sneaking into my school stuck with me... And after i discovered Night Ops, infiltrating my old school was one of my first ops.

[IDoWhatIWant]

I've always likes sneaking around and because of my interest in it I found out about opping which lead me to actually opp.

[Xanatos]

Votes are working now. Start casting yours.

[Eden]

I voted other, and now must explain, apparently.

I started dating an opper, found out he was a ninja, and wanted to make sure he wasn't going to get killed before my time investment paid off

And then the ninjas took over my life.

So, basically, Stockholm Syndrome.