Zoë Lescaze decided she wanted to become a sharpshooter. She also decided to begin from the most humble starting point possible—having never even fired a handgun before. Three days later, after a few hours a day at a Washington, D.C. shooting range and a little help from “mind control” techniques, she was reportedly hitting bullseyes from 75 feet. That’s insane for a novice.
The technique, according to a New York Post article, was neuro-linguistic programming, or NLP, delivered by veteran trainer Wyatt Woodsmall. NLP lives in a weird space. Some people say it’s a superpower. Others write it off as another motivational fad. Lescaze says it’s a mix of borrowed tools, including hypnosis, packaged with bigger claims than the research supports.
Lescaze told the Post that “a big part of NLP is closely observing other people and diagnosing how they think and view the world,” and that Woodsmall barely knew her yet clocked what would motivate her. He labeled her an “achievement person,” someone driven by excelling for the sake of it, then tailored his encouragement around that. That doesn’t sound like mind control. That sounds like basic psychology used competently by a good teacher.
Mind Control, or a Decent Coach and Some Natural Ability?
At the range, the work sounded repetitive and simple on paper. Lescaze said Woodsmall had her visualize the perfect shot while repeating a mantra, “sight alignment, trigger, squeeze, bang, recover.” She also admitted it was hard to focus with constant gunfire around her. By day three, she was shooting well enough to make even herself skeptical. Maybe she learns fast. Maybe he’s an exceptional teacher. Maybe being coached by someone who expects improvement changes how you show up.
NLP’s origin story adds to the mythology. It was developed in the 1970s by Richard Bandler and John Grinder and pitched as a way to model high performers and rework habits without traditional talk therapy. The larger issue is evidence. According to the Post, New York clinical psychologist Dr. J. Ryan Fuller said the controversy comes from advocates believing NLP is extremely powerful while psychologists don’t see scientific support for the big claims, or a clear distinction from established therapies like CBT. He also warned that trauma work can cause “significant harm” when it isn’t handled by licensed professionals.
Lescaze and investigative journalist Alice Hines dive into that tension on their podcast Mind Games. Hines told the Post there’s “a really interesting paradox” at the center of NLP, because it’s sold for self-help and has helped many people, yet the same tools can also “be used to take advantage of people to manipulate and coerce.”
So did NLP “mind control” create a sharpshooter in three days? Maybe. It could also be practice plus a coach who knows what to say. Either way, the rapid turnaround makes it feel magical, and that’s what makes people intrigued.
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