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PICKING LOCKS IS STRESS RELIEVING: LADY LOCKS
We caught up with Lady Locks based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA, who is a YouTube, Instagram and TikTok sensation in the world of Locksport, picking locks just for fun and stress relief.
» PROVING THAT IT’ S POSSIBLE TO have nice nails and amazing lockpicking skills, Lady Locks is a brand ambassador for Covert Instruments, a member of the CI Round table and is proudly working towards her 10th Lock Pickers United Black Belt high security lock.
She hosts a live lock picking session weekly on her YouTube channel and often has other locksporters on her panel. Her channels are great if you want to learn picking skills and find out about lock vulnerabilities.
How did you get into Locksport?
I happened to be on YouTube one day and saw a video by a survivalist talking about the things you need to know in the world for your own safety, such as opening a lock with paperclips! So, I got some paperclips and a Masterlock and had a go at picking it. The lock popped open and before I knew it, I was buying lock picks on Amazon, which I didn’ t realise were available for‘ anyone’ to purchase. I started lock picking in March 2022 and by June 2022 I had started my YouTube channel.
The Purpose of my Channels
I teach people how to pick locks and the‘ ins and outs’ of the locksport community, my channel is great to follow if you’ re interested in learning lock picking for stress or anxiety relief or if you’ d like to just learn the vulnerabilities of certain locks to educate yourself a bit more on security. I even host a weekly locksport meetup on my YouTube channel, where I go LIVE with other lock pickers to pick locks and answer any lock related questions!
My Hometown
I live in Pennsylvania in the US, it’ s a nice state but has changeable weather day-to-day which makes life challenging. In Pittsburgh, one day we have a lot of snow and we’ re in our fleeces, waterproofs and snow jackets, the next it’ s t-shirt weather. It really is crazy. When I’ m not picking locks, I like to go for walks( weather permitting).
About Locksport
Locksporter and lock picker seem to be interchangeable terms in the community sometimes. But some say that locksporters are the people who compete in lock picking competitions. Regardless, I am a lock picker not a locksmith, it’ s just a hobby for me and not a career. Well, saying that, it’ s turning into a career as now I’ m a Brand Ambassador for Covert Instruments( a company who designs lock picking gear and tools, specialising in covert entry and providing bypassing tools to the emergency services) and my YouTube channel continues to grow.
In Locksport there is a big community of locksmiths and lock pickers, lots of people who want to learn more and teach each other, I absolutely love it and find that picking locks relieves stress and anxiety. I’ ve had to learn how to be patient – yes that’ s possible- because lock picking takes a lot of practice. And on a bad day when it seems like nothing will open, I have a stash of‘ easy locks’ I can pick to build my confidence, motivate me, and get me in the right headspace.
When people think of locksport or lock picking, they tend to think of The Lock Picking Lawyer( a YouTube star with 4.5M subscribers) known for picking various locks on camera and reviewing their effectiveness while pointing out security flaws. He works with lock manufacturers to improve the security of their devices, and he is the co-owner of Covert Instruments. I’ ve been working to let people know there are more of us out here, and locksport is an amazing hobby that anyone can get into. I try to use my social media to share my love of lock picking and invite others to join in the fun.
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FEBRUARY 2025
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