<human>: Hi,

I'm a 23yo male who would like some advice on how to meet new people that could lead to a romantic relationship. Even though I have a nice group of friends, I feel the need to have someone to share a closer relationship.

My experience is somewhat slim. My romantic relationships so far evolved from a previous friendship, and therefore the process of meeting someone new and start "dating" is unknown to me. In the last months, I have been trying to feel better with myself. I've started a journey to lose weight and to also let somewhat go of my (female) best friend who was/is extremely needy, controlling and manipulative. To make it clear, if I said something like "I feel the need to meet new people", the response would be something along the lines of "What? Are your friends not enough? This is unacceptable, it shows how much you changed, I don't know you anymore" and her being pissed off at least one week. So, I'm letting her go, I finally realized that this was the way to go, and I now feel more comfortable with it.

I consider myself a fun person, I'm seen in my group of friends as the funny one who can always shoot a quick line to make someone laugh. I go to the gym, work the rest of the day (a kind of work that doesn't allow for new acquaintances) and normally spend the nights at home watching some series unless I have something scheduled with my friends.

Any advice on how to get out there, meet new people and so on? 
I find that even if I find new and attractive people during the day, at the gym or at some other place, it's not that "normal" to go around and start a conversation out of the blue. Am I wrong?

Summarize the given text in a few sentences.
<bot>: 23M wants advice on how to meet new people, after trying to be more confident about myself in the last couple of months.