Dont Psyche out your friends...

I think a lot of the newer guys who go brakeless are doing it without taking the concept seriously - ie riding slow enough to deal with any traffic situation that might suddenly happen around you.

I know didley squat about riding brakeless, so I could be way off the mark, but....

I see quite alot of pictures of fixed gear bikes on the internet with no brakes, and what looks to be biggish gearing. I often wonder if people ride these as seen, or if they are set-up for the pics (brakeless track bikes with big chain rings look hot, IMHO). Alot of people start out with too high gearing. Combining this with no brakes sounds lethal.

(Discalimer: General brakeless comment, not directed to OP)