Name dropping is a very annoying habit done by people who want/need to feel important. It is the practice casually mentioning (dropping, so to speak) the names of famous people one allegedly knows or claims to know during a conversation to seem more important and impress others.
Name dropping is to be done casually, you can’t be too obvious or forceful about it. The whole idea is to make it appear as if talking to/meeting up with the famous person is something that happens quite frequently to you and so you mention it in passing but it is really no big deal.
So a name dropper wouldn’t say: ” Oh my God, I met the governor the other day, can you imaging that? I actually talked to him about the proposed tax increases and he was really nice.”
It would sound more like: “We were recently talking about the proposed tax increase and the governor said to me ….”
This way you would make clear you talked to the governor while simultaneously implying that it happens quite a lot.
As mentioned, it is a quite annoying habit and bad style and most people look right through it and find it pretentious.
A name dropper is typically someone with a vague connection to the industry. He gives the impression of knowing virtually everyone in the bodybuilding business...revealing a deep seated insecurity that is sharply at odds with his breezy demeanor.