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Famed pick up artist and author, Neil Strauss, has a funeral for his single life.

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Jhoan

Member
He has some serious cash to blow that he bought a plot of cemetery space to lament the loss of "Style." Then again, this is the same guy who bought citizenship in another country and has a crazy emergency survival shelter set up since he's a bit paranoid. He said he wanted to have his cake and eat it. I would think that he can't have a monogamy so it'll probably be an open marriage.

The Game must've sold like gang busters that it made him a killing plus his premium coaching services. Some of the advice in that book is pretty good but otherwise, it was a bit of a blatant stealth brag book. I checked it out from the Public Library and never gave him a single cent.

I met him in person during a signing for The Style Life Diaries in the now defunct Barnes and Noble on 23rd and 7th I believe about 4-5 years ago. He told me to fix my posture and do his challenges when I had him sign my copy. He's a short dude in person and was flanked by two fake tanned Asian chicks. I also spoke to dudes that blew thousands of dollars for seminars with Mystery. They barely got one-on-one time with him.
 

Dennis

Banned
When I was like a huge dork and like 20, I thought this kind of shit was some kind of magic. Then I figured out that all they do is hit on 50 chicks a night. The law of averages says one of them will be desperate.

No, seriously, thats it. That is the secret to "pickup artists." They just hit on everything. They get desensitized to being blown off because it happens so often and then every once in a while get lucky.

This is a basic truth. The ability to shake off rejection and not get discouraged is what PUA is really all about when you disregard all the other nonsense.

If you can stomach all the rejection that comes along with approaching a lot of girls (even if you are handsome) then you are golden.
 

entremet

Member
He has some serious cash to blow that he bought a plot of cemetery space to lament the loss of "Style." Then again, this is the same guy who bought citizenship in another country and has a crazy emergency survival shelter set up since he's a bit paranoid. He said he wanted to have his cake and eat it. I would think that he can't have a monogamy so it'll probably be an open marriage.

The Game must've sold like gang busters that it made him a killing plus his premium coaching services. Some of the advice in that book is pretty good but otherwise, it was a bit of a blatant stealth brag book. I checked it out from the Public Library and never gave him a single cent.

I met him in person during a signing for The Style Life Diaries in the now defunct Barnes and Noble on 23rd and 7th I believe about 4-5 years ago. He told me to fix my posture and do his challenges when I had him sign my copy. He's a short dude in person and was flanked by two fake tanned Asian chicks. I also spoke to dudes that blew thousands of dollars for seminars with Mystery. They barely got one-on-one time with him.

Did it help?

I kinda find it sad when people spend thousands of dollars on those seminars. I guess PT Barnum is still right, "A sucker is born every second"
 

sangreal

Member
All I've read about it on the internet so far make it seem like misogynistic drivel.

It's not some guide to picking up women, it's just the story of how Neil Strauss ended up in that scene and what it was like. It actually paints PUAs in a pretty bad light

His followup book was more of a guide with all the challenges and shit and it was pretty terrible
 

Fantasmo

Member
Did it help?

I kinda find it sad when people spend thousands of dollars on those seminars. I guess PT Barnum is still right, "A sucker is born every second"

I can't imagine it being anything other than a total waste of money since it's all free online. Nothing helps more than experience, but RSD can help you get past sticking points. But since someone shamelessly ripped this onto Youtube and since they have their own official videos, I can't imagine anyone needing a seminar. You still have to do all the gruntwork and face tons of rejection yourself. You can consume their stuff til your eyes bleed, but there's no other way to develop a thicker skin than actually go through it.
 

RedShift

Member
I don't think the game was meant to be a guide. Or I hope not anyway. It's basically the story of how fucked up these guys all are. I enjoyed it because it's the only book I've read that has Tom Cruise and Courtney Love appear in them.

My favourite part was when a guy shows up who literally demands people call him Tyler Durden, and then they're all surprised when he turns out to be a total cock bucket.

It's actually an entertaining read.
 

Mengy

wishes it were bannable to say mean things about Marvel
This I have to disagree with. If you're doing anything more than playful teasing, you're doing it wrong. Teasing is fun for everyone. That said, I can't stand Mystery or his method.

Edit:

Style is playful, check this out (he's still weird and robotic though):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_qdqHzw92o

See, that's exactly what I'm talking about, he is using a stupid annoying game simply to talk to the woman. If the woman is interested in you in the first place then you don't need to behave like a high school idiot like this, just talk to her normally. Have a conversation with her. If she isn't interested then this game is going to fail miserably anyway and just annoy her.

The Game is full of crap like this. Simply having a little bit of self esteem, courage, and being yourself will produce the exact same results, only without all the douchebag behavior.




Anyway,back on topic, I wish him the best and good luck. Being married is much different than picking up random women with tricks.
 

Fantasmo

Member
Jeez man, its a fun little game to play, nothing more. And I assure you its better than "hey baby" or whistling. At the very least you're being entertaining and cheeky and to be quite honest that's an attractive quality.
 
When I was like a huge dork and like 20, I thought this kind of shit was some kind of magic. Then I figured out that all they do is hit on 50 chicks a night. The law of averages says one of them will be desperate.

No, seriously, thats it. That is the secret to "pickup artists." They just hit on everything. They get desensitized to being blown off because it happens so often and then every once in a while get lucky.

Yep, that's all there is to it. I read a while ago that they took about 50-100 men and had them rate themselves on how women perceived them. About half rated themselves below avg look wise and what not. Well then they had about the same number of women judge them and it turned out that quite a few were rated avg to above avg. So really if you aren't scared of being rejected and you try there might be somebody who will be in to you. I should have kept the study cos there was more to it but that was years ago.

Edit: I should say that initiation of the conversation is half the battle. Then it's up to you to keep the momentum going.
 

demon

I don't mean to alarm you but you have dogs on your face
'The Game' was not a guide so much as it was the story of his experience with the tall fuzzy hat guy. That said it was an awful book. Strauss is not a good writer.
 

Burt

Member
Ingrid De La O?

Ingrid of the Orgasm?

tumblr_lqw05d5htj1r1dncro1_400.gif
 

Jhoan

Member
Did it help?

I kinda find it sad when people spend thousands of dollars on those seminars. I guess PT Barnum is still right, "A sucker is born every second"
Not really, I'm still a virgin but I've become more mature, have more dating experience under my belt, and have become more sociable. Still, I get a bit anxious around women from time to time. I sometimes forget to straighten my posture as I walk but I've made more of a conscious effort to sit with good posture.

Surprisingly enough, the advice that he gave me was advice you hear from the Average Joe which disappointed me. I think he got annoyed when I said "That's it?" which he proceeded to follow up with an annoyed tone by saying "First of all [advice]." When I got home that night, I told my brothers how disappointed I was by meeting him. It goes to show that there's no ultimate advice-to-end-all-advice even for people that pay so much money. In my head I thought that the dudes who blew all that money were completely gullible/stupid but I didn't tell them so. In the end of the day paying a premium service for stuff you can get for free is like dealing with a snake oil salesman.

Hell there was this one dude who made some kind of a chainlink chain that wrapped around his thumb and must have been at least 5 feet long. He said it was for peacocking. It looked cool and it took him a long time to make it, but it was a bit sad.
 

Flatline

Banned
Define "work"

Did they get him laid? Yes

Was he a miserable person? Was he using PUA as a way of running from his emotional problems? Did he, deep down, actually crave intimacy rather than lay counts? Yes

Wait, how do you know all that? Are you his psychologist or something?

Anyway, every pickup artist I've met in my life was a major douche. It's a real shame the majority of women like these assholes but it's the sad reality.
 

LakeEarth

Member
Anyway, every pickup artist I've met in my life was a major douche. It's a real shame the majority of women like these assholes it's it's the sad reality.
Yeah, I had a friend who was a very large and a chain smoker, but he was just so aggressive. I've seen girls just get up and leave because of him, but at the same time he got laid more often than anyone else I know.
 

Akuun

Looking for meaning in GAF
It's a real shame the majority of women like these assholes it's it's the sad reality.
I don't think it's the majority of women. No girl I know likes these types.

I think there are enough women who like assholes to allow this sort of behavior to exist, but I don't think it's the majority of women.
 

JohnDoe

Banned
It's not some guide to picking up women, it's just the story of how Neil Strauss ended up in that scene and what it was like. It actually paints PUAs in a pretty bad light

His followup book was more of a guide with all the challenges and shit and it was pretty terrible

Whoops, sorry for being ignorant then. It was obviously the other book that had the misogynistic shit in it.

Wait, how do you know all that? Are you his psychologist or something?

Anyway, every pickup artist I've met in my life was a major douche. It's a real shame the majority of women like these assholes it's it's the sad reality.

My suggestion would be to meet real women. Or just get to know more than 3.
 

ThatObviousUser

ὁ αἴσχιστος παῖς εἶ
I loved The Game with Michael Douglas but apparently the book version is way worse? This guy must be a hack.
 
Honestly, I always thought many of these dudes are secretly gay. Dont get me wrong, I think every man should have his "player" days where he basically tries to screw everything with a pluse. But PUAs dedication to it, day in day out, changing every element of ur personailty just to bed a couple bimbos a week? Writing filed reports online and meeting up with strange men offline? Nah man, sonething else is going on there.
 

Flatline

Banned
Like I said, it's a recurring theme with pick-up artists. Objectifying/quantifying your sexual life is not healthy.


You cannot dictate what's "healthy" for other people. In fact you can't even know what's healthy for a person at any point in his life. I considered some things "healthy" for my life a few years ago that I don't anymore and the opposite.


I don't think it's the majority of women. No girl I know likes these types.

I think there are enough women who like assholes to allow this sort of behavior to exist, but I don't think it's the majority of women.


No girl says she likes these types. I guess you haven't seen the ridiculous shit I've seen because you don't know many of these "artists", I can say with certainly that it's definitely the majority of women. The gist of the matter is that most women prioritize self-confidence over anything else which explains the overconfident douchebags having so much success. It's not exclusive to women though, men are just as pathetic but in different ways (for example many of them falling in love solely based on appearance - truly absurd and stupid but a reality).

The problem imo is that we're a stupid, stupid species prioritizing nonsensical instincts over logic.
 
Its funny how much women have no clue what attracts other women. Arseholes have no problems with women because more women than you can posdibly think have no problem with arseholes Especially If the bulk of a dudes arseholery is directed at someone else.
 

dave is ok

aztek is ok
This guy was a published author and writer for Rolling Stone magazine. He shouldn't have needed a summer camp course to help him get women.
 

TheRedMan

Banned
This guy was a published author and writer for Rolling Stone magazine. He shouldn't have needed a summer camp course to help him get women.
He probably exaggerated just how bad he was with women for the sake of the book, makes for a better story that most guys can relate to. "If he could do it, anybody can!"
 

Ri'Orius

Member
Simply having a little bit of self esteem, courage, and being yourself will produce the exact same results, only without all the douchebag behavior.

Man, if I had a dollar for everyone who said to "just be yourself..."

I mean, how are these guys not being themselves? Do you think they're being mind-controlled by aliens? They are people who will go to these lengths to meet women. That's them being themselves. Every douchebag on the planet is just being him- or herself. Do you really think different behaviors don't lead to different results?

If nothing else, specific actionable exercises are good ways to develop self-esteem and courage. You may be able to "simply have" these traits, but not everyone is you. Some of us need some help. Need practice. Need actual advice.

"Just be yourself" isn't advice.
 

Flatline

Banned
There's plenty of scientific research backing up what emotional habits are and are not healthy for you.

For example, sexual compulsion is associated with Avoidant Attachment types, and there are countless studies documenting the health risks associated with this attachment type:
http://scholar.google.ca/scholar?hl=en&q=avoidant+attachment&btnG=&as_sdt=1,5&as_sdtp=


So based on this study you deduced all those things you said about him? So if he fits a category you know everything about someone?
 

Fantasmo

Member
No girl says she likes these types. I guess you haven't seen the ridiculous shit I've seen because you don't know many of these "artists", I can say with certainly that it's definitely the majority of women. The gist of the matter is that most women prioritize self-confidence over anything else which explains the overconfident douchebags having so much success. It's not exclusive to women though, men are just as pathetic but in different ways (for example many of them falling in love solely based on appearance - truly absurd and stupid but a reality).

The problem imo is that we're a stupid, stupid species prioritizing nonsensical instincts over logic.

To follow this up, what isn't attractive about an extremely confident man, approaching a woman, being totally not creepy, being entertaining, and all into you, physically and mentally, and completely sure of himself that the two of you would get along great?

While all these guys are different let's run through the list shall we? Great sex, entertaining, can switch her mood from blase to happy, attentive, socially with it, adaptable, charismatic, sexy, passionate, and a go-getter.

That's the biggest ego boost a person can ever get outside of personal accomplishments. And there's more of it to follow if she accepts his advances.

If I was a woman, that's exactly what I'd want in a man, and it'd be instantly attractive.
 

RedShift

Member
This guy was a published author and writer for Rolling Stone magazine. He shouldn't have needed a summer camp course to help him get women.

This was my biggest problem with the book.

"Marvel as I, a journalist who constantly hangs around with celebrities, and my friend, a fucking magician, manage to impress people at bars"
 

Flatline

Banned
To follow this up, what isn't attractive about an extremely confident man, approaching a woman, being totally not creepy, being entertaining, and all into you, physically and mentally, and completely sure of himself that the two of you would get along great?

While all these guys are different let's run through the list shall we? Great sex, entertaining, can switch her mood from blase to happy, attentive, socially with it, adaptable, charismatic, sexy, passionate, and a go-getter.

That's the biggest ego boost a person can ever get outside of personal accomplishments. And there's more of it to follow if she accepts his advances.

If I was a woman, that's exactly what I'd want in a man, and it'd be instantly attractive.

Agreed. All that on the surface though. Go a little deeper and you find a complete egotistical asshole whose overconfidence has has done irreparable damage to his personality. Not all of them are like that but you have to be pretty smart to avoid it.
 

Fantasmo

Member
Agreed. All that on the surface though. Go a little deeper and you find a complete egotistical asshole whose overconfidence has has done irreparable damage to his personality. Not all of them are like that but you have to be pretty smart to avoid it.

To be fair a lot of people become arrogant when they're getting tons of attention they never got before. Life has a funny way of bringing you back to reality regardless.

In terms of Neil, he's pretty successful in his life and has lived in the spotlight for awhile. He definitely doesn't come from a douchey place. You can see it in all his interviews. He's a pretty nice guy. I think he'll be fine.
 

Bleepey

Member
He has some serious cash to blow that he bought a plot of cemetery space to lament the loss of "Style." Then again, this is the same guy who bought citizenship in another country and has a crazy emergency survival shelter set up since he's a bit paranoid. He said he wanted to have his cake and eat it. I would think that he can't have a monogamy so it'll probably be an open marriage.

The Game must've sold like gang busters that it made him a killing plus his premium coaching services. Some of the advice in that book is pretty good but otherwise, it was a bit of a blatant stealth brag book. I checked it out from the Public Library and never gave him a single cent.

I met him in person during a signing for The Style Life Diaries in the now defunct Barnes and Noble on 23rd and 7th I believe about 4-5 years ago. He told me to fix my posture and do his challenges when I had him sign my copy. He's a short dude in person and was flanked by two fake tanned Asian chicks. I also spoke to dudes that blew thousands of dollars for seminars with Mystery. They barely got one-on-one time with him.

I too met Neil Strauss. He was pretty cool. He did a book signing in London and there were a large number of women there at the signing thanking him for the book which kinda surprised me. He said my constant self-deprecating jokes were amusing but regressive.


For a feminist that's kind of sexist of you to be calling women garbage.
 

Tenks

Member
When I was like a huge dork and like 20, I thought this kind of shit was some kind of magic. Then I figured out that all they do is hit on 50 chicks a night. The law of averages says one of them will be desperate.

No, seriously, thats it. That is the secret to "pickup artists." They just hit on everything. They get desensitized to being blown off because it happens so often and then every once in a while get lucky.

Basically all PUA boils down to is, like you said, law of averages and confidence. That is it. There is a ton of fluff surrounding it with the insane peacocking and negging and shit but when you get down to it everything is about getting over a fear of rejection and doing it confidently. When I first started reading it I thought the idea was complete hogwash. Until I realized that everything they're doing is what I said above. I then applied it to my real life and had far, far better success.
 

Fantasmo

Member
Basically all PUA boils down to is, like you said, law of averages and confidence. That is it. There is a ton of fluff surrounding it with the insane peacocking and negging and shit but when you get down to it everything is about getting over a fear of rejection and doing it confidently. When I first started reading it I thought the idea was complete hogwash. Until I realized that everything they're doing is what I said above. I then applied it to my real life and had far, far better success.
Exactly. The reason it exists in the first place is to get guys who have no clue, to actually get and have a clue. Its ridiculous to call PUA creepy or whatever, because why should women have magazines and books about men and dating available to them, when if men have them its automatically awful or shameful? It's not like its mind control where the woman can't leave or not be interested or something. This stuff teaches guys about what women want in a man, to men that haven't a clue. And honestly, dating coach or not, it takes a lot of relationship experience and some luck to get through mismatches and find someone you really fancy, men and women alike. It really needs a new name though. Dating for men or something.
 
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