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 Attired as he is in ski goggles over a woolly hat, Mystery does not exactly cut a dash as your romantic hero. He’s unnerving rather than seductive. But this is the man that claims he is the world’s greatest pick-up artist, a modern day Casanova who boasts he can seduce any women he chooses. With that kind of build up, you’d imagine he could at least look like George Clooney.
It had taken some time to persuade Mystery to meet me. A phenomenon in America thanks to his alleged prowess with women, he’s on magazine covers, signing book deals and giving autographs all over the country. There is a waiting list for those anxious to attend his exclusive men only seduction boot camps (three-day workshops where his students are taught his copywrited seduction techniques). I am one of the first female journalists to infiltrate one.
Mystery bounces into the opening seminar, held in a hotel conference suit in Las Vegas, like Tiger-all smiles and affability. He’s wearing black nail polish, lot of jewelry and despite the 90 degree Celsius heat, his trade mark ski goggles over a ski hat. Anxiously waiting in the room are his seven students, who, in Mystery’s jargon (he uses a lot of it) are AFC’s (Average Frustrated Chumps). When they finish the course, they will be PUA’s (Pick up Artist).
None of them wants to talk to me. It is quietly explained how humiliating it is for a man to admit he has trouble attracting a women. None of them is particularly unattractive. One, a handsome doctor in his thirties, admits later that he works all hours at the hospital and has no time to find a wife. There’s a fireman in his forties who is divorced and just plain shy. There is one who is a lawyer-good looking but short. And there are several who are computer specialists. Probably rich and nerdy.
The purpose of you being here is to begin is to begin a sexual relationship with a woman, 32-year-old Mystery begins. But that doesn’t necessarily mean going out and laying a lot of girls. This is about the women of your dreams. Lets be honest, there are less than attractive women out there, but they are always available to you. I say Raise your standards. Tonight you’re going to learn how to approach really beautiful women without creeping them out. For most men, approaching women is as frightening as throwing yourself out of an airplane, but I am going to show you ways of desensitizing yourself. And you are going to practice. This is something you need to practice.
Mystery (real name: Erik von Markovik) is annoyingly likeable. You have to remind yourself that this is a man who rates women on a scale of nought to ten, based on looks. And that he also boasts that the female of the species ought to be grateful to him for ensuring that being picked up is fun. For his arrogance alone, he ought to be disliked. But there is something disarmingly charismatic about him. During breaks in the workshop, we get to talk. All this has come upon me, he purrs with what seems to be incredulity. If you had told me when I was 21, when I lost my virginity, that I would be known as the world’s greatest pick-up artist, that I would have this lifestyle and some very beautiful women in my life; if you have told me that what I do would turn into a nationwide culture phenomenon, I’d never have believed you.
Mystery draws breath for a second. The truth is, every man has to do what it takes to attract a women because if he doesn’t, he is effectively sterile. So for the first time in my life, I am doing the honorable thing. I am doing something where I can give to others.
Mystery’s method is based on human psychology. If a man approaches an HB (Hot Babe) and says something like, What’s your name? he is almost certain to get rebuffed. Beautiful women, Mystery explains, are constantly approached by men, so that questions will immediately put them on the defensive. The average frustrated chump goes wrong because he is telegraphing sex. But if a PUA were to approach a group of women and men and befriend all in then circle, he stands a good chance of eventually talking to the HB on a one-to-one basis.
By getting in with the group, the PUA demonstrates higher social value, meaning that he is gaining validation from the HB’s friends. It is crucial to show no interest whatsoever in the HB. He should even go as far as to deliver a well placed neg. This is a negative comment or veiled insult such as, I don’t think I like you. HB’s are not used to men ignoring or criticizing them. The lack of interest in her also disarms her friends.
The PUA must also use crucial body language. If he talks to the HB at all initially, it should be in a disinterested fashion over his shoulder. He should also aim to position himself at the center of the group, preferably sitting in the chair that the HB may already be sitting on. This is called being locked in. If a girl is sitting on a chair, and I’m leaning over her, it looks like I’m moving in on her. It will also make her feel uncomfortable, explains Mystery. But if I’m in a chair leaning back, and she has to lean in to speak to me, it looks like the girl is moving in on me. Here, let me show you.
Suddenly I find myself acting as the HB for Mystery’s demonstrations to his students. He offers me his hands to help me out of the chair so we can swap positions. I give mine to him. Ah, interesting he says slyly, and later explains that the PUA must also periodically test the HB’s indicators of interest (IOIs) by offering her chances to touch, such as this. Could I really be falling for this unlikely charmer?
Mystery’s fame grew first on the internet, in the underground subculture of men dedicated to chat rooms discussing ways of wooing women. Mystery’s second love after women is magic, and it was by doing tricks of illusion that he realized that he could disarm women. By hid mid-twenties, he realized he had a winning formula and began disseminating his seduction tips online. He eventually moved to Los Angeles and began his seminars.
He is at pains to point out that his classes are not about men simply trying to get laid. Why go to all this effort just for a one-night stand? And Mystery practices what he preaches- He tells me that he has a girlfriend for the last 10 months, but they are breaking up because she has a problem with him touring all the time.
Over three days, the would be PUA’s are subjected to more than 19 hours of classroom theory. Then each night, the class transfers to nightclubs to put the theory to practice. As Mystery’s pupils hit the Las Vegas bar later, all are nervous but expectant. Befriending a group of strangers when you don’t happen to do magic tricks is easier said then done. For this purpose, Mystery provides all his students with a number of openers, tried and tested lines and anecdotes to get conversation going with women. He also brings along some of his former students, who have spent the last year practicing.
What is miraculous is that it works. In four hours, I watch Mystery work his way into five separate groups of people in the nightclub, and target a beautiful woman who wraps her limbs around him in less time then it takes to say impressive. It also works for his former students.
In the first ten seconds, I saw these guys use this material and I knew they had it down, says Gary a computer system operator in his thirties, the only one who agrees to talk to me at the end. It’s remarkable. I tried out the material they gave me, and I’m not smooth yet, but these girls talked to me. Typically things don’t go too far when I try to talk to women. I’m a pretty smart person, but sometimes I don’t have the lulls in conversation and I know it’s a weakness. There is so much involved in attracting a woman. It’s really impressive what Mystery does. He’s given me confidence. I know that if I present myself right, I could probably seduce any woman.
Not his one, because like the girl who works behind the bar at the club where Mystery always brings his students, I’ve heard all the lines now. And if I hear another acronym, I may have to SLBM (Scream Like Bloody Murder). But I can see why Mystery is successful. I just wish there was a course like this for women.
As the evening draws to a close, Mystery is wrapped in the arms of another woman. I feel, in the spirit solidarity, I should let her know who he is. But she looks like she is enjoying herself too much.
Excerpted From Marie Claire |
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