{"id":12278,"date":"2020-08-21T09:11:24","date_gmt":"2020-08-21T13:11:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=12278"},"modified":"2020-09-04T23:15:56","modified_gmt":"2020-09-05T03:15:56","slug":"pua-gurus-the-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/pua-gurus-the-game\/","title":{"rendered":"PUA Gurus: 7 Top Pickup Artists From The Game"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Who are the PUA gurus that influenced author Neil Strauss as he wrote The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists<\/em>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The PUA gurus in The Game <\/em>each had a different strategy. In his research, Neil Strauss learned about each of these PUA gurus and adopted his own strategy. Learn more about the PUA gurus below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Style Meets the PUA Gurus<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Mystery had another workshop coming up in two months, in Miami. Style set a goal to meet all the top pickup artists (PUAs) before then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The seduction community had several pickup gurus, each pedaling a different seduction strategy. <\/strong>For example, Ross Jeffries\u2019s Speed Seduction was based on subliminal messaging through sequences of scripted lines, while David DeAngelo\u2019s Double Your Dating strategy used a hybrid of arrogance and humor, called cocky funny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The PUA gurus competed for disciples, discrediting each other in the process. However, most men in the seduction community didn\u2019t want to commit to just one guru\u2014like Style, they wanted to pick up as many strategies from as many sources as they could. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The PUA Gurus and Their Strategies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Each of the PUA gurus had a specific strategy that let them have their own followers within the community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Juggler: Be Bold<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The first PUA Style contacted was Juggler.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Juggler advocated tactics that were bold and unorthodox. <\/strong>For example, he told his students to get over their fear of picking up women by calling random numbers from the phone book and asking for movie recommendations, or by convincing a homeless person to give them a quarter. Juggler also encouraged PUAs-in-training to make their pickups more challenging by telling women that they worked as garbage men or drove old cars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Style attended one of Juggler\u2019s free workshops in San Francisco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before Style reached out, Juggler already knew of Style from seeing his posts in the online seduction community. When they met, Juggler was impressed by Style\u2019s innate likability<\/a>, eloquence, and ability to put people at ease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Juggler saw Style in action, he admired Style\u2019s skill at using seduction techniques. Combined with Style\u2019s unassuming appearance, Juggler mused that Style could be an ideal sidekick for a rising seduction guru. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Juggler could see that Style was lacking confidence, but that self-doubt<\/a> disappeared when Style was sarging<\/a><\/strong> (picking up women). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Juggler\u2019s Background<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Growing up, Juggler loved taking things apart\u2014from toys to home appliances. As he got older, Juggler remained curious about how things worked, but his focus changed from appliances to human interaction. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Juggler became a street performer, juggler, and comedian. In these roles, he studied social dynamics and, consequently, improved his game with women. By 23, he\u2019d had sex with just one woman, but by 28, he could pick up any woman. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Juggler felt like he\u2019d found his tribe when he discovered the online seduction community, because the game was based on the knowledge and strengths he\u2019d developed.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ross Jeffries: Neuro-Linguistic Programming<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

After Style\u2019s trip to San Francisco, Jeffries called to invite Style to attend a seminar he was hosting that weekend. However, Style didn\u2019t know that Jeffries had invited him as a pawn in the competition among the gurus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Style had become well-known in the community as Mystery\u2019s new wing, and he\u2019d gained respect since his impressive performance at Mystery\u2019s Belgrade workshop. <\/strong>Jeffries knew that he\u2019d gain clout if he could claim Style as his follower. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the middle of the seminar, Jeffries spotted Style in the audience and pushed him to declare Jeffries as his guru. However, Style deflected. When the two were alone later, Style explained that he didn\u2019t feel he needed to choose among different methods\u2014he wanted to learn from all gurus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

David DeAngelo: Cocky Funny<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

David DeAngelo<\/a> had entered the seduction community as a student of Jeffries, but he broke out on his own after Jeffries allegedly hypnotized and seduced DeAngelo\u2019s girlfriend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DeAngelo developed and promoted a strategy called cocky funny, which was a hybrid of arrogance and humor. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

DeAngelo wrote a manifesto on cocky funny and distributed it through an online seduction newsletter called Cliff\u2019s List. It was so well-received, that Cliff\u2014who operated Cliff\u2019s List\u2014convinced DeAngelo to turn the 15-page guide into an e-book, which DeAngelo titled Double Your Dating<\/em>. He went on to build a business by the same name. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

DeAngelo was unique among the PUA gurus in several ways: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. He wasn\u2019t particularly charismatic or emphatic. He was a regular guy who was sharing what he\u2019d learned through experience. But he was more organized as a businessman<\/strong> than the other gurus (for example, DeAngelo scripted his entire seminar), and he was a skilled marketer. <\/li>
  2. He presented his material in a way that was palatable to the public.<\/strong> He excluded or rephrased anything that seemed creepy or degrading toward women\u2014except his suggestion that aspiring PUAs get tips on picking up women by reading a book on dog training. <\/li>
  3. He didn\u2019t even use the word seduction, because it implied that he was tricking women into having sex with him. <\/strong>Instead, DeAngelo said he was teaching attraction, which entailed self-improvement that caused women to naturally gravitate toward him. <\/li>
  4. He didn\u2019t engage directly with the online seduction community. <\/strong>He stopped posting on the underground seduction world\u2019s message boards, and he operated his business solely in the public world. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Zan\u2019s Cocky Funny Field Report<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    One of DeAngelo\u2019s followers, named Zan, was a master of cocky funny. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Zan appeared to be genuinely cocky, playing up his seduction skills and touting his stories of conquest. Zan always assumed every woman was interested in him, and he insisted that if he believed it with enough conviction, the woman would, too.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If a woman tried to reject Zan, he played dumb and acted as if the woman wasn\u2019t making any sense. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    One day, Zan posted to Mystery\u2019s Lounge<\/a> about the cocky funny routine he used to pick up waitresses:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. When the waitress first came to the table, he pretended like he didn\u2019t notice her for a few seconds. When he supposedly realized she was there, he appeared very interested in her. <\/li>
    2. He looked her up and down\u2014long enough for her to notice, but not long enough to be creepy. Then he turned his body fully toward her, smiled, and winked. <\/li>
    3. He asked for her name as a means of breaking the ice<\/a>. <\/li>
    4. Every time the waitress returned, he teased her that she kept coming back because she wanted to be around him. She started to play along with the game, which established a rapport. <\/li>
    5. He joked with the waitress that he\u2019d call her, but he didn\u2019t earnestly ask for her number<\/a>. The purpose of the exchange was purely to make himself memorable.<\/li>
    6. The next time he went to the restaurant, the waitress remembered him, so he picked up with an increased level of familiarity, putting his arm around her and saying what a good couple they\u2019d make. The cocky funny strategy created a buffer that allowed him to push the boundaries, because she never knew whether he was being serious or joking. <\/strong><\/li>
    7. He continued the jokes about dating, such as apologizing for not calling her last night, and chastising her for being a negligent girlfriend. <\/li>
    8. He transitioned from joking to serious. He created an opportunity to talk to the waitress one-on-one, and he asked her if she wanted him to call her.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Zan wrote that not only had he used the same routine on the other waitresses in the restaurant, but he also expected them to tell each other about what he\u2019d said. He said that it was actually strategic that the waitresses knew he\u2019d hit on all of them, because it created social proof\u2014the idea that someone is more desirable if others are interested in him.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Steve P. and Rasputin: Hypnosis<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      DeAngelo\u2019s seminar also featured a session with guest speakers Steve P. and Rasputin, who worked together as a hypnotist duo. Each had impressive credentials within the seduction community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Steve P. got women to pay him up to a thousand dollars to have sex with him<\/strong> because he claimed he could: <\/p>\n\n\n\n