Mystery, The Game & Project Hollywood
Erik Von Markovik (Mystery) is the greatest pickup artist of all time. The living legend is behind The Mystery Method, Project Hollywood and even a TV show called VH1’s The Pickup Artist.
Mystery rarely does interviews, but I was able to interview Mystery for more than 4 hours in what is now his longest ever interview.
Special Mystery Interview
Mystery & The Game
Erik Von Markovik (Mystery) rose to fame after Neil Strauss wrote the cult classic book The Game: Penetrating The Secret Society Of Pickup Artists in 2005. The first chapter of The Game was even titled Meet Mystery, and Neil Strauss went on to mention Mystery close to a thousand times throughout the book.
Plenty of crazy things happened in the book, but how much of The Game is actually true?
According to Mystery himself, the book is true, but there were just some characters that were merged together to simplify the book and protect certain people’s identities. Once the book came out, people were proud to have been mentioned and were no longer concerned about their identity.
Project Hollywood
Project Hollywood was the iconic game house mentioned in The Game, where Neil Strauss (Style), Erik Von Markovik (Mystery), Owen Cook (RSD Tyler) and Nick Kho (RSD Papa) lived. The infamous game house had several other residents over time, such as Todd VenDeHey (Todd V), who was referred to in The Game as Xaneus.
Mystery revealed that the idea behind Project Hollywood came from a list of projects he wanted to do in the 2000s. Some of the projects on his list were…
- Project Hollywood
- Project TV Show
- Project Seminar Tour
Project Hollywood was the former home of Dean Martin, and was within walking distance of nightclubs on Sunset Boulevard. It was also super close to Mel’s Diner, which became an iconic meeting point for pickup artists in the mid 2000s, where Neil Strauss (Style), Erik Von Markovik (Mystery), Owen Cook (RSD Tyler), Nick Kho (RSD Papa) and Ross Jeffries would regularly meet to discuss game. It was also a very good date spot for the milkshakes.
Mystery Method Routines
Mystery shared a few routines during the interview. The most impressive one was a routine designed for getting a female bartender’s phone number.
The Bartender Routine
You know what sucks? The very thing that’s allowed you and I to meet just now is the very thing that’ll keep us from ever getting to know each other. You know what that is?
Well, you’re at work. If it weren’t for work, you wouldn’t be here. If it weren’t for my friends dragging me out, I wouldn’t be here either. So we have to appreciate that we had a chance to meet because of them, and because of work.
But again, it’s the same thing that’ll keep us from ever getting to know each other. Because you gotta get back to work, and as you can see, I gotta rejoin my friends.
But we’re pretty socially savvy. If we want it, we could figure a way around it. Any ideas?
Pickup Artist Terminology
I asked Mystery about some of the criticized pickup artist terminology, and whether the suggested alternatives from the Game Glossary make sense.
Mystery said that he wouldn’t call ‘last minute resistance’ ‘cold feet’, but said that cold feet is exactly what ‘last minute resistance’ is.
Other phrases mentioned were ‘target’ and ‘isolation’, in which the term ‘target’ actually took inspiration from the movie Top Gun, as did the term ‘wingman’, which has become a mainstream pickup term.
Peacocking
I asked Mystery if peacocking was still relevant, and what exactly guys can do in order to peacock successfully.
Mystery said that tattoos are not going away, and so peacocking is not going away.
If you can create an avatar that is unique to you and stands out, you will be able to do some very good peacocking. People often associate Mystery’s version of peacocking to a furry tophat and some crazy goggles, but he has other items such as the Master Pickup Artist Medallion from his TV show and a bracelet.
Mystery describes such items as a ‘social prop’. Mystery’s hat, for example, could be worn by girls he interacts with, even allowing the girls to walk around the club wearing his hat, which then catches the attention of other girls who can see the hat being worn by girls that Mystery is with. He also mentions that hats and other social props can be used as part of a compliance test, such as seeing if a girl would try on his hat.
Personally, I wear a Viking arm ring on my left wrist, which doesn’t come off, and 4 rings on my fingers; some of which I have worn for well over a decade.
Mystery VS Ross Jeffries Debate
When asking who Mystery would like to see in a special MPUA episode of the Dating Coach Panel, Mystery revealed that he would love to see Neil Strauss and Ross Jeffries, among others. But also mentioned that he would enjoy a debate with Ross Jeffries.
Coincidentally, I had recently hosted a debate between Pearl Davis (JustPearlyThings) and Ross Jeffries.
Mystery mentioned several topics that would be interesting to debate Ross Jeffries on…
- Day Game VS Night Game
- Single Approach Theory VS Group Approach Theory
- Structure
- Qualifying
- Gambits
If a Mystery VS Ross Jeffries debate took place, it would be the biggest event in the seduction community for decades, probably since the release of VH1’s The Pickup Artist, or the release of The Game.
Ross Jeffries has since responded to Mystery’s debate idea.
Special Mystery Seminar
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Use code ICE for an exclusive and rare discount.
Revelation Book
Get access to Mystery’s book: Revelation.
