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Mystery
Born Erik James Horvat-Markovic
September 24, 1971 (1971-09-24) (age 38)
Nationality Canadian
Other names Erik von Markovik
Known for pickup artist, mentalist

Mystery is the stage name and alter-ego of Canadian author and entertainer Erik von Markovik (born Erik James Horvat-Markovic on September 24, 1971).[1] An innovator[2] in the seduction community, he is one of the main characters in the non-fiction book The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists by "best friend" Neil Strauss. He was featured in the 2007 VH1 reality television series The Pick-up Artist. Mystery has been labeled by others as the "world's greatest pick-up artist" and was introduced as the "world's most successful pick-up artist" during the premiere of his VH1 show.[3]

Contents

Biography

The persona of Mystery was created by Erik von Markovik in the late 1990s for his mentalist act, entitled "Natural Magic". The name Mystery was also used by von Markovik as his internet nickname and pen name. He is the author of The Mystery Method: How to Get Beautiful Women Into Bed, published by St. Martin's Press.[4]

Mystery claims that he was a "late bloomer" and spent the early years of his life playing Dungeons and Dragons, and that his limited success with women until his early twenties led him to go to nightclubs every night and try different ways to attract women. He states that years of observation and trial and error led to the system he teaches for meeting women. He shared his theories on an internet newsgroup, alt.seduction.fast, and became well-known on that newsgroup.[5]

Mystery instructed and then befriended author Neil Strauss, who went on to become Mystery's 'wingman', and ultimately a mentor in the seduction community himself. Together with a number of other former students, Mystery and Strauss shared a large residence in Hollywood ('Project Hollywood'), which soon became a central point for aspiring students. The friendship is recorded in Strauss's book The Game.

In 2004, Mystery went into a partnership with fellow dating coach Nick Savoy to form Mystery Method Corporation, although Mystery himself stopped teaching at regular programs in mid-2005. Nevertheless, the company continued to grow, and added approximately a dozen other instructors until late 2006, when Mystery left to form his own company, called Venusian Arts. Mystery Method Corporation continued on without him with most of the same instructors, and has since changed its name to Love Systems.[6]

On April 11, 2007, Mystery appeared on the television show Late Night with Conan O'Brien to promote his book The Mystery Method: How to get Beautiful Women into Bed. Mystery explained concepts such as going "in field", "peacocking", the structure of a pick-up, and the importance of not telegraphing interest when approaching a group of people.[7]

On August 6, 2007, the series premiere of Mystery's television show The Pick-up Artist aired on VH1.[8] Soon after, an episode of Saturday Night Live on November 3, 2007 started with a sketch in which Darrell Hammond played Bill Clinton at a Halloween party, dressed up as Mystery.[9]

A second season premiered on October 12, 2008.

Technique and contributions

Mystery is credited with coining a number of terms and concepts in the seduction community. Some terms Mystery is credited for include:

  • Set - A group of two or more people which a man would have to approach and befriend in order to be able to woo his "target" girl. "Beautiful women are rarely found alone."
  • Peacocking - Dressing to stand out, or to have an item of clothing or an accessory that looks interesting, allowing the girl to comment on it if she is interested in starting a conversation with you.
  • The 3-second Rule - If you see a girl you are interested in, you must approach her within three seconds or you will over-think things and create too much approach anxiety and analysis paralysis, and you will risk her seeing you staring at her.
  • Neg - A backhanded compliment intended to snub a potential mate ("target"), telegraph a lack of interest ("false disqualification"), encourage the target to prove her worth ("qualify"), and simultaneously disarm 'obstacles' such as protective male or female friends.[10]

Though seminars and workshops on seduction technique preceded his involvement, Mystery is credited with introducing "in-field" workshops,[10] in which small groups of students were appraised on their technique as they approached unaffiliated women in bars and nightclubs.

Professional involvement

Mystery was involved with the company previously known as Mystery Method until 2006.  This company has since changed his name to Love Systems. Mystery currently is a minority owner in the business The Venusian Arts[1] which runs seminars and "in field" workshops to teach men seduction, and sells products on this theme.

A reality series titled The Pick-up Artist debuted on August 6, 2007 on VH1.[8] In the series, Mystery and his wingmen trained eight "lonely, socially inept" men in an eight week bootcamp in Austin, Texas to compete for the title of "Master Pick-Up Artist".[8]  A second season debuted on October 12, 2008. Mystery held his first college seminar on May 4, 2006 at MIT. Mystery has also received several notable awards within the seduction community. One commercial website awarded him the top pick-up artist in 2007.[11]

Bibliography

  • The Venusian Arts Handbook (2005). The Mystery Method. (ebook) No longer available.
  • The Mystery Method: How to Get Beautiful Women Into Bed (2005). Mystery, Chris Odom. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0312360115
  • Revelation (2008). Mystery, Chris Odom, James Matador. ISBN 978-0-9818733-005

Media Attention

Interviews and spots

Newspaper and Magazine articles

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Getlen, Larry (August 5, 2007). "HOT SEAT". New York Post. Retrieved on August 7, 2007.
  2. ^ Strauss (2005), p. 15.
  3. ^ Season 1, Episode 1. The Pick-up Artist. VH1. August 6, 2007
  4. ^ von Markovik (2007).
  5. ^ "The Pick-Up Artist 2 Character Bios". October, 2008. VH1.com. Retrieved on January 13 2009.
  6. ^ Official California Superior Court Documents
  7. ^ O'Brien, Conan. Late Night with Conan O'Brien (April 11, 2007). [Television Show]. NBC.
  8. ^ a b c "VH1 show teaches men how to meet women". August 1, 2007. The Orange County Register. Retrieved on August 4, 2007.
  9. ^ http://snltranscripts.jt.org/07/07dhalloween.phtml
  10. ^ a b Strauss (2005).
  11. ^ "The Top 10 Pick Up Artists of 2007".  January 8, 2008.  Thundercat's Seduction Lair.  Retrieved on January 13, 2008.

References

  • Odom, Chris. Revelation with Mystery and James Matador. (2008). ISBN 978-0-9818733-005
  • von Markovik, Erik. The Mystery Method: How to Get Beautiful Women Into Bed. St. Martins Press. (2007). ISBN 978-0312360115
  • Strauss, Neil. The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists. ReganBooks. (2005). ISBN 0-06-055473-8

External links

Pioneers of the seduction community







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