So you’ve been hearing a lot about pick up artists and the seduction community lately, but have no idea who these people are. Here I present to you, in no particular order, the world’s best pick up artists.
Mystery (Erik Von Markovich)
The star of VH1’s new reality show, The Pick Up Artist, Mystery is a long time member of the seduction community and is known for his systematic method for picking up women. Mystery came onto the scene in direct opposition to the Speed Seduction hypnosis style of game that was popular at the time. He developed an indirect style where the pickup artist would move from various stages of attraction, comfort and seduction. This method became the basis for many of today’s seduction models and has been used by Mystery to train many of today’s best pick-up artists. He’s also recently published a book called - The Mystery Method: How To Get Beautiful Women Into Bed.
David DeAngelo
DeAngelo has been around since the beginning of the seduction community and was one of the first to start offering seminars. His book Double Your Dating is one of the most popular ebooks in seduction and is a staple to every pick-up artist’s library. DeAngelo’s concept of Cocky & Funny has been a basic principle in seduction since the start. Click Here for DeAngelo’s dating newsletter.
Style (Neil Strauss)
Hailed as the king of the unnaturals. Neil Strauss catapulted to the top of the seduction community after the release of his best selling book The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists
Tyler Durden
A main character and also controversial figure in The Game, Tyler Durden became renown for his analytic breakdown of seduction in his posts on popular seduction message boards. After a falling out with Mystery and Style, Tyler Durden went on to found his own company Real Social Dynamics. Now Tyler and his crew have evolved from the old ways of Mystery’s teachings and to a new natural transformation style of teaching and seduction.
Brad P
A rising star in the seduction community, BradP is famous for his fearless attitude and unique concepts on creating a sexual identity. His concepts on seductive fashion and sexy stereotyping is one of Brad’s key areas of expertise. He has also been consistently pushing the envelope in advancing new ideas in attracting women. As Brad’s skills and knowledge continue to improve it is likely he will be THE best pick-up artist within the next few years. Click Here for BradP’s Underground Dating site.
Gambler
The head of the leading European seduction company, PUA Training, Gambler’s reputation as a top pick-up artist has been growing by leaps and bounds. Like Style, he has trained with many of the world’s best seducers to become well versed in all areas of pickup. He uses tried and true seduction fundamentals as the basis of his teachings yet supplements them with new cutting edge techniques resulting in a powerful system of attracting beautiful women. Click Here for the PUA Training website.
Thundercat (Joseph Matthews)
A student of Mystery and Style, Thundercat, became most known through his popular and sometimes controversial blog, Thundercat’s Seduction Lair. His area of expertise is in the crucial fist step of approaching. His popular ebook, Art of Approaching, became an instant favorite of aspiring pickup artists with it’s comprehensive breakdown on every newbie’s first stumbling block of approaching women.
Dave M.
The owner of the Insider Internet Dating system, Dave M’s specialty is seducing women over internet dating sites. Through years of experimentation; trial and error; and hundreds of dates achieved through sites like Match.com, Facebook and MySpace Dave has become an expert in this niche area of seduction.
Juggler (Wayne Elise)
Juggler, originally a comedian is one of the community’s top proponents of direct natural game. He has amassed a large following and coached many great pick-up artists such as Johnny Savior, SocialHitchhiker, and Dimitri using his easy going charismatic style of seduction. He has also been featured in the UK’s reality show Seduction School which aired in 2006 and runs his own company called Charisma Arts.
Gunwitch (Allen Reyes)
Known for his deadly direct style of game, Gunwitch came into the community with a completely different style of seduction which didn’t use routines, hypnosis, or any other type of indirect pickup. Gunwitch Method is simple at it’s core, utilizing the pick-up artist’s own “sexual state” to induce the desire for sex in the women you’re trying to attract. The method, though simple is not for the faint of heart and usually involves a little more rejection than most pickup artists are used to, however, used correctly can be an extremely powerful tool in any seducer’s arsenal.
Ross Jeffries
The supposed inspiration for the character Frank T.J. Mackey in the movie Magnolia, Ross Jeffries is the founder of Speed Seduction. Jeffries uses a hypnosis type of strategy to seduce women. Using techniques such as Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), he can not only change his own state of seduction but his target’s as well.
Sinn
One of the top coaches at The Mystery Method company (no longer associated with Mystery), Sinn is well versed in Mystery Method and executes almost to perfection. However, within the last year he has been making new ground and expanding his philosophy of seduction into many new realms making his game even more powerful.
Mehow
A relative newcomer to the seduction community, Mehow has quickly risen to the ranks of the top pick-up artists in the last few years. A student of Mystery’s, Mehow has been refining his own unique style of seduction. He is also known for his amazing hidden camera pick-up videos that are now spreading throughout the Internet.
Vincent DiCarlo
Owner of Dicarlo DiClassified, Vin’s known area of specialty is in kino (kinesthetics). His focus is to seduce women through the power of touch. Through DiCarlo’s years of experience in attracting and seducing women he has developed a comprehensive system of attraction called the DiCarlo Escalation Ladder in which he uses kino in a series of steps to unlock a woman’s attraction switches.
Lance Mason
Founder of Pickup 101, one of the top dating coach companies in the country, Lance and Pickup 101 focus on natural and inner game. Mason and his crew are big believers in transforming the overall individual into leading an attractive life. They are also one of the few pick-up companies that specialize in day game seduction.
David Wygant
Though he doesn’t believe in “picking up women” Wygant is a big proponent of natural game. His focus is teaching men that in order to succeed with women that they need to lead interesting lives, become interesting people and be friendly with everyone. Wygant believes in always living in the moment and enjoying life because in the end it’s all about being happy. Click Here for Wygant’s website.
Asian Playboy
A former student of Mystery’s and recently voted the world’s best Asian pick-up artist, Asian Playboy has developed his own method called the ABC’s of attraction. His focus is on dispelling the limiting beliefs of attraction in Asians and coaches many minorities on how to seduce beautiful women. His most recent research involves the concept of beginner’s hell.
David Shade
David Shade’s focus isn’t so much on how to pick-up women but on how to please them in the bedroom. His concept of seduction is to simply be amazing in bed, give women many orgasms and turn yourself into a sex god. The concept is simple, keep the women happy in bed and you’ll never be alone again. Visit David’s Blog.
Zan Perrion
Another proponent of natural game and leading an attractive lifestyle is Zan. Charming, elegant and romantic, Zan subscribes to the notion that all women are beautiful. His thoughts on the community is that there is too much emphasis on the “us” vs “them” mentality. He’d much rather have men focus on natural state and becoming a man who loves women, because, “a man who likes women is liked by women.” Visit Enlightened Seduction
Cory Skyy
A newcomer to the seduction community, Cory’s focus is on seductive eye contact. His company, Bad Boy With a Heart, is making big splashes with it’s simple and unique seduction method. Cory doesn’t teach you how to pick-up women, he teaches you how to get women to pick you up! He completely throws out the routines manual and puts major emphasis on body language and eye contact through what he calls “eye game.”
SwinggCat
A long standing member of the seduction community, SwinggCat is most known for his concept of Prizing in which the pick-up artist places a high value on himself. By seeing oneself as the prize rather than placing other people on a pedestal you can become more attractive. SwinggCat also consistently makes Thundercat’s yearly Top Ten Pick-up Artist list, coming in at number 1 for 2006. Click Here for his Real World Seduction newsletter.
Stephen Nash
A character in The Game and an original member of Project Hollywood, Stephen Nash has been billed as the real life Hitch. Nash’s company, Cutting Edge Image Consulting, focuses not just on picking up women but a style that is natural and holistic and can be used to lead healthy balanced lifestyle. Click Here for Nash’s newsletter.
Sean Messenger
Former top coach for the Pickup 101 company and student of Lance Mason, Sean has quickly risen the ranks of seducers to transform himself into one of the best. With his new venture Sean has set out to teach men about having long lasting relationships with the women they love. He takes the emphasis out of bedding many women with nothing to show to having a really amazing relationship with just one woman. Visit Sean Messenger’s blog.
Matador
Known as Mystery’s wingman on VH1’s The Pick Up Artist, Matador has been making huge waves in the community with his new Matador Mayhem Technique. I’m not too sure what this consists of but seems to be an advanced version of the Venusian Arts.
Captain Jack
Another top coach for The Mystery Method company, Captain Jack is most known for his ability to get same night lays (not to be confused with one night stands). His techniques are quick and powerful and has the ability to go from approaching to the bedroom in minutes.
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[Disclaimer: I have not met any of the above mentioned pick-up artists nor their companies. The information provided above was gathered from the general perception of the seduction community. For this reason The Modern Savage(TM) does not endorse any one particular pick-up artist, method, or company over another.]
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47 responses so far ↓
pretty good list. i’ve learned quality shit from all these guys. except for Vin DiCarlo, Asian Playboy and David Wygant, they should go on your next list: top 25 WANNABE try-hard PUGs. and does anyone consider thundercat a PUA? nice guy and cool blog though.
Thanks Dewey. I realize that this list will probably be controversial where people will question guys on the list and guys that aren’t on the list. I really just wanted to show who’s out there and in all reality probably could have expanded the list to 100 but decided to stop at 25.
Matt
Matt,
Thanks for the props!
Dewey,
And yet somehow, I’ve managed to:
1) been in the Game for 4 years, teaching for 2 years,
started PUAs on the Coaching path who have since been hired by The Mystery Method AND The Venusian Arts,
2) taught over a 100 programs globally,
3) taught on 4 continents in 2007 alone (Australia in Ocobter, baby!),
4) gotten virgin Asian men de-virginized,
5) had my material (bootcamp and blog) directly plagiarized from the big name to the small name companies,
6) over triple digit lays,
7) networked with some of the best,
9) in the TWO YEARS I’ve been teaching I’ve NEVER put out a PRODUCT because I was never in it for the money,
10) covered in magazine, newspaper, summits, podcasts, etc.
Well, I’m justa hard working playa squirrel trying to get his nut on.
[...] dave@digicraft.com wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptThe owner of the Insider Internet Dating system, Dave M’s specialty is seducing women over internet dating sites. Through years of experimentation; trial and error; and hundreds of dates achieved through sites like Match.com, … [...]
Not a bad list by any means… I can think of a few more people to possibly add… but comprehensive none the less.
Very diverse as far as style… that’s for sure.
[...] Modern Savage’s pickup-artist list [...]
Great list!
I would put just one more on the list: the “inventor” of the Direct Method - Shark (Ranko Magami).
I learned a lot from him!
Asian .. 4 years .. a womanizer .. and no picture? . you are awesome
-A
Hey Matt - great article. You always write some very entertaining and informative stuff so I love coming here.
One thing I’d love to see - a “school” (if you will) to make a FEMALE a pick-up artist. I know I know - you’re all saying “Women, by their very nature of being FEMALE, are pick-up artists!” but that’s just not true! I’m a halfway decent looking woman, great personality, damn fun to be around and I have a bitch of a time getting dates! I’m always told that I’m “too cool to date” (seriously - who says that!). From reading some of the PUA stuff out there, it’s seems like it’s all about interacting with people and I’d love to learn some of that as well!
Just my 2 cents - keep being awesome!
Arab Playboy,
I probably have more pictures- bootcamp and self- than any other PUAs out there…
Here’s a master list of various pics/videos on my blog:
http://theasianplayboy.blogspot.com/2007/03/video-and-picture-gallery-master-list.html
Who do you guys think would be the top 5/10 pickup artists out there?
There is no right and wrong for this list… but unfortanately will never know who the best PUA is. We just know who the guys are that are best at marketing themselves.
Wouldn’t Vh1’s Pick Up Artist be so much more fun to watch if it was 8 of the guys on this list battling it out to be called The pick up artist?
My gut tells me Mystery would win, even before he became semi famous. But who knows?
[...] 25 World’s Greatest Pick Up Artists | The Modern Savage Pick Up Artist (tags: pickup dating relationships) [...]
Do these guys ever get blown out? Getting blown out is the most irritating and depressing part of pick up. It happened to me today I tried to talk to a woman and she went mad and stormed off in a temper.
I’d love to learn how to approach without ever getting blown out. I don’t mean getting rejected, rejection is easy to take it is when you approach and get a mean angry reaction from your target that is bad.
You get blown out when you are trying something you know will provoke strong reactions. It’s not that hard to avoid blowouts completely, but it takes a different approach. You have to focus on being friendly and warm instead of cocky and cool.
I know a lot of great guys on this list who are masters of cocky and cool, and yes, they get blown out sometimes. Personally, I would rather focus on making good relationships and impressions all the time than get laid quick, so my teaching focuses on being warm and never getting blown out.
It all depends on what you want. If you want to learn how to approach and enjoy it every time, you need to find a technique that keeps you from getting blown out. But keep in mind that if you want to get laid, you will need to move things along at some point.
Personally, I almost always lead with a compliment, because it never leads to a blow out when it’s sincere, and if a woman doesn’t appreciate a genuine compliment, then she’s not the kind of woman i want to be with even for one night.
You totally missed SWINGCAT…I put him up there with David Deangelo in terms of techniques.
Eddie,
I’ve never heard of Shark before but will definitely look him up when I get a chance.
Pamm,
You’re right that there aren’t many sources for women who want to be PUAs but you could argue that there are already tons of resources out there for women to attract men. Just think of magazines like Cosmo. Also, it seems to me that a lot of the techniques that male PUAs use could also be used by females. Simple things like improved body language, getting rid of approach anxiety and being more confident are traits that will make anyone more attractive.
Asian Playboy,
Always appreciate the comments and we definitely know you are the real deal so don’t fret the hatters:)
Mikey O,
Thundercat has a top 10 list of pick up artists that he puts out at the end of each year that is probably more accurate than this list since he knows most of the pick up artist personally. I think if you simply search his blog you can find it.
Bobby Rio,
You make a good point. There are probably tons of other amazing pick up artists who we never even hear about simply because they are not part of a pick up company and are not marketing themselves. Although, one would argue that if someone is able to make a living on pick up then he must be pretty damn good!
Angus,
If you’re getting blown out consistently then you are definitely doing something wrong, perhaps coming off as too cocky and not enough funny. Usually if you just approach with a smile, that’s enough to keep them from blowing you out. I think Sean says it best in his comment above.
Sean,
Thanks for commenting on this. I always appreciate your feedback.
JJ,
I didn’t miss Swinggcat, he is towards the bottom of the list. Remember that this list is not in any particular order, so because he is near the bottom does not mean I don’t think he is as good as the guys near the top.
One more name: Johnny Soporno.
what about man name speer?
here is a video of him you can find more on you tube…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QF2fulRw-yY
I like Style, Asian Playboy, Juggler and Brad P. those guys are the greatest of all time. I like Mystery too he’s pretty kewl.
Great list!
Would like everyone to also remember Franco, a truly insightful PUA.
Ash,
I’ve read some of Johnny Soporno’s stuff on the message boards. It’s definitely solid. He is a Stylelife coach isn’t he?
The Pick Up Artist,
Never heard of Speer before now. I just watch that video of him and I never knew he was part of the whole Mystery crew. I’ll definitely keep an eye out for him.
Kobe,
I definitely agree with you on those four guys. However, I have to say that I’m becoming more and more impressed with what Brad P. is up to. A lot of the stuff he is writing about really hits home with me.
Shaq,
Thanks for reminding me of Franco, I can’t believe I forgot about him. I’m compiling a master list of all the top PUAs that I forgot to add to this list and will make sure that Franco is on it!
-Matt
Johnny Soporno is a friend, and a great guy, as well as one of the greatest ladies’ men I’ve ever met. Women simply love the man, and it’s because he is completely a man. He knows them, understands them, and turns them on more than other dudes, and they come and find him.
He’s really the inspiration behind what modern pickup became, as he was seducing all the women of Toronto when Mystery and Tyler were kids growing up in that town.
He’s not a Stylelife coach.
He is a better seducer and teacher than everyone on this list, including me.
- Sean
Whew! I guess it pays to ‘google’ yourself once-in-a-while…
I almost missed this..!
Thanks Ash, Matt, and particularly you, Sean… You sure know how to make a guy feel good
[without touching him, I mean!]
I’m not surprised I didn’t make the initial list, as I’ve only been active in ‘The Community’ since the middle of last-year, when I was invited to speak at the Cliff’s List ‘06 Convention by Steve P (of http://www.SensualAwakening.com fame) and he and Zan and I made a lot of the attendees’ brains go ‘POP!’ as we conducted the closing-keynote address
I’d like to clarify a couple of things, if I may?
First off, I am NOT affiliated with Stylelife (although I have great respect and affection for Neil and his crew, and they honoured me greatly with a two-page profile** in their inaugural newsletter :D) so I can understand the confusion might stem from that, and also possibly because I explicitly describe myself as a “Lifestyle Guru” (rather than a “Pick Up Guru”)…
The things I share should naturally, almost automatically, produce (literally) outrageous success with women, but that is just a happy ’side-effect’ of living with an enlightened sociological, spiritual, and philosophical perspective.
Secondly, I don’t normally describe myself as a ‘Pick Up Artist’ … I have found that most people in “The Community” have concentrated all their efforts on ‘Customer Acquisition’ (Pick Up) and virtually nothing on ‘Customer Retention & Loyalty’ which is where I focus virtually all my own efforts!
In fact, by ensuring that each of my women always feels delighted, empowered, respected, and appreciated by me - as well as welcomed, comforted, affirmed, and complemented by all my other ladies - I remove the most-significant hurdle from ‘picking girls up’; I subdue their concern for their reputation [and by implication, their security] by being a PROVEN commodity.
Thirdly, I hardly feel I “inspired” modern-pickup, (outside of perhaps my iconoclastic ‘peacocking’) but rather it was TORONTO itself which inspired (or rather, DEMANDED) guys like Mystery, TD, Savoy, Payton Kane, TenMagnet, and my own self develop our Game essentials, or be forced to accept emasculating serial-monogamy OR WORSE!!
Johnny Soporno
Worthy Playboy
http://www.JohnnySoporno.com
** here’s the Profile, in case you’re interested! http://www.worthyplayboyinstitute.com/mentors.html
I stopped reading after Thundercat came in at #7.
Good marketer, yes. In terms of pickup, name one thing he has done, besides making money.
I’m new to the community and not familiar with all the cats on the list, but I have to say that Juggler and Johnny Soporno are right up there with the big boys..
Honestly, I like this list because it has some of my personal favorites(Like Juggler) and people who have made the community known. The only thing is, I feel like there could be some people on this list who don’t charge for their services. Most of these PUAs make money off of what they do and I congratulate them but the ones who do it for the love of women and the love of the game don’t seem to get as much credit as the ones who do it for the love of dollars.
I could gripe about the fact that most of the people on the list are “commercial” but it only makes sense that the best pick-up artists would seek to make money from their skills. You wouldn’t complain about a good singer putting out a CD for sale and charging money for tickets to their concert.
My only gripe is that the new up and coming pick up artist by the name of “Mack Tight” is not on the list. He is the cat’s ass and a bag of chips
VERY nice List–
I look forward to more of your posts
-timmyD
CharismaArts
Nice list….But badboy needs to be on the list
Stephane Hemon you missed
I’m new here and am searching for some advice. I’m in my mid 40’s and going through a divorce (found out my wife is a lesbian!). So, I’ve been out of the game for 16 years and have no game. My question is - who would be the best coach or which bootcamp would be the best for an older guy?
Good work putting this list together.
Prof
Attractology.com
Thanks everyone for all the great comments. There is definitely a theme going here, in that I’ve left out A LOT of pick up artists that should be included in something like this. I’m currently working on a huuuuggge reference source of all the top Pick Up Artists and Dating Experts, so stay tuned for that!
Cool list man. I have a special respect for Vin Dicarlo and Zan Perrion
They advocate the things we advocate at our site, one that is growing exponentially.
http://www.pualifestyle.com/forum
Be well
Daniel
My buddy just showed me a crazy movie that has a lot of those guys in it.
What a freak-show!! LOL. He found it here..
http://www.gameondocumentary.com
I had no idea before the movie that this community even existed..
Decent list. =)
ROB D,
Try any of these 3.
Zan, Juggler, Steven Nash
They would be your best bet.
Scrolling through the profiles, only Gambler is a yes.
vin di carlo’s interveiw with David D interveiws with dating gurus’s was extremely valueable. one of the most valueable things i heard!!!
tho i still didnt buy any of his products!!!! haha
Hey Guys,
Awesome list!!
I want want to get in the game. i want to pick one of the best and follow him first to build a back bone. who would you suggest?
Thank you
This is one shit list.
How about Carlos Xuma he should be on the list too
solid list. these are some of the best in the business.
but where is AFC Adam Lyons?? some of the guys on there are more business men than PUAs. if you dont know adam lyons, google him. that guy is sick.
There have been a lot of emerging pick up artists lately that are REALLY good, such as AFC Adam, etc. I’m planning on doing an update to this soon and probably expanding it to 50 pick up artists.
Nice list. I’m pulling even with the pack.
If carlos xuma was a pick up artist. He’d be on this for sure.