Neil Strauss
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Notable members of the seduction community |
|---|
| Neil Strauss (Style) |
| David DeAngelo |
| Juggler |
| Mystery |
| Ross Jeffries |
| Lance Mason |
| Zan |
Neil Strauss is a Los Angeles-based author and journalist who writes for The New York Times and Rolling Stone, where he is a contributing editor. He is well-known for his best-selling book The Game.
Contents |
[edit] Background
Neil Strauss attended one of the top private high schools in the country, the Latin School of Chicago. Strauss later attended Columbia University for two years, as well as Vassar College[1]. He began his career writing for Ear, an avant-garde magazine, before moving on to the Village Voice, where he did everything from copy-editing to fact-checking[2]. His fastidiousness paid off when he was invited by Jon Pareles[3] to become a music critic at The New York Times, where he wrote the influential Pop Life column. He was then invited by Jann Wenner to become a contributing editor at Rolling Stone where he wrote cover stories on Kurt Cobain, Madonna, Tom Cruise, Orlando Bloom, the Wu-Tang Clan, Gwen Stefani and Marilyn Manson. He won the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for his coverage of Kurt Cobain's suicide for Rolling Stone and his profile of Eric Clapton in The New York Times Arts & Leisure section.
[edit] Ghost-writing
Neil Strauss was a co-writer or ghostwriter of several best-selling books for various celebrities, including The Long Hard Road Out Of Hell with Marilyn Manson, The Dirt with Mötley Crüe, How to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale with Jenna Jameson, and Don't Try This At Home with Dave Navarro.
After leaving The New York Times to ghostwrite the memoir of Jameson, Strauss authored The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists (Regan Books, 2005), a book about a sub-culture of pick-up artists known as the seduction community. The book has made a month-long appearance in the New York Times bestsellers list in September-October 2005, and reached the #1 position on Amazon.com immediately after its release in the United States.
His follow-up book, a controversial graphic novel How to Make Money Like a Porn Star, came out in 2006 on September 26.
[edit] The Game
In The Game, Strauss tells the tale of his transformation into "Style," a pickup artist under the tutelage of Mystery. The book charts two years in his life. In addition to documenting his experiences with pickup artists like Mystery and Ross Jeffries, it also describes his interactions with celebrities including Britney Spears, Tom Cruise, and Courtney Love. Strauss writes of his distrust of pickup artists "Tyler Durden" and "Papa," the founders of Real Social Dynamics. In promoting his book, Neil appeared on various TV shows, including The View[4] and ABC Primetime. [5]
[edit] The seduction community
In the seduction community, Strauss is known by the pseudonym "Style" (also known as "Chris Powles"). Three years after he had joined the community, he published an article in the New York Times about his experiences[6]. Strauss retired as a pickup artist and settled with a long-term girlfriend Lisa Leveridge, who plays guitar in Courtney Love's all-female band The Chelsea.[7] An article in the Sunday Mirror, however, suggested that Leveridge broke up with Strauss in February 2006 to date Robbie Williams.[8] A more recent article in Ireland Online seems to indicate that she has broken up with Williams as well.[9] Strauss has yet to comment. Strauss did however include this piece in one of his recent emails (12th of November) "Lisa still hasn't forgiven me for saying she had a U-shaped smile. :-)".
At the end of 2005, Strauss passed his knowledge, which he has titled the "Annihilation Method", to 5 selected followers at a three-day seminar at his California home. He recently sold 375 exclusive copies of the "Annihilation Method" program to those who arrived first on his website, only375.com. Strauss completed an interview with the popular seduction blog The Attraction Chronicles in mid-June 2006 that helped to give members of the community a glimpse into his goals and future influence in the seduction community.[10]
[edit] Stylelife Challenge
On May 31, 2006, through Neil Strauss' VIP mailing list, Strauss announced the Stylelife Challenge [1]. The challenge was for those who have trouble with women to get a date in 31 days or less. During the entire month of July 2006, participants were given daily challenges on the Stylelife website[2]. These challenges were designed to help men change their look and overcome their fears and hopefully get a date within the allotted time limit. While the primary goal was simply for participants to get a date, the most improved won a week-end in San Diego with the famous guru 'Hypnotica' (see 'Rasputin' in the Game). The Grand prize winner was "Taste".
[edit] Stylelife Academy
On March 10, 2007, through Stylelife's mailing list, Strauss announced the Stylelife Academy[3]. The Stylelife Academy is the first online school for self-improvement and attraction. Enrolled students study a variety of subjects ranging from mind-shaping, to body language, to story telling, to being a good conversationalist in daily online classes.
[edit] Trivia
- He also directed a short movie called Shoot. [4]
[edit] Bibliography
- The Long Hard Road Out of Hell (1998) ISBN 0-06-098746-4
- The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band (2001) ISBN 0-06-098915-7
- Don't Try This At Home (2004) ISBN 0-06-039368-8 ISBN 0-06-098853-3
- How to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale (2004) ISBN 0-06-053909-7
- The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists (2005) ISBN 0-06-055473-8
- How to Make Money Like a Porn Star (2006) ISBN 0-06-088405-3
[edit] External Links
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.enterstageright.com/archive/articles/0106/0106thegame.txt
- ^ Slushpile interview with Strauss
- ^ Interview with Strauss on MediaBistro
- ^ Neil Strauss on The View
- ^ Neil Strauss on ABC Primetime Live
- ^ Neil Strauss: "He Aims! He Shoots! Yes!!" The New York Times, January 25, 2004
- ^ Emma Forrest: "All the right moves." The Observer, September 11, 2005
- ^ "Exclusive: She's the 6ft One", SundayMirror.co.uk, February 19, 2006
- ^ "Robbie Williams: It could be a man for me." Ireland Online, September 11, 2006
- ^ Neil Strauss Interview
