The Pickup Game
The pickup industry, which generates over a billion dollars annually, is surprising, secretive, and, to put it mildly, shady. Expensive workshops and training films promote the idea that women are innately drawn to alpha guys because of myths and manipulation. To be a 21st-century Casanova, men must learn how to overcome their shyness and become socially powerful. That's what the brochure claims, at the very least. Macho males have been influenced by Ross Jeffries's 1992 self-published book on how to seduce women via web marketing since then. Dissecting the "date and mate" strategies used by modern snake oil salesmen, this compelling exposé has intimate access to the movement's founders and leaders. These self-help-style seminars, which can be found anywhere from chat rooms to conference rooms, are waiting to take advantage of anyone who is desperate enough to believe in the deadly promises they make.