FEATURED CONTRIBUTORS

IMAGE: MINNIE LANE, SELF
DEVELOPMENT AND DATING COACH

Minnie Lane

“The only reason people aren’t themselves is because they don’t believe they can be.”

One of the few female coaches in an industry dominated almost exclusively by men, Minnie Lane is the moral voice of THE PICKUP GAME. A well-known contributor on several podcasts and television shows, Minnie goes by one credo – honesty above all else. Having worked with pickup companies when she was starting out she quickly realised the dangers of some of the ideas being taught and decided to branch out on her own.

Here, she holds the pickup industry to account and appeals for a better, more honest way of teaching dating advice. One that is based on authenticity and genuine connection.

Michael M

“That first job was like working with your heroes. I wanted to be like them. I even changed the way I spoke to sound a little more like them.”
At its core, the pickup business is driven by marketing and “Michael M” – interviewed on the condition of strict anonymity – is perfectly placed to pull back the curtain and reveal just how sneaky some of these marketing techniques are. Before becoming delusioned by the attitudes and questionable business practices of the companies he worked for, Michael was responsible for generating literally tens of millions of dollars in revenue for his clients. Here he lays bare the secret collusion, high pressure sales tactics and pyramid selling that generates these staggering profits.

Jennifer Li

“This crusty piece of mayonnaise– How dare he violate these women’s spaces and then pass these disgusting views onto other men.”

Founder of the #TakeDownJulienBlanc campaign, Jennifer Li began the campaign that would lead to Julien Blanc’s seminars being cancelled and Blanc’s subsequent banning from Australia, the U.K. and Brazil. A fierce public critic of the pickup industry ever since, Li was herself subjected to harassment from many of Blanc’s supporters in the wake of her successful campaign.

 

 

Paul Janka

“I was a machine. I was an executor. There was no emotional register. I mean, I would sometimes have three dates a night.”

A former New York playboy who kept a spreadsheet with all the names of the women he slept with, Paul Janka was an idol for many students of pickup. By far one of the most “successful” (financially and statistically) figures in the business, Paul caused widespread backlash among his followers when he decided to turn his back on his million dollar pickup business and get married.
Paul is one of the few instructors to get out of the business and build a new life beyond it, making him well suited to comment on the industry and the dangers of becoming consumed by the lifestyle.

FEATURED CONTRIBUTORS

IMAGE: LISA FOX,
DISTRICT ATTORNEY, SAN DIEGO

Ross Jeffries

“I created an industry and a subculture. I am not responsible for where people have taken it. They’ve taken it in their own perverted direction.”
Referred to as the ‘Godfather’ of pickup and widely considered as the man who started it all back in the 1980s with his book “How To Get The Women You Desire Into Bed”, Ross Jeffries was also the source material behind Tom Cruise’s character in the film Magnolia. No stranger to controversy himself, little did Jeffries suspect that the younger generation of instructors – in a bid to outdo him – would prove infinitely more ruthless and calculating than he ever was.

Lisa Fox

“The girl is crying and covered in vomit as they throw her out and these guys are there laughing saying, ‘This is fucking hilarious’. They think it’s hilarious.”

As the lead prosecutor in the case against San Diego company Efficient Pickup which resulted in two instructors and a student being jailed for rape, Lisa Fox is well aware of the darkest and most toxic side of the pickup industry.
Her disgust is palpable and shows just how far off track things can go when the attitudes promoted by many of the pickup companies are taken to their extreme conclusions.

Copyright 2020 – Ivy Film / Two Man Crew Ltd

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