Mystery (pickup artist)

Mystery
Born	Erik James Horvat-Markovic September 24, 1971 (1971-09-24) (age 40) Canada
Nationality	Canadian
Other names	Erik von Markovik
Occupation	Exploring Humanity
Known for	Pickup Artist, Mentalist, Illusionist, Philosopher, Psychologist, Sociologist

Mystery is the stage name of Canadian dating coach Erik von Markovik (born Erik James Horvat-Markovic on September 24, 1971).^[1] He was the co-founder of dating companies Mystery Method Corporation (2004) and Venusian Arts (2006). He was featured in the 2007 VH1 reality television series The Pick-up Artist.

Biography

He is the co-author of The Mystery Method: How to Get Beautiful Women Into Bed, published by St. Martin's Press^[2] and of The Pickup Artist: The New and Improved Art of Seduction^[3] was published by Villard in 2010.^[4] Before Mystery became known as a pickup artist, he was a professional magician.^[5]

In 2004, Mystery went into a partnership with fellow dating coach Nick Savoy to form Mystery Method Corporation. Mystery left to form Venusian Arts in December 2006.

A reality series titled The Pick-up Artist debuted on August 6, 2007 on VH1.^[6] 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".^[6] A second season debuted on October 12, 2008.

Mystery is credited with popularizing a few terms that he often uses, including "peacocking", i.e., dressing to stand out, or having 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; "cat-string theory," i.e. keeping a woman engaged just enough to hold her attention;^[5] and the "neg", a backhanded compliment.^[7][8]

In a Psychology Today article titled How to Spot a Narcissist, Mystery is described as a classic narcissist, who "may be satisfied just knowing a person finds him or her attractive."^[9]

Bibliography

• The Venusian Arts Handbook (2005). Mystery Method Corp. (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. Venusian Arts. ISBN 978-0-9818733-005
• The Pickup Artist: The New and Improved Art of Seduction (2010). Mystery, Chris Odom. Villard Books. ISBN 978-0345518194

See also

• Dating coach
• Seduction community
• The Pick-up Artist
• 6th Street (Austin)

Notes

1. ^ Getlen, Larry (August 5, 2007). "HOT SEAT". New York Post. http://www.nypost.com/seven/08052007/entertainment/hot_seat_entertainment_larry_getlen.htm. Retrieved August 7, 2007. 
2. ^ von Markovik (2007)
3. ^ "The Pickup Artist". www.Villard.com. February, 2010. http://www.thepickupartistbook.com/. Retrieved June 9, 2010. 
4. ^ von Markovik (2010).
5. ^ ^{a b} The artful seducer
6. ^ ^{a b} "VH1 show teaches men how to meet women". The Orange County Register. August 1, 2007. http://www.ocregister.com/entertainment/pickup-mystery-artist-1791692-eight-women. Retrieved August 4, 2007. 
7. ^ Strauss (2005).
8. ^ Pelling, Rowan, "Seduction? Any woman with her own hair and a bottle of vodka can do it", The Independent, Sept 4, 2005.
9. ^ Kaufman, Scott Barry (July 2011). "How to Spot a Narcissist". Psychology Today. http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/201106/how-spot-narcissist. Retrieved July 11, 2011. 

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
• von Markovik, Erik. The Pickup Artist: The New and Improved Art of Seduction. Villard. (2010). ISBN 978-0345518194
• Strauss, Neil. The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists. ReganBooks. (2005). ISBN 0-06-055473-8

External links

• Venusianarts.com - Mystery's official website

Persondata
Name	Mystery
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	September 24, 1971
Place of birth	Canada
Date of death
Place of death