Neil Strauss (also known by the
pen nameA pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
Style or
Chris Powles), is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
authorAn author is defined both as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created...
,
journalistA journalist is a person who practises journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events, trends, issues, and people while striving for viewpoints that are not biased.Reporters are one type of journalist...
and
ghostwriterA ghostwriter is a professional writer who is paid to write books, articles, stories, reports, or other texts that are officially credited to another person. Celebrities, executives, and political leaders often hire ghostwriters to draft or edit autobiographies, magazine articles, or other written...
. He is best known for his best-selling book
The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup ArtistsThe Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pick-up Artists is a non-fictional book written by investigative reporter Neil Strauss as a chronicle of his journey and encounters in the seduction community....
, where he describes his experiences in the
seduction communityThe seduction community is a loose-knit subculture of men who strive for better sexual and romantic success with women through self-improvement and a greater understanding of social psychology....
in an effort to become "a pick-up artist." He is a contributing editor at
Rolling StoneRolling Stone is a United States-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J. Gleason.The magazine was named after the 1948 Muddy Waters song of the same...
and also writes regularly for
The New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded in 1851 and published in New York City. The largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, "The Gray Lady"—named for its staid appearance and style—is regarded as a national newspaper of record...
.
After graduating high school from the Latin School of Chicago, Strauss attended
Vassar CollegeVassar College is a private, coeducational, liberal arts college situated in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, USA. Founded as a women's college in 1861, it became coeducational in 1969.-Overview:...
.
Neil Strauss (also known by the
pen nameA pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
Style or
Chris Powles), is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
authorAn author is defined both as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created...
,
journalistA journalist is a person who practises journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events, trends, issues, and people while striving for viewpoints that are not biased.Reporters are one type of journalist...
and
ghostwriterA ghostwriter is a professional writer who is paid to write books, articles, stories, reports, or other texts that are officially credited to another person. Celebrities, executives, and political leaders often hire ghostwriters to draft or edit autobiographies, magazine articles, or other written...
. He is best known for his best-selling book
The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup ArtistsThe Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pick-up Artists is a non-fictional book written by investigative reporter Neil Strauss as a chronicle of his journey and encounters in the seduction community....
, where he describes his experiences in the
seduction communityThe seduction community is a loose-knit subculture of men who strive for better sexual and romantic success with women through self-improvement and a greater understanding of social psychology....
in an effort to become "a pick-up artist." He is a contributing editor at
Rolling StoneRolling Stone is a United States-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J. Gleason.The magazine was named after the 1948 Muddy Waters song of the same...
and also writes regularly for
The New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded in 1851 and published in New York City. The largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, "The Gray Lady"—named for its staid appearance and style—is regarded as a national newspaper of record...
.
Biography
After graduating high school from the Latin School of Chicago, Strauss attended
Vassar CollegeVassar College is a private, coeducational, liberal arts college situated in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, USA. Founded as a women's college in 1861, it became coeducational in 1969.-Overview:...
. While in school he began his career writing for
Ear, an avant-garde magazine, and editing his first book,
Radiotext(e), an anthology of radio-related writings for the postmodern publisher
Semiotext(e)Semiotext is an American independent publisher. It is widely credited for having introduced so-called "French Theory" to North America through its magazine issues and Foreign Agents series. In 2000, the MIT Press began distributing Semiotext, taking it over from the anarchist publishing collective...
. He moved on to the
Village Voice, where he did everything from copy-editing to fact-checking before becoming a regular reporter and critic. He was invited by
Jon ParelesJon Pareles is an American journalist who is the chief music critic in the arts section of the New York Times. He played jazz flute and piano, and graduated from Yale University with a degree in music. In the 1970s he was an associate editor of Crawdaddy!, and in the 1980s a contributing writer and...
to become a music critic at
The New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded in 1851 and published in New York City. The largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, "The Gray Lady"—named for its staid appearance and style—is regarded as a national newspaper of record...
where he wrote the Pop Life column and front-page stories on Wal-Mart’s CD-editing policies, music censorship, radio payola, and the lost wax figures of country-music stars.
He was then invited by
Jann WennerJann Simon Wenner is the co-founder and publisher of the music and politics biweekly Rolling Stone, as well as the owner of Men's Journal and Us Weekly magazines.-Childhood:...
to become a contributing editor at
Rolling Stone where he wrote cover stories on
Kurt CobainKurt Donald Cobain was an American musician, best known as the lead singer, guitarist and songwriter of the rock band Nirvana....
,
MadonnaMadonna is an American recording artist, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, and raised in Rochester Hills, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977, for a career in modern dance...
,
Tom CruiseThomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known by his screen name of Tom Cruise, is an American actor and film producer. Forbes magazine ranked him as the world's most powerful celebrity in 2006. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and won three Golden Globe Awards...
,
Orlando BloomOrlando Jonathan Blanchard Bloom is an English actor. Classically trained, he had his break-through roles in 2001 as the elf-prince Legolas in The Lord of the Rings and starting in 2003 as blacksmith Will Turner in the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy of films, and subsequently established himself...
, the
Wu-Tang ClanThe Wu-Tang Clan is a New York City-based hip hop group. Wu-Tang Clan consists of RZA, GZA, Raekwon, U-God, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, Method Man, Masta Killa, the late Ol' Dirty Bastard, and Cappadonna...
,
Gwen StefaniGwen Renée Stefani Rossdale is an American singer and fashion designer. Stefani serves as lead vocalist for the rock band No Doubt....
,
Stephen ColbertStephen Tyrone Colbert is an American political satirist, writer, comedian and television host. He is the host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, a satirical news show in which Colbert portrays a caricatured version of conservative political pundits.Colbert originally studied to be an actor,...
, and
Marilyn MansonMarilyn Manson may refer to:* Marilyn Manson , an American rock musician* Marilyn Manson , the American rock band led by the singer of the same name...
.
He won the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for his coverage of
Kurt CobainKurt Donald Cobain was an American musician, best known as the lead singer, guitarist and songwriter of the rock band Nirvana....
's suicide for
Rolling Stone and his profile of
Eric ClaptonEric Patrick Clapton, CBE is an English blues-rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer. Clapton has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Yardbirds, of Cream, and as a solo performer, being the only person ever to be inducted three times...
in
The New York Times Arts & Leisure section. Strauss also contributed to Esquire, Maxim, Spin, Entertainment Weekly, Details, and The Source. He was also featured in
BeckBeck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist known by the stage name Beck...
's music video
Sexx Laws"Sexx Laws" is a song by Beck, from the 1999 album Midnite Vultures. It was released as the lead single from the album in October 1999. Musically, the song is an unusual combination of brassy funk with bluegrass-styled banjo and pedal steel guitar on the choruses and instrumental break, as well as...
which also featured
Jack BlackJack Black , is an American actor and musician, notably of Tenacious D.Jack Black may also refer to:* Jack Black , late 19th - early 20th Century author and hobo* Jack Black , drummer for 70s UK punk band The Boys...
, and as a guest star on the season six finale of
Curb Your EnthusiasmCurb Your Enthusiasm is an American comedy series starring Seinfeld writer, co-creator, and executive producer Larry David as himself. It is produced and broadcast by HBO....
.
Neil Strauss was the co-writer or
ghostwriterA ghostwriter is a professional writer who is paid to write books, articles, stories, reports, or other texts that are officially credited to another person. Celebrities, executives, and political leaders often hire ghostwriters to draft or edit autobiographies, magazine articles, or other written...
of several best-selling celebrity memoirs, including
The Long Hard Road Out Of HellThe Long Hard Road Out of Hell is the autobiography of Marilyn Manson, leader of the shock rock band Marilyn Manson. The book , follows Manson's life from when he was a child, and was born as Brian Hugh Warner...
with
Marilyn MansonMarilyn Manson is an American rock band founded by Brian Warner and Scott Putesky in the city of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The band advocates nonconformism and iconoclasm, often utilizing controversial imagery and lyrical content...
,
The DirtThe Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band is a collaborative autobiography written by Mötley Crüe, Neil Strauss, and the "Mötley" managers, where they write about the members of Mötley Crüe. First published in 2001, it chronicles the formation of the band, their rise to fame...
with
Mötley CrüeMötley Crüe is a American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1981. The band was founded by bass guitarist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, who were later joined by lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil...
,
How to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary TaleHow to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale is the autobiography of adult film star Jenna Jameson, published August 17, 2004. It was co-written with Neil Strauss, a contributor to the New York Times and Rolling Stone, and published by ReganBooks, a division of HarperCollins. It was an...
with
Jenna JamesonJenna Jameson is an American entrepreneur and former pornographic actress, who has been called the world's most famous porn star and "The Queen of Porn."...
, and
Don't Try This At Home with
Dave NavarroDavid Michael Navarro is an American guitarist who plays in the alternative rock band Jane's Addiction and cover band Camp Freddy. He has also played with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and The Panic Channel.- Early life :...
.
After leaving
The New York Times to ghostwrite Jameson's memoirs, Strauss wrote
The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup ArtistsThe Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pick-up Artists is a non-fictional book written by investigative reporter Neil Strauss as a chronicle of his journey and encounters in the seduction community....
(Regan Books, 2005), a book about a sub-culture of pick-up artists known as the
seduction communityThe seduction community is a loose-knit subculture of men who strive for better sexual and romantic success with women through self-improvement and a greater understanding of social psychology....
. The book made a month-long appearance in the
New York Times bestsellers listThe New York Times Best Seller list is widely considered to be the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. It is published weekly in the The New York Times Book Review magazine, which is usually found inserted in the Sunday edition of The New York Times, or as a stand-alone...
in September-October 2005, and reached the #1 position on
Amazon.comAmazon.com, Inc. is an American-based multinational electronic commerce company. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, it is America's largest online retailer, with nearly three times the Internet sales revenue of the runner up, Staples, Inc....
immediately after its release in the United States. It was optioned to be made into a film by Spyglass Entertainment, with
Chris WeitzChristopher John Weitz , is an Academy Award nominated producer, writer and director. He is best known for his work with his brother, Paul Weitz, on the comedy films American Pie and About a Boy, as well as directing the film adaptation of the novel The Golden Compass...
adapting and producing .
His follow-up book, a controversial graphic novel
How to Make Money Like a Porn StarHow to Make Money Like a Porn Star is the first graphic novel published by ReganBooks/HarperCollins, written by New York Times bestselling author Neil Strauss and illustrated by Wizard: The Guide to Comics top ten artist Bernard Chang...
, came out in 2006 on September 26. By 2006 Neil Strauss also came out with "Shoot", a short film about becoming a rockstar that he co-wrote, directed and performed in. That same year, in collaboration with Dave Navarro and
EntourageAn entourage is a group or band of people. The word can also refer to:* Entourage , HBO series* "Entourage" , a 2006 single from Omarion* The Entourage Music And Theater Ensemble, an ambient music group...
writer Cliff Dorfman, he created a one-hour TV drama
The Product for FX. In 2007, he released a follow-up to
The Game, Rules of the Game, a two-book boxed set.
On March 4, 2009, The New York Times wrote that Strauss (along with rock biographer Anthony Bozza) had started his own publishing company, Igniter, as a subimprint of HarperCollins. Igniter's first title, the Times reported, will be "The World According to Bozo the Clown."
Strauss's newest book,
Emergency: This Book Will Save Your LifeEmergency: This Book Will Save Your Life is a 2009 book on survivalist preparedness by Neil Strauss. The advent of H1N1 Swine Flu in 2009 ratcheted up interest in survivalism and significantly boosted sales of preparedness books , and made survivalism more mainstream. During the book, the author...
(Harper, 2009), for which he spent three years undercover amongst survivalists, tax-dodgers, billionaire businessmen, and the government itself, was hailed by Rolling Stone as an "escape plan" for the current world crisis. It entered the New York Times bestseller list at #3.
Seduction community
In the
seduction communityThe seduction community is a loose-knit subculture of men who strive for better sexual and romantic success with women through self-improvement and a greater understanding of social psychology....
, Strauss is known by the pseudonym "Style". In 2004 he published an article in the
New York Times about his experiences.
The Game
In
The GameThe Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pick-up Artists is a non-fictional book written by investigative reporter Neil Strauss as a chronicle of his journey and encounters in the seduction community....
, Strauss tells the tale of his transformation into "Style", a pickup artist under the tutelage of Mystery. In addition to documenting his experiences with pickup artists like Mystery, Extramask (Barry Kirkey) and
Ross JeffriesRoss Jeffries is a former comedy writer with an International Relations degree and the creator of "Speed Seduction," a set of personal development writings and seminars that draw on Neuro-linguistic Programming and hypnotic techniques...
, it also describes his interactions with celebrities including
Britney SpearsBritney Jean Spears is an American singer and entertainer. Born in Mississippi and raised in Louisiana, Spears first appeared on national television in 1992 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The New Mickey Mouse Club from 1993 to...
,
Paris HiltonParis Whitney Hilton is an American socialite, heiress, media personality, model, singer, author, fashion designer and actress....
,
Tom CruiseThomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known by his screen name of Tom Cruise, is an American actor and film producer. Forbes magazine ranked him as the world's most powerful celebrity in 2006. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and won three Golden Globe Awards...
, and
Courtney LoveCourtney Michelle Love is an American rock musician and actress. Love is known as lead singer and lyricist for the alternative rock band Hole and for her marriage to the late Nirvana singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain...
. Strauss writes of his distrust of pickup artists "
Tyler DurdenOwen Cook is an entrepreneur, author and dating advisor. He is a notable member of the seduction community...
" and "Papa", the co-founders of Real Social Dynamics. In promoting his book, Strauss appeared on various TV shows, including
The ViewThe View is an American talk show broadcast on American Broadcasting Company as part of ABC Daytime. Created by Barbara Walters and Bill Geddie, who both also serve as the show's executive producers, the program features a panel of women as co-hosts...
and
ABC Primetime, and he participated in many book signings .
After publishing the book, Strauss temporarily retired as a pickup artist and settled with a long-term girlfriend Lisa Leveridge, who played guitar in
Courtney LoveCourtney Michelle Love is an American rock musician and actress. Love is known as lead singer and lyricist for the alternative rock band Hole and for her marriage to the late Nirvana singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain...
's all-female band
The ChelseaThe Chelsea is a skyscraper planned for construction in the downtown region of Miami, Florida. It has been approved by the City of Miami, and is scheduled to begin construction in late 2007. If completed, the building would rise 649 feet , with 53 floors...
. An article in the
Sunday Mirror, suggested that Leveridge broke up with Strauss in February 2006 to date
Robbie WilliamsRobert Peter Williams, better known as Robbie Williams is a BRIT Award-winning English British singer-songwriter. His career started in 1989, at the age of 15, as a dancer and singer with the pop band Take That. He left the band in 1995 to launch his solo career...
. Strauss denied the Williams rumor, but confirmed his breakup with Leveridge on his mailing list a few months later.
Stylelife
Through his VIP mailing list, Strauss announced the Stylelife Challenge on May 31, 2006. Strauss challenged men to get a date in 30 days or less. During the entire month of July 2006, participants were given daily challenges on the Stylelife. These challenges were designed to help men makeover their look, overcome their fears, and get a date within a month. While the primary goal was simply for participants to get a date, the most improved won a week-end in San Diego with the Inner Game guru "Hypnotica" ("Rasputin" in
The Game).
On March 10, 2007, through his VIP mailing list, Strauss announced the Stylelife Academy, which he describes as
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.
VIP Book Club
In January, 2007, Strauss decided to form a book club composed of members of his personal mailing list
neilstrauss.com. The purpose of the club is to challenge non-readers with works of serious literature. The club meets every Monday. Its reading selections so far have included
Finnegans WakeFinnegans Wake is a work of comic fiction by Irish author James Joyce, significant for an experimental style, and its resulting reputation as one of the most difficult works of fiction in the English language. Written in Paris over a period of 17 years, and published in 1939, two years before the...
by
James JoyceJames Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish expatriate author, playwright and poet of the 20th century. He is known for his landmark novel Ulysses and its controversial successor Finnegans Wake , as well as the short story collection Dubliners and the semi-autobiographical novel A Portrait of...
,
Anna KareninaAnna Karenina is a novel by the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, published in serial installments from 1873 to 1877 in the periodical The Russian Messenger...
by
Leo TolstoyLeo Tolstoy, or Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy , was a Russian writer widely regarded as among the greatest of novelists. His masterpieces War and Peace and Anna Karenina represent in their scope, breadth and vivid depiction of 19th-century Russian life and attitudes, the peak of realist...
, and
Atlas Shrugged Atlas Shrugged is a novel by Ayn Rand, first published in 1957 in the United States. This was Rand's fourth, longest and last novel, and she considered it her magnum opus in the realm of fiction writing...
by
Ayn RandAyn Rand , was a Russian-American novelist, philosopher, playwright, and screenwriter. She is known for her best-selling novels and for developing a philosophical system she called Objectivism....
.
See also
- Mystery (pickup artist)
- Dating coach
A dating coach helps clients improve their success in dating and relationships.Dating involves a complex set of social rules and conventions. A dating coach directs and trains a client on various aspects of meeting and attracting long-term partners and meeting more compatible prospects. The focus...
- Seduction community
The seduction community is a loose-knit subculture of men who strive for better sexual and romantic success with women through self-improvement and a greater understanding of social psychology....
- Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a United States-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J. Gleason.The magazine was named after the 1948 Muddy Waters song of the same...
External links