Pickup is Dead

I won’t lie, pickup for me… is dead. 

It’s not that seducing women isn’t a great pastime, but I’m old.

I’m 44, and chasing girls full time just seems… silly. I’m burned out on the whole thing, and have been for many years. 

That’s a bummer, because I’ve written millions of words on the subject, including books, videos, and seminars. I do like teaching it, mostly because I’m a great teacher.

I just can’t stand writing more content solely about dating. It’s boooooooring (for me, I can understand why it’s totally fascinating for anyone who is just discovering it.)

And how is “pickup” thriving as an industry? 

It’s more than alive. Men will always look for advantages. Men will always be lonely and horny. 

The pickup business is still booming, but it’s gone underground again, where it should be. 

In a modern culture that is absolutely hostile towards men and the masculinity movement, underground is where it will be for some time. 

After all, we don’t live in the Handmaid’s Tale, or Iran (I wish!) 

Kidding. 

There are Youtubers who are making infield daygame videos and their traffic is booming. I’m proud of them.

Of course they have to deal with haters, like we all do. But these businesses can still be very profitable. 

I’ve had a few conversations with Mark Manson, the author of what’s likely the most popular pickup girls book ever written: Models. I’ve never read the book. That’s because I lost interest in the subject as far back as 2015. But I know it’s the reason he became famous, before he sold out… lol.

Once I asked him about his past career as a dating coach and he said: “Anyone in their forties who is still into pickup… there’s something wrong with them.” 

I’m 44 years old. Can you believe it? I know, I’m sexy.

I’ve met many middle aged dating gurus and I’ll tell you this: none of them are stoked to still be dating coaches. They just do it because they haven’t found another way to make a living that’s nearly as interesting. 

Here’s the thing, teaching pickup was the most fulfilling job I ever had. And if you want to do that job, then I highly recommend it. But it’s not easy. Not unless you can live, eat, and breathe Game… and not lose your mind. 

At my age, when I think about writing a book like “How to text a girl” or “How to get younger women into bed” I just cringe. I LITERALLY CRINGE. 

But I know so much. It’s like having Alexandria’s library of seduction in my head, and cringing every time I think about using it. 

However, I don’t mind writing it for other people, for exorbitant amounts of money. As long as it’s not my face on the product. Being “The pickup guy” sucks. Trust me, in a society where people think ,”Vaccines are totally safe… look at Polio!” It sucks.

Out of curiosity I decided to write something that wasn’t about pickup… just to see if people would read it. 

So I wrote my first blog post in a year: “Artificial intelligence is coming for your girlfriend.”

It’s a post about my predictions about Ai and male sexuality.

I posted it to my little mailing list, and heard crickets. Maybe thirty people went to the page, and ten people read it. 

So I thought, what the hell, I’ll post it on Reddit. I put it on r/technology, a massive subreddit with over 13 million subscribers, and it quickly shot to the top ten. 

For a few hours I watched it climb, and climb and thought “Holy Captain Kirk’s nipples, this is going to hit #1.”

It was rising and heading to 10,000 views in the first two hours. It had hundreds of upvotes and over 200 comments. It also got shared to other subreddits, and it seemed like it was set to take off. 

I wasn’t that shocked. I’ve been a writer for long enough, and I know how to write. 

And then certain readers noticed the male centric slant, and pointed out it was a “pickup artist” website.

The post was pulled, and I was permanently banned from r/technology. Ahhh, censorship by lefty soy boys… just like the good ol days. 

Was it the article that offended them, or my mere existence as a pickup coach? Who knows, who cares? But it still annoyed me.

I was excited to have an article reach potentially millions of readers. My ego was about to be stoked!

So I’ve been thinking, maybe there’s something else to this writing thing.

I’m working on a science fiction novel, but that’s a dream that could take some time to figure out. Blogging though?

Maybe I could make a living doing this, maybe. But how? And what to blog about that will actually pay the bills like sex centric stuff does?

Blogging in 2022 is no joke. Gone are the days you post rants about your cat and get famous. You have to be a business, with full social media presence, online courses, copywriting skills, and sales funnels. And it needs to be helpful, and niched down hard.

Could I really just write about whatever the fuck I want, and make a great living?

Or am I doomed to write copy selling people’s erectile dysfunction and hairloss remedies? 

Maybe I’ll start a new business and erase this whole pickup artist website. Maybe I can keep the content and rebrand into a self help blog, or just drive the traffic somewhere else.

I still get around 4000 visitors a month and I haven’t updated this blog in a year. My email list is pretty much dead. There are about 150 readers who check my emails. If I wanted to grow it, I easily could.

But if I can write an article about sex bots and get 8000 readers (who aren’t outraged) in a few hours… why spend my time writing about picking up girls? Robots are way more interesting.

Sure, I could create an online course, fix my SEO, jam out more dating content and make a great living. But money isn’t what creates happiness: purpose, meaning, and challenge does. 

If you want to be truly happy, you need to feel like what you do matters.

You have to deeply care. You have to feel like you’re moving towards a brighter future, not just doing what you need to stay alive.

Here are some things I’d like to write about. 

• How smart phones will end the world
• How to write books
• You’re totally brainwashed
• How covid was a total scam and I was right all along
• Why every man should read more fiction 
• UFO’s are totally real and I want one
• Travelling the world won’t make you happier
• Why city life sucks and you should live in the forest 

Basically I like researching weird shit, reading books, travelling, and spending time in nature. 

The more I dive into my own spirituality, the less fucks I give about anything. 

Maybe I should write a book called “The awesome art of not giving a fuck.” 

Hmmm, someone did that one already. 

Almost every ex dating coach either goes into “Internet Marketing,” goes totally woowoo or becomes a born again Christian.

Many of them end up as copywriters. 

Here’s one thing I know about writing for men: 

They want answers. They want to know how to get the girl, how to make money, how to gain muscle, find purpose and be happy. 

They don’t care about your angst. They have their own to deal with. 

Here’s what I understand about writing for women: 

Nothing. 

Women are a total mystery (outside of what makes them horny.) 

They seem to like reality tv, shopping, yoga, candy, and smut books about billionaires and vampires. 

I could write for women. But I think I’d come off as that offensive, know it all uncle, and I’m not a woman. 

However, it would be nice to write honestly and still not offend every woman who stops by. 

So what do you think? What sort of business could I create that would satisfy my urge to create awesome stuff, and also not bore me to tears? 

What could I write that would pay me well, and help people out? Who could I model? 

Maybe I need a life coach.

Any suggestions?