In an upmarket bar near Oxford Circus, London, two men are observed approaching women with what is described as 'the desperation of a doomed cavalry charge'. Mike and Raj, not their real names, are students of British pickup artist Johnny Cassell, who charges £700 for his intensive 'Impactful Connection' workshop. The session culminates in a night of 'drills' where the men approach women indiscriminately, often receiving polite rejections.
The pickup artist (PUA) industry, now valued at $100 million (£75 million), has a history dating back nearly 50 years to Eric Weber's manual 'How to Pick Up Girls'. The movement gained mainstream attention with Neil Strauss's 2005 bestseller 'The Game', which introduced tactics like 'negging'—insulting a woman to undermine her confidence—and 'peacocking'—dressing flamboyantly to attract attention. Dr Rachel O'Neill of Warwick University describes the industry's premise as 'an impoverished view of sex and relationships, in which intimacy is less something to be experienced for its own sake and more something to be achieved for other ends.'
The PUA community has evolved alongside other masculinist movements, including Jordan Peterson's self-help and the incel movement, all emerging from a similar ideological background. Cassell, who has been teaching for 14 years, claims to help men 'master the art of attracting the women you truly want', but critics argue the methods encourage street harassment and manipulation rather than genuine connection.
