Disclaimer: I am not a dating coach nor am I selling any dating products or services this blog is really for recreational usage to reflect on my previous experiences in daygame and to share my insight. For those wondering I am based in London/Nice/San Francisco so for those who want to network in the future please email: darrenpua1@gmail.com thanks
Jonathan Neil Thomsen Ex Coach From The Natural Lifestyles: –
This one was a bad egg of the TNL group – an example of how PUA’s can be seen as losers or bottom tier scrubs of society. After betraying James Marshall the guy went on some angry instagram posting rants against meditation and self help despite seemingly attending these courses voluntarily himself- he also went on rants on the natural lifestyles youtube channel (since now deleted) which seemed to bear resemblance to me being told off by my father than actual real advice .
Even during his time at TNL students would often complain about him being too strict and intense – in James Marshall’s book A Natural History -Thomsen would have frequent mental breakdowns and break ups- he’s probably the least successful out of the old g TNL crew. Looking at pictures On the whole looking at his instagram I hope I don’t end up like a loser like him even though there are times I think I could well end up so – I hope I never end up being such a loser that I’d betray my business partners and play ukulele on the beach into my 40s whilst promoting pronouns and pro Ukraine propaganda on my instagram page with shitty self help affirmations that don’t mean shit. Unfortunately this is one dead end route a lot of dating coaches can take.
Verdict: A failure really – I mean what the fuck was James thinking hiring a loser who has self help meltdowns on instagram and plays ukulele on the beach in his underpants – no wonder Johnanthan ended up betraying James. It’s no surprise really the proof was in the pudding even in the early stuff James wrote about in his book “a natural history” Probably TNL’s own version of a Johnny Berba by the looks of things.
Johnny Berba:
I am not a fan of Johnny from a PUA perspective- I saw him as rash and unable to look after himself properly whilst he did daygame. His impact on London daygame was evident however with many people commenting on his YouTube videos about the positive influence that Johnny had had on their lives.
Needless to say he seemed worn out when I met him in 2018 and bear in mind this was 6 years before he committed suicide – His weight loss in his later years coupled with his drop in youtube views seemingly was indicative of the downward spiral that. Johnny eventually took his own life in November 2024 – a stark reminder that after 13 years of self help and self development guru coaching he was unable to save himself . Despite regular exercise and a clean diet he lost his mental health battle to OCD. A lesson that shows that some people with mental health issues sometimes need external help – more than diet and exercise when seeking solutions.
Verdict: Reading comments after his death showed he had a huge influence on people in London going out of his way to help others often times giving free mentoring and advice – but it’s a reminder to have discipline over your own life first before helping others and that there is only so much benefit that can be gleaned from self help.
Rollo Tomassi :
Grew to fame due to his famous books – The Rational Male series- maybe lingered a bit too long in the Manosphere space – long enough to release his own red pill lion’s NFT. I mean he released 4 books, had a popular YouTube channel with some 250k Youtube subscribers , he made the big money – whether or not he was 100 percent honest at all times is up for debate and whether their ideas were truly of his own making or whether he had a lot of help from being a moderator of the SoSauve Forums influenced his creativity or not is up for debate as a good percentage of his ideas seemed to be gleaned from his posts back/ the posts of other users.
But I still like some aspect of his books – most of my wingmen see though him as overly a negative influence on men’s dating and I can understand it – someone who has risen to the occasion and maybe thrived off the rising divorce rates, rising men’s suicide rates, rising inequality in relationships and dating we see today. Some of his arguments are good and some are bad- he’s often seen as a scapegoat by the likes of John Anthony and Alex from Playing with Fire. Sometimes the criticism is fair sometimes it’s not . Whether or not you like or hate him – hypergamy does exist , SMV does matter and being proactive about creating options is crucial for 99 percent of men in the dating space today.
Verdict: Well he made a lot of money, has what looks like a decent family and has several good 21 speeches, podcasts and books. I see him as a success although a lot of people in the seduction world could view him as a negative influence due to him constantly trolling people with relationship disasters or failures – I think the jury is still out on this one for me personally but I did enjoy the first and third books which made my list on the top 12 seduction books. I mean overall was there a need for 4 books? One seemingly was enough to draw the main points across but I guess the greed and need to cash in was there – even on the third (which I liked originally) I think he could’ve done a bit better to create some more unique insights , offered more in statistics etc. instead he just seems to regurgitate the same ideas before finally revealing some new insight by chapter 6-7ish by that time it just feels too late in my eyes. Whether he got greedy or not – and I think the red pill lion’s NFTs probably proves he was I still see him as a positive influence although I understand the disagreements and critique of his ideas.
Dj Fuji:
Four time 21 Convention speaker DJ Fuji resides in the US – he was one of the early influences in my dating life. He gave a lot of good advice in his 21 Convention talks which I didn’t understand at the time (I was too young and dumb really to get it all) Nevertheless his interviews and speeches gave me a realistic outlook and blueprint to follow on daygame. He has a seemingly attractive girlfriend and is continually teaching to this day. He’s well dressed, charismatic and has had an interesting career serving in the Marines- helping clients with their limiting believes and setting the example that men who are short and ethnic minorities can succeed in the dating space.
Verdict: A success really – a PUA coach in an actually good LTR. A strong example for short Asian men to follow that success can be achieved in the PUA space regardless of ethnicity or height.
Erik von Markovik (Mystery) :
Im in two minds about mystery nowadays as I am with a lot of pickup artists who were dominating the early 2000s – In recent interviews Mystery has looked out of sorts of course he’s just lost his sister and mother and it could be argued anyone in the same exact position would be looking worn out and depressed too. He’s also been through a lot relationship wise getting divorced and battling for the custody of his kids. Those instances would take their toll on anyone – I don’t think I’d look very good personally if I was going through that shit. Mystery was heavily criticised in James Marshall’s book entitled: “ A natural history” in which James called him a pua with Asperger’s that couldn’t be taken seriously and the fact that mystery has failed to maintain an LTR could be indicative of this. As personally my brother too has Asperger’s and often found LTR’s difficult to maintain – whether his game skill got him the women or the simple fact he’s 6 ft 5 is up for debate. In any daygame sense – if you’re 6 ft 5 and you approach 100-200 women you most likely will eventually get laid regardless of your apparent neurodevelopment disorders.
But it does paint an obscure picture for pickup artistry in that the leader of the movement – Mystery can sell 2 million copies of one of the best written PUA books of our generation and still end up with a divorce and for better of for worse continue to make subpar content in regards to his recent interviews with Game Global . Mystery seemingly went off the rails after losing custody of his kids posting on men’s rights facebook groups during his retirement phase however this is somewhat understandable given the mental toll losing your children can have on anyone.
His interview on the Game Global Youtube Channel nonetheless was disappointing in which he advised people dating women to do chores with them before the date instead of going to a coffee shop – he suggested going to the bank for a first date . I can understand him not thinking straight given what he’s been through but I do think he has declined physically, mentally somewhat and in terms of the advice he gives now it seems to be way off the mark. It seems to be tough for him to even give what I’d consider good advice out now even looking at him now he does look rough.
He says he’s still looking for his soulmate in his 50s , a kinda sad ending for someone so dedicated to the game – who wrote so well back in the day to still be going through relationship problems now and judging by his physical appearance has found it hard to maintain his health and smv. (Of course I’m aware of the trails and tribulations he’s faced and I haven’t faced such issues of such magnitude but It’s still disappointing to see his decline nonetheless)
Mystery’s story is another example to show that daygame coaches are really just human beings prone to making mistakes and can be liable to errors as much as your average Joe . They get divorces too , they get breakups , shit happens to everyone – The key is not to idolise or see them as people who can do no wrong which I personally can attest to have done in the past.
Verdict: A complete success when it comes to book sales- I don’t think anyone will out do him ever on that front. With the decline in interest in PUA literature too its unlikely anyone ever will write a better , more internationally known piece of literature on game. His relationships , a divorce and the loss of the custody of his two kids are food for thought especially for those looking to commit and marry in the modern tumultuous era of marriage.
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