Season 2 of The Pickup Artist ended with Simeon going head-to-head with his good friend Matt and winning it all. Here’s an excerpt of what he has to say about the competition and how it felt to win it:

[Photo: © 2008 VH1]

What did your family & friends say when you told them you were auditioning for the show?

You know, I didn’t give them a lot of detail. I basically told them it was a reality show and I’d tell them more about it later. I wanted to keep it under wraps.

When I talked to Matt he said it was kind of embarrassing to use the tag line about how you’re all “Socially awkward, lovable losers”.

I never saw it as that, I was like, well, this show is more about guys who need help with girls and I always tried to make it sound a little better than that description.

What do your friends think about the show, have they picked up some of your pickup techniques? You were such a good teacher to your friend Ryan when he was on the show.

Some of my friends have definitely made transformations themselves. In Ryan’s case I definitely see a change, and when we go out we definitely get a lot more attention from women and we do better. It’s nice to see that even just from those little moments we had months ago, he’s made great progress. It’s worked for some of my other friends too, we definitely have a better time now and don’t just sit at a table at a bar drinking beer by ourselves. I’m looking forward to eventually teaching this to other people so they can have the same kind of transformation that I’ve gone through and enrich their lives. My life has definitely been enriched.

You definitely were a great teacher; you were really invested in showing him what to do.

Absolutely. Some people made fun of me because of how realistic I took things with pretending to be his target, but I wanted things to be as realistic as possible, and I think that method proved correct, even if it was maybe unorthodox. I drilled the techniques in a realistic fashion and that really helped him succeed.

Was it ever discouraging to constantly be referred to as the hyper one or to have them tell you were too energetic?

It was all entertaining. It’s not like VH1 were the first people to accuse me of being hyperactive; I was used to that assessment. Even, I mean, to be parodied on The Soup - to me everything is in good fun - even when I supposedly slobbered on the sexologist. I talked to her after and we laughed about it. I think I was fairly portrayed on the show, although I will say that some of the situations, like the final episode, tried to make it look like it was a close competition between me and Matt, but behind the scenes, it wasn’t close at all. Matt kissed a girl for maybe thirty seconds and she left, and I was with my target for at least twenty minutes.

Be sure to read the entire interview here.

Matt was one of the last two men standing in this season of The Pickup Artist. Here’s an excerpt of what he had to say about getting that far in the competition and whether or not the strategies he learned are working for him:

[Photo: © 2008 VH1]

Do you get recognized in public now that the show’s over?

Oh yeah, I didn’t think I would be but I get recognized quite a bit. It was pretty embarrassing, I was out to dinner with my folks last week and someone came up to me and said “I just want to wish you a happy Thanksgiving and I hope you win!” and that was pretty awesome. I didn’t think I’d get noticed since I don’t have the outfits like Simeon or the hair like Brian, I look pretty normal. When I go out with Simeon though, he definitely gets recognized, he is just like, he’s the Mr. T of the show with all the jewelry hanging from him and painted nails, he always gets noticed.

Was the show everything you’d hoped it would be?

It was a fantastic experience. Beyond the stuff we learned about pickup, it consistently forced me to push my boundaries and step out of my comfort zone which isn’t something I do often. I’ll be willing to take more risks now when it comes to work or various other things now, I really found the ability to push myself. I also made some great friends and I learned that I can be successful with women. Filming the show was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, it’s just physically and mentally demanding process, but I’m so glad I did it and I would do it again.

Do you think it takes a certain type of person to be successful at pickup? Because when your friend Chuck visited, he seemed to resist the whole game of it.

You have to go in willing to do things you might not be comfortable with. In a lot of ways I think that’s why Simeon won, he committed to this project 100%. Whereas I may have committed 90% or Greg may have committed 70%. It’s reflective in the standings of how everyone did how committed to the process you are. My friend went in not caring about what he was learning but caring about me doing well and helping me out, but the material wasn’t interesting to him. Simeon’s friend Ryan was 100% committed to the process just like Simeon and that was reflected in how well they did.

Were you ever self-conscious using and repeating the same canned opening lines?

Absolutely. I was aware at every step of the way how it sounded and everyone gives me a hard time for using that stupid Oceans 11 line, but the whole reason I used that line over other ones is that it’s so random and confusing, most of the time the girls would be like “I don’t know what that means,” and in that confusion I’d go into my next bit of material. I used it because it was so random, but those openers are. . .I haven’t used one of them once since I’ve been home. It’s not my style and I’d rather be off-the-cuff. I did want to show that I was a good student and that I could do it, so that’s why I continually used the same material, to prove to them I was listening to Mystery and that I could use what they were teaching and be successful.

Be sure to read the entire interview here.

It’s been a long, hard road for the guys on The Pickup Artist 2, but we’re down to the final two. They need to be at their best and ready for the final challenge. Here’s the sneak peek at what’s in store during the season finale.

This week on The Pickup Artist 2, Greg was the one to go home. I was surprised, because all season I have thought Greg might possibly win. The transformation he’s made is incredible and he really seemed to “get” the lessons each week. Anyway, Here’s Greg’s reaction to leaving the show:

Fans of The Pickup Artist 2 will all certainly miss Brian’s unusual and interesting ways of describing things. (You remember “smokin’ balls” right?) Anyway, here’s an excerpt from his exit interview:

[Photo: © 2008 VH1]

Have you put your training to use since the show?

Oh yeah. I’m lovin’ life right now. My results are more than one and less than one hundred. I’ve got to get to know you a little bit better before I let you know the real number.

So for your last challenge -

Which one was the last one, the one where we had to number close?

Yeah, you had to get a number from a bikini model.

Yeah, I was too intimidated by the skinny little thongs in between the girls’ butts. They were good lookin’ though.

So that made it harder?

It was so nerve-wracking, you knew there were cameras around and like, the first five-set that I walked into I said that they had orange faces and tans and all of them heard me say that and when I went around to open other sets they would be like “There’s the guy who told us we had orange skin!”

Have you learned your lesson? You should never call a girl orange.

Yeah, maybe I should’ve said they were too yellow instead. Hey, are you very experienced, sexually? I’m just wondering because I read on a blog, I was reading a bunch of stuff that people were writing about me, but then I read that semen is good for your skin and all these people on the blog were like “You should use the semen opener where you tell a girl semen is really good for her skin.”

I’m not so sure you should use that one.

I don’t think I would either. It was just coming from these crazy guys that worship me. Like all the messages I get on MySpace and Facebook are from guys, so many guys come up to me, it’s weird. I wish it was the opposite gender.

Be sure to go read the rest of what Brian has to say here.

Here’s a clip where Mystery answers questions from viewers. He explains things that the show doesn’t have time to touch on. He really is a master os social dynamics. Like it or not, these techniques are real and they do work, even if we don’t know why. Check it out:

[Photo: © 2008 VH1]

Have you mastered Mystery’s terminology for the art of the pick-up? Do you feel the need for a glossary or a list so you can learn it? Well, you’ve come to right place!! Here’s Mystery’s Lingo:

Here’s an excerpt of what Alex had to say about his abrupt exit from The Pickup Artist 2.

[© 2008 VH1]

Did you have any idea that you’d be kicked off so soon and that first experience in the club would actually be an elimination challenge?

No, I really had no idea that it would happen like that. I really thought that there might be a double elimination the next time. It didn’t even cross my mind until they started in with the “One of you is going home tonight.” But when he started describing everything - what the person going home had done, I knew it was me.

Do you have a personal favorite for the winner, someone you’re pulling for?

After seeing some of them at the premiere, I was like, how can you have trouble talking to women? Like Greg is completely different from the first time I met him. We hung out and he’s definitely confident and not at all like he was before this whole experience.

So are any of them totally ladies men now?

There are some of them (laughs) who definitely go out for the hunt and the kill in the clubs now, but for the most part they’re all still the same good guys.

Do you think Mystery’s strategies really work?

The question I get from everyone is “Can Mystery really get women, or is it all for show? If he came up and talked to me I think there’s no way I’d give him my number.” But his techniques really do work, I was skeptical, but after watching him, they all work. His appearance definitely helps - being 6?7? and wearing a fur top hat - that really turns some heads. I’m a tall guy but I was looking up at him the whole time, he’s an intimidating guy. I do use the techniques now though, I’m still pretty green, but I do want to get better and I think I can’t stop right now. Some of my friends don’t take it too seriously though, I mean, I don’t know how easily it would happen for Mystery in Oklahoma. It’s definitely a whole other game plan.

Be sure to go read the entire interview for the rest of what Alex has to say.

When The Pickup Artist 2 premieres this Sunday night, it will introduce a new batch of hopeless guys for Mystery to train. Here is the very needy lineup:

Alex

[Photo: © 2008 VH1]

(click on “Read More” for the rest of the guys!)
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The new season of The Pickup Artist doesn’t premiere until Sunday, but you can watch it now, right here! The five video clips here are straight from the season premiere. It’s a fantastic new sneak peek:

(click on “Read More” for the rest of the premiere!)
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