Don't Hate the Player: The New Wave of Pickup Artists at Project Hollywood

Luke Harold spent his childhood and teenage years as a socially awkward introvert, feeling especially frustrated with his lack of success with girls. In 2007, he discovered the pickup community after watching the VH1 T.V. show “The Pickup Artist.” Excited to discover that it’s possible to learn to be better with girls, Luke embarked on a quest to learn all the skills necessary to develop solid game. Training with renowned pickup artist Adam Lyons and his company, in particular, took Luke’s game to heights he never could have imagined, and he wanted to continue improving. His journey led him to Hollywood where he accepted an internship with Vince Kelvin and Speer, two well-known pickup artists in the community who leased Project Hollywood, a West Hollywood mansion once occupied by Neil Strauss, Mystery and Tyler Durden, among other pickup artists. The mansion served as the setting for the New York Times bestselling novel "The Game" by Neil Strauss. Luke thought that living and breathing seduction while working for Kings of Pickup, Vince and Speer’s company, in the most famous landmark in the community would take his game to levels he never could have dreamed about. It didn’t take long, however, before turmoil within the house dominated life at Project Hollywood, and detracted from the pickup education Luke and the other interns received. Before long, the same big egos, arrogance and greed that plagued the characters in “The Game” also threatened to take down Vince, Speer and the newer version of Project Hollywood.