Venusian Arts Vegas bootcamp Part I — End Game (Post 30)

The longer I was with Venusian Arts, the more involvement I wanted with the company. Ultimately, I wanted to be a partner, along with Mystery, Matador and Lovedrop. Lovedrop told me that I was trying to force my way in too much when I needed to just relax and let things take their course. He made it seem possible, but I always noticed a hint of hesitation in his voice. It started seeming like no matter what I did, I was never going anywhere with these guys.I did go along with them on one of their bootcamps in Vegas. I was supposed to be an “approach coach,” someone who just helps students get into sets, and they wanted me to teach portions of the seminar. I never read their materials or anything, but being around these guys all the time, I was able to recite everything verbatim. In fact, I almost started to get sucked into their world, despite the advice I received from Moxie during the first party at Project Miami I went to. Here and there, I would catch myself neglecting my family and friends outside of pickup.

At the time, VA’s bootcamps were seminar from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and in field from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. each day on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday. There was no in field day game. After living with Mystery, Matador and Lovedrop, I saw firsthand that they were afraid of day game.

As a matter of fact, I was also scheduled to head to California for a casting call for The Pickup Artist. Another pickup artist named J-Dog, who wasn’t actually in VA but had close ties to Lovedrop, went to meet with the producers first since I had to be in Vegas.

It was my first time in Vegas, and as soon as I got off the plane on a Thursday at 1 a.m., I got this vibe that Vegas is basically Disneyland for adults. I knew a little about the culture through movies and T.V. shows, but this was going to be my first time experiencing what it was all about.

Lovedrop was really excited to show me around. We left our hotel, a Holiday Inn off Las Vegas Boulevard on the main strip, and he showed me around. He took me to all the other hotels, showed me all the clubs and explained the scene in Vegas. It was nothing like Miami; in Vegas, anyone can pretty much get into any club. I was used to either having to have a lot of girls or connections to get into most venues. He took me through the casinos, and it was pretty thrilling to see the sights and sounds of slot machines, people celebrating their winnings, agonizing over their losses. I was in Vegas baby!

I really appreciated the time Lovedrop took to show me around, even though it was fast and brief. After we settled back into our hotel, Lovedrop went on to explain to me how VA typically runs its bootcamps. The first night in field, there isn’t a lot of teaching going on; the instructors mostly spend the night demoing. The idea was we would establish credibility for ourselves and the students would be more willing to listen to us for the rest of the bootcamp, and help them realize the the types of results that are possible. It was especially important for me to demo, Lovedrop explained, because I was new and pretty unknown in the community. This first night in field would help establish my street cred.

That night, Lovedrop and I debated whether to get a hooker. In Vegas, you can get hookers sent to your door for $39 and then the price is negotiable from there. I never paid for sex before, but I was kind of intrigued by the idea. It was like putting a dollar figure on what we would normally work for.

“I’ll split it if you want to call them,” Lovedrop said.

“I’m down if you’re down,” I said.

I decided not to do it. I kind of chickened out after I started thinking about STDs and stuff like that. Lovedrop and I just headed back to the hotel and crashed for the night. The next day, we met 12 students in a conference room in our hotel to start the bootcamp. It was me, Lovedrop, and another VA instructor named Hawaii.

Hawaii was this soft-spoken Asian guy who was from Hawaii. He got made fun of a lot by the other instructors, and lot of times they would go into his sets and “AMOG” him (I speak English, so what I mean to say is they made fun of him in front of girls). I thought that was unfortunate, because Hawaii poured his heart and soul into the company. All he ever wanted was to be an instructor under Mystery, which he achieved, but he wasn’t actually making any money. He was never paid for the several bootcamps he had worked, and he was never reimbursed for many different company expenses that he paid for out of his own pocket. All in all, VA owed him about $19,000, he told me, and to this day hasn’t paid him back. It was the first, but certainly not the last time I would hear about VA screwing guys out of money.

J-Dog had flown to Vegas to join us. This was a guy who fit right in with guys in the community like Mystery. He was peacocked to the max with bleached blonde hair with three black stripes dyed on each side, a feather boa he wore a lot, a silver ring on each finger and a pair of New Rocks. We were talking about the casting for the show, and I was telling him that I was getting ready to meet with the producers.

“You might not need to,” he told me. “Because I believe they chose me.”

At that moment, I kind of shrugged it off. I had already spoken with the producers on the phone and they seemed interested in me, and I was pretty excited about the idea of being on T.V., but I didn’t worry about it too much.

Mystery was supposed to be on this bootcamp too, but he missed his flight, which was typical for him. He ended up walking into the conference room just as the first day’s seminar was coming to an end.

The weekend was just getting started…..Part II on Monday

Speer =—->