The G Manifesto

Cocaine, Custom Suits and Wall Street

Good article on the Cocaine and Banker scene in Hong Kong:

Out on the streets of Central, barmen and the public relations staff at nightclubs even dole out free cocaine to regulars and models, keen to get the party started at the weekend.

“That’s the way the clubs work,” says one industry insider. “They dish it out for free because they want the attractive people in there, so that the men will go in and spend money. They give the models coke to get things going.”

“I know guys who hit the clubs, pick up these models and then go back to a suite at the Four Seasons and keep partying all weekend, fuelled by the drugs,” he adds.

Source

I always thought I would do well in Hong Kong. Just added to my travel docket.

Good news, Custom Tailors Enjoying a Boom:

Custom-made clothes—which were popular in the ’50s and ’60s—are making a big comeback in Europe.

“People have come to realize that the expensive designer suit they are used to buying is made to fit a thousand other people,” says Rome-based tailor Luigi Gallo, who has been in the trade for more than 30 years. “In addition, they’re paying a huge price for that logo sewed into the jacket.”

Business is thriving as well on London’s Savile Row, where an average of 10,000 hand-made garments are sold every year. The Row has seen a steady increase in business in the past five years despite the economic downturn. In 2010, order books swelled more than 10% from 2009, says Mark Henderson, founder and chairman of Savile Row Bespoke, a group of 14 companies formed to protect and promote the art of hand-crafted tailoring on Savile Row.

Mr. Henderson said he’s convinced the recession has made people question the true value of things. “People have started to look for real quality,” he says.

Source

Steady increase in business in the past five years? Interestingly enough, that is about how long I have been yapping about the value of the Custom Suit.

I think Savile Row owes me a thank you card. Or at least some pro-bono pocket squares.

A good article on 25 Guys to Avoid on Wall Street. Some of the best ones:

8. Avoid the guy who offers his clients ‘a very special opportunity’ to invest in anything. He has a problem with cocaine.

10. Avoid the guy who throws his phone across the trading floor whenever his positions go south. He’s an angry dude, and the more time you spend with him the more reasons he’ll find to dislike you.

11. Avoid anyone who tells you that you should relax and have a couple of drinks—at 9:15 on a Tuesday morning. You’re not cool enough to hang out with this guy.

12. Avoid anyone who won’t relax and have a couple of drinks—at 9:15 on a Thursday night. They’re not cool enough to hang out with you—and ultimately they’ll resent you for it.

16. Avoid the guy who tells you, “Seriously, all I do is work and then go home and lift.” He’s telling you the truth—and he’s as dumb as a stone.

21. Avoid the guy who can drink all night, take a shower, and come into the office as crisp as a $100 bill. He’s got an oxlike constitution—and it will be fatal to your career to try to emulate his example.

Source

It’s no secret that I spent a tour of duty in the financial world. I like #10. However, I didn’t throw my phones across the trading floor. I would just smash them. I led the league in broken phones.

I also like #21. That was me. I would come into the office minimum two to three days a week on no sleep after a night of partying and swooping fly girls. And it did ruin other cats that tried to keep up with me.

Stamina has always been one of my strong suits.

Click Here for Griftopia: Bubble Machines, Vampire Squids, and the Long Con That Is Breaking America by Matt Taibbi

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Click Here 007 Lifestyle – Living Like James Bond!

Click Here for Zippo Black Ice Pocket Lighter

The Rest is Up to You…

Michael Porfirio Mason
AKA The Peoples Champ
AKA GFK, Jr.
AKA The Sly, Slick and the Wicked
AKA The Voodoo Child
The Guide to Getting More out of Life

http://www.thegmanifesto.com

I am kind of feeling this track lately. Early contender for “Summertime track of The Year”

Stalley ft. Rashad “SLAPP”

Guest Manifesto: Never Regular

“The more you conform, the less likely you are to be truly interesting.” – MPM

Most people focus on role models, but it’s far more effective to do just the opposite. Find anti-models—people you don’t want to resemble. Now, who’s the ideal anti-model? The average guy. Think about it:

They go home to live in a box; they study by ticking boxes; they go to what is called “work” in a cubicle box: they drive to the grocery store to buy food in a box; they go to the gym in a box; they talk about thinking “outside the box”, and when they die they are put in a box.

The collective status quo (school, jobs, a.k.a. the system) wants to box you in. They want you to blend in with the crowd. They want to strip you of your strength, masculinity, and individuality. It’s gotten so bad in recent years that “fitting into the mold” now means physical, mental, and emotional castration. Do everything you can to avoid this. Don’t cave in to the mediocre and the uninspired.

Instead, make a commitment to excellence. Make yourself a standout and command attention. This has its obvious benefits. First and foremost, it signals that you are a person of exceptional ability and high quality. Second, it shows you to be a tastemaker of resolute individuality. Third, it increases your social standing. People want to be near other people who give off positive vibes; a buzzing, effervescent state of mind can work wonders.

“You have approach girls with snap, swagger and energy. You need to have a purpose and pitch something that is exciting, fresh and unique.” – MPM (The Six Elements of Picking Up Girls)

When you make a commitment to excellence, though, you’ll inevitably run into some resistance. But when you’re facing your “competition”, remember this: What fools call a waste of time is most often the best investment. Most “regular” guys don’t have a clue about things like custom suits, swooping model girls, intercontinental travel, speaking multiple languages, gourmet foods, big bankrolls, boutique hotels, swigging Barolo, and smoking Davidoffs—it’s all a little bit beyond their comprehension because it’s fine living in another dimension. Sure, these things aren’t “regular”, but who cares? A preoccupation with fitting in is the main obstacle to a noble, elegant, and heroic life.

“The finest moments in my life have consisted of a Custom Italian suit, a full-bodied red, a key to a penthouse suite in my pocket, a thick bankroll, a booth in a Michelin starred restaurant, a beautiful girl looking at me, hypnotized, and a lit cigarette dangling from my mouth. Moments like these are what Life is all about (and of course what happens succeeding). The rest is just bullshit.” – MPM (Smoking and Liberty for All: Pro-Smoking Quotes)

Click Here for more by Le Parvenue

Click Here for Griftopia: Bubble Machines, Vampire Squids, and the Long Con That Is Breaking America by Matt Taibbi

Click Here for How to Pick up Strippers

Click Here 007 Lifestyle – Living Like James Bond!

Fabolous – You Be Killin Em

Jewelry for Mom

Bogotá, Colombia –

One of the greatest aspects of living The International Playboy lifestyle is there are times when you have tons of excess liquid capital. (Side note I: Being an International Playboy is great work…if you can get it).

And the best thing to do with that excess liquid capital?

Buy Bottle Service and glittery Ed Hardy Shirts.

Just playing, the best thing to do is take a break from the frenetic nightlife of Zona Rosa and Parque 93 and is buy Jewelry for MOM. (And of course, Giving back to The People).

Since I so happen to be in Bogotá, Colombia, that jewelery is going to consist of Emeralds from the world famous Chivor Mine. (Side note II: It is easy to get ripped off if you don’t know Emeralds. Thankfully, I don’t happen to fall into that camp).

You should do the same. MOM deserves it.

Her smile and the joy that you bring her easily pays for itself.

Click Here for The Thank You Economy by Gary Vaynerchuck

The Rest is Up to You…

Michael Porfirio Mason
AKA The Peoples Champ
AKA GFK, Jr.
AKA The Sly, Slick and the Wicked
AKA The Voodoo Child
The Guide to Getting More out of Life

http://www.thegmanifesto.com

vallenatos – Olvidala – Binomi De Oro

Melcochita – Madre

Guest Manifesto: I Came, I Saw, I Conquered

There’s a famous latin phrase, Caeser pontem fecit, that translates into “Caesar built a bridge”. Of course, Julius Caesar himself did not build a single bridge. But he did have the vision to do so. This is important because his visionary building ultimately led the Romans to unquestioned military supremacy. We’re talking complete and utter dominance across Europe (not unlike your humble author). Unsurprisingly, Caesar was a leader with superior mental aptitude and unparalleled strategic skills. And in the end that’s what counts most, because it is all a mind game. Inner game and getting your mind right are key.

The alpha animal uses his mind to win the game, not just brute force or physical superiority. The lion in the savannah never has a chance if not for his ability to outsmart the prey by getting close. Otherwise, his superior strength is of little use. Same goes for Game. Humans are obviously the best example of mind over physical superiority. The alpha animal in the human world is rarely the strongest, but is almost always the wisest or most cunning.

“Let your greatest cunning lie in covering up what looks like cunning”– Baltasar Gracián (Brazilian Girls, Los Angeles and Custom Suits)

What is cunning? Cunning is taking vampire naps and re-upping while everyone else is paying up–and then coming in for the kill. Cunning is skipping the treadmills of the “corporate” gym (which is just a place of isolation, anyway) and Entering the Dragon round for round. I mean, “When I look at people on treadmills I wonder how alpha lions, the strongest, expend the least amount of energy, sleeping twenty hours a day; others hunt for them.”

Which brings up an important point: trying too hard. Most guys are much too unnatural and over studied. You have to let it flow. Be natural. Unscripted. Smooth as silk. Girls pick up on G’s because they feel the higher value a.k.a. being Sharp, Urban, and International.

But don’t get too caught up in the details. The overall the truth about being an alpha male is simple: if you try to be an alpha male, you will never be one.

Luckily, some of us just Grew Up Not Giving a F*ck. It’s not complicated. “When you don’t give a f*ck everything starts happening and girls come to you. When you don’t give a f*ck you close hard. My brothers, do whatever you can to not give a f*ck.” Real G’s aren’t needy. They stand on their own, going for Dolo.

Simply put, the men who get along best with women are those who can get along best without them. It’s a well documented, almost zen like phenomenon; the less you need them the more desirable you become. Now that’s cunning.

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Papoose – Born to Win

Barcelona, Spain: Custom Moves

Its splendor was dazzling. The silks, muslins, velvets, capes covered with sequins, jewels, incessant popping of champagne corks, valets coming and going, and the continual murmur rich people generate when gathered in strength, all delighted me. “That’s how I want to be,” he said to himself, “even if it means putting up with this insipid music that seems to be going on forever.” – Onofre Bouvila (a straight Catalan G) in The City of Marvels by Eduardo Mendoza

Bogotá, Colombia – I was going through some notes I had written down during my recent trip to Barcelona. I may expand and write out some of the stories behind these in the future, but for now, here are the notes of some Custom Moves I did while there:

• Hopped the turnstile at Verdager in a Custom Suit and handmade loafers.

• Showed the kids at Arc de Triomf how to do a kick flip and a shove it while I was in royal blue custom slacks, a light blue guayabera with a cigarette in mouth.

• Bought hash strictly out of habit, while walking to Sutton Club, only to later hand it to a cute dreadlocked girl that was kicking back on the street.

• Got down with some boxed wine, Dolo, at La Sagrada Familia for old time’s sake.

• Reminisced at old places I got blowers and shakers. It’s always good when you can say “Oh yeah, I remember when I got a blower there by the beach”.

• Swooped girls from Tarragona to Torredembarra.

• Heard Full clip by Guru in a club (Broadbar)

• I even had little kids from the east side of Barcelona throwing up the “Wessyde”.

• Accidentally dissed the actor, Bob Saget in NYC at the airport when I was exchanging some CASH and he asked me “How do you use this ATM?” I responded, “I don’t know Screech”, and went on about my business. (I had to ask my little brother later to figure out it was Bob Saget.)

• Did some sketches at Park Güell.

• Kicked back and smoked grits while watching tourists get hustled at three card monte on Las Ramblas.

• I even danced the Sardana one Sunday morning.

I love Barcelona, The City of Marvels.

Click Here for Nightlife Generalship and Nightlife Princesses in Barcelona

Click Here for Barcelona Nightclub Data Sheets

The Rest is Up to You…

Michael Porfirio Mason
AKA The Peoples Champ
AKA GFK, Jr.
AKA The Sly, Slick and the Wicked
AKA The Voodoo Child
The Guide to Getting More out of Life

http://www.thegmanifesto.com

A little slice of Barcelona:

Shakira – Loca (Spanish Version) ft. El Cata