Tariq Nasheed (also know as "Tariq Elite", "King Flex" or "K-Flex") was born in Detroit, Michigan July 1st. He is an author, actor, fashion designer and producer. He wrote the New York Times best seller The Art of Mackin. Tariq moved from Detroit to Birmingham, Alabama at a young age. Due to slow pace and boredom of the social scene Tariq scraped up a $125 plane ticket and decided to leave Birmingham for Los Angeles, California at age 17. From there Tariq traveled around the world studying different cultures and customs on the way people interacted in relationships. He created certain dating techniques which were a combination of what he learned from older hustlers he had encountered on the streets of Los Angeles, from what he learned by reading psychology books and from what he learned from interacting with people from other countries. He called these techniques "G.I.C.2" (game, intelligence and common sense, squared). Tariq became what he calls a "game advisor", and he would teach these G.I.C.2 techniques to men and women on the Los Angeles underground scene. In 1999, Tariq wrote a book based on his dating techniques called "The Art of Mackin," which went on to sell over 250,000 copies. "The Art of Mackin" laid the foundation for the modern "seduction" industry. His followup book "Play Or Be Played" (Simon & Schuster) was catered towards women trying to learn "the game". In 2005 Tariq released another book for men called "The Mack Within" (Penguin). In 2008 he released a controversial book called "The Art of Gold Digging". Tariq has a new book for me coming out in December 2009 called "The Elite Way: 10 Rules Men Must Know In Order To Deal With Women".Tariq has appeared on TV shows such as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with Conan O'Brian, MTV Made, and several show for VH1, BET, etc. Tariq now does sold out lectures and seminars around the country. He has released an instructional DVD called Mack Lessons.Tariq also has a popular podcast called The Mack Lessons Radio Show that has over 100,000 listeners. Tariq is coming out with a designer cologne line called "Risqué Elite" and a line of designer sunglasses called "Tariq Elite".