Q&A: Niels Hoven of 'Beauty and the Geek'

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BRAGGING ABOUT his future Ph.D. in electrical engineering wasn't scoring ladies' digits, so Silver Spring native Niels Hoven signed up for the CW reality hit "Beauty and the Geek," which pairs smart, socially inept guys with stunning but slow gals. We don't know whether Hoven made the finals, but he's got game. He's dropped the degree to become a full-time dating coach.

» Niels was also a frequent contributor to The Post's Style Invitational!
» Niels' blog!

» EXPRESS: Why did you want to go on the show?

» NIELS: Well, for me, the biggest reason is that I value once-in-a-lifetime experiences. I had started working on self-improvement. I'd been at grad school for two years and my social life wasn't going well. So I got involved with this company that teaches guys social skills, as an intern.

» EXPRESS: What did they teach you before you started the show — had you worked on your look?
» NIELS: Definitely not my look. The girls told me I needed to start wearing my pants lower. It was more in how I carry myself and what I say, which worked out because the theme of this season of "Beauty and the Geek" is first impressions. The girls spent hours carefully crafting their images, and they helped me learn what I need to do to craft mine.

» EXPRESS: Are those highlights in your hair on the show?
» NIELS: Right now, I don't have any color in my hair. But there's a salon in Berkeley that had a trainee day and they brought me in to be a hair model and I got highlights. I had never done much with my hair. From fourth grade until two years into grad school, my hair was always just cut with clippers. But now I understand how important it is to presenting your image.

» EXPRESS: What's that white bodysuit you're wearing on the CW Web site?
» NIELS: That's a polypropylene body suit that was a Christmas present from my sister. When I was [a grad student] at Berkeley, we didn't always want to pay for heat, so I'd put that on and be nice and toasty warm.

» EXPRESS: And I understand you cook?
» NIELS: One of the best things I've made was when a friend and I bought cast-iron pans. We found a recipe for Dutch Babies, which you can get at the Original Pancake House in Bethesda. So we made it and we split it together and it was incredibly delicious. But we were wondering why we were so full, and then realized the recipe had called for a stick of butter and a half-dozen eggs and we had just eaten the whole thing. It took me a week to recover.

» EXPRESS: Were you a geek in high school?
» NIELS: Dork would have been my preferred term in the spectrum of nerd, dork and geek. I think of dorks as socially awkward guys who are fun to be around. But I didn't go on a date until I was 20.

» EXPRESS: What do you do when you're back in D.C.?
» NIELS: I've started going to bars and clubs now. You can make a lot of first impressions there. My sister, who's four years younger, is always introducing me to places. I like the Reef in Adams Morgan because it has that nice roof and you can talk to people.

» EXPRESS: Have you gotten any numbers there?
» NIELS: I have. The funny thing is that I now work with that company I was involved with as a dating coach. I just got back from running a workshop in Australia. I've learned that social skills can be learned just like anything else. It's like learning how to ride a bike or swim. It's something you can actually hire someone to help you fix.

» EXPRESS: In the first two episodes, you seem obsessed with breasts.
» NIELS: I feel like my character on the show is one-dimensional so far. I like boobs, but I have other endearing qualities. One of the biggest things I got out of the show was that looks aren't everything. Being locked in a house with women who are attractive but a little off some of the time clinched that. I want someone who is emotionally healthy and low-maintenance.

» EXPRESS: Are the women really that dumb?
» NIELS: I was kind of surprised watching that first episode how everyone's personalities are true to life. Everything is surprisingly realistic. It's not that they're so dumb, it's that they're living a lifestyle that doesn't require them to know those things. They're waited on hand and foot.

» EXPRESS: Are you a different person now?
» NIELS: I'm much more outgoing. I'm still an introvert, but I'm an outgoing introvert.

» EXPRESS: What's your standard pick-up line?
» NIELS: It's so good, I don't want to give it away. Let me think of one I don't use all of the time. Here's one of my favorites: "Sorry I'm late, guys." You walk up to a random group of people and say that and everyone laughs and you have a bunch of new friends.

» EXPRESS: Is this stuff like that Neil Strauss book, "The Game"?
» NIELS: That's what got me interested in this whole world. My company's mentioned in the book. But I don't agree with a lot of the stuff in "The Game." It feels very manipulative. We're more into teaching guys how to be attractive.

» EXPRESS: Any more social life goals?
» NIELS: There are still situations I feel anxious in. For me, right now, it's something I'm getting good at, but I have to think about it. I want it to become who I am so I don't have to remember to flirt and talk to everybody.

Photo courtesy of The CW