Yeah I'm pretty sure he was.
But they utilised a different style of game focusing on routines and pick up lines
As for who he was...
Neil Strauss in my opinion was one of the first puas who brought game in to the public eye. He learned from a man known as Mystery who was also one of the first to start properly teaching pua. He eventually took the name Style to use while coaching.
I guess if you want a ton of info you could always get his book... The Game but I find things in the book a tad overdramatic with the whole pua war with RSD but still it's an interesting read.