IT’S a tough marketplace to stand out in. So when New Yorker Dan Perino wanted to settle down amid Manhattan’s brutal dating scene, he took an inventive approach.

The actor and part-time web designer made a flyer with his picture and contact details along with the words “looking for a girlfriend” and “this is not a joke” and plastered it across his local neighbourhood.

Now six months on, the 51-year-old has become a national celebrity and posted more than 40,000 pictures of his face around New York, in an unusual approach to dating that has seen him score hundreds of dates and 118 ‘hook-ups’ so far.

“It’s been going great” he told news.com.au. “I’ve had ... hook-ups with 118 girls, but the dating is a lot more than that.”

And in case you’re wondering what ‘hook-ups’ means, Perino was blunt: “sex”.

The unorthodox approach gained him national media attention when it first came to light in August last year. Since then, Mr Perino has made a documentary, written a short story and is hoping to fund a reality show from his exploits.

“At that time I just wanted to find a girlfriend, I had no idea. I built the flyer with a friend of mine, thinking that I would find one within a week. That wasn’t the case. Then CBS news wanted to interview me and it just kept going and going with the media,” he said.

“I was getting 200-300 calls per day. I couldn’t get back to everybody, it was difficult. I’ve got back to everybody by now, there’s been over 8000 phone calls. I posted well over 40,000 flyers. I try to keep it below 14th street although I do go up to mid-town sometimes.”

This is what you get when you date me.looking for a girlfriend guy in nyc. pic.twitter.com/86Dzs4X6J4 — daniel perino (@danperinonyc) February 28, 2015

Mr Perino, who has lived in New York his whole life, said he was inspired to try something new in the city which is notoriously difficult for singles.

“It’s a dating town, it’s not really a relationship town. I’m not really that picky although I see some of these girls over and over again but they’re just not marriage material. I’m looking for a girlfriend that’s going to turn into a marriage,” he said.

I am a valuable man. I have everything I need except a woman of my dreams. — daniel perino (@danperinonyc) March 2, 2015

The flyers have led to plenty of text messages and at least one or two phone calls a day, although Mr Perino said some are intimidated by his new found ‘celebrity’ status.

“A lot of girls get nervous around me on a date because of the celebrity thing. They’ll read all the articles on me on Google ... They’re just scared, they’re not used to it I guess. I walk down the street and get stopped 10 or 15 times a day for my picture,” he said.

Despite insisting he’s “not picky”, Mr Perino is looking for someone between 25-37 because he wants to start a family.

“Women in their 50s and late 50s want to date me and you know that’s not going to happen. I’ll go out on a coffee date but not a hook up — I’m just not attracted.”

“I’ve had women call me telling me they’re like 40 years old and I set up the date and they’re senior citizens. That’s happened a couple of times and that’s uncool.”

While initially he would take his dates out to dinner, the huge number of prospective girlfriends meant it was costing him a fortune and he’s now downgraded his dates to coffee — albeit with a red rose.

The project has led to plenty of scepticism over whether it’s all a piece of performance art but Mr Perino insists he is genuine.

“It didn’t start of as any kind of media thing, it just started as me to find a girlfriend, but I didn’t really realise that until later in the game ... I guess you could call it a piece of artwork,” he said.

One of his short stories details how a 25-year-old woman in town with her father on business sent a limo to pick him up and bring him to her hotel. Some of his other more bizarre exploits are expected to be featured in the upcoming documentary.

While’s he’s now going on more dates, Mr Perino said women are still the ones who hold all the cards in the dating scene.

“Women are actually picking up me. There’s an interview process. Even if you go on a coffee date, there’s an interview process the women does. They kind of ask you questions without you knowing … to see if you’re going to be strong enough and attractive enough to be with them there’s no such thing as men picking up women, it just doesn’t exist.”

He’s now taking his quest for a girlfriend global and says he loves foreign women as they’re “very uninhibited about their sexuality.”

“I’m changing the flyer to worldwide search. I don’t care how long it takes. I’m getting kind of sick of American women. Women overseas are much more relaxed.”

“I’d like a girlfriend I could see every day or every other day to go walking or unplanned events. A girl that isn’t so busy that I can only see her every couple of weeks.”

What do you think of Mr Perino’s approach? Continue the conversation on Twitter @NewscomauHQ |@danperinonyc