HOOK: E-zine By, For, and About Men in the Sex Industry

Getting to this New York City Times Square hotel was only half my battle. Street vacationers aside, once in the hotel, there are the escalators, two sets of glass elevators shooting me up into an atrium that always tests my vertigo tolerance. Next, it's down these long hallways, finally getting to the room I'm looking for. You New York guys know which hotel I'm talking about. OK, so here I am standing before room 1516. Kyle, a regular client of mine opens the door with a smile and a sigh, "Boy, am I glad you're here." I could tell by his body language, which was screaming "aches and pains," that my work was cut out for me! He looked a little dazed. "Wow, someone's had a rough day," I said. "That's only the half of it," Kyle states, "jetlag, and meetings all afternoon, I am really sore!" No sooner had I suggested "How about we start with a massage?" that Kyle eagerly began removing his clothes.

Let me stop the story here for a footnote and say that although my table is portable, most homes and hotel rooms here in NYC do not have enough room to put a table out and be able to walk around it. Therefore, I don't travel with my table. OK, back to the story, along with a few solutions:

Pulling the pillows off the bed and removing the floral patterned packing blanket this hotel refers to as a 'comforter,' I positioned Kyle face down in the middle of the bed. His head at the foot of the bed, feet towards the headboard. I could then stand at the foot of the bed over his head and begin a nice soothing backrub, just as I do on my massage table back at my studio. When I finished his upper and lower back, I then walked around to the side of the bed and knelt down on the bed itself near his feet. Placing his left leg over my right thigh, I created a nice cradle for his lower leg and foot to work his calves/hamstrings, and Kyle's nice pinchable butt. I then went around to the other side of the bed, working his right leg by again getting on the bed, kneeling on my feet and placing his leg over my thigh. When I finished with Kyle's legs, I then knelt between them to position myself for a full body sweep. Starting with his ankles, I began moving the flat of my hands up his calves, hamstrings, butt, and pressing the palms of my hands on either side of his spine all the way up to his neck. Then coming back down, sliding my hands along his sides all the way back to his feet. He loves this move!!

When he turned over, I did the same routine on his chest. Standing over his head as I would on my massage table, working his pecs, abs, arms and neck. Then moving to his side, I again knelt down on the bed to work his feet, knees and thighs. Ending this half of the massage with me kneeling again between his legs for another full body stroke. Starting at his toes, slowly and firmly I move my hands up his legs, over his knees, thighs, abs and chest pressing his pecs out to his shoulders, opening up his heart with a nice firm stretch. Again, another full body stroke that he just loves! Coming back down, I then drag my hands back over his chest and along his sides, returning to his feet. Kyle's body language was telling me how pleased he was with his massage. So I guess you can imagine that this was not the end of the session, just the end of the massage. I'll relate the rest of my session with Kyle to you another time. Let's just say he was very pleased to start out the session this way. He was relaxed, felt very much "in" his body, away from airplanes and meetings, and much more primed for erotic play.

Another client of mine takes the mattress out of his living room hide-a-bed and places it in front of his fire place. He fills the room with music, candles and a quiet fire. By creating a peaceful atmosphere like this, he truly gets the most from a session. I have other clients who use futons on the floor, and some that even have their own tables.

As you can imagine, there are several options you can suggest to your clients for creating space for massage in their homes other than the bed. But by far, the most ideal is to have the proper equipment. That is — your own massage table. There are several dealers and any massage magazine you find at bookstores such as Barnes and Noble, or health food store magazine racks will list table manufacturers. Some of the more popular ones are Oakworks, Earthlite and Living Earth Crafts. Each of these companies carry a full range of tables from light travel tables to more durable tables you can keep permanently at your place. Plush padding, extra widths and headrests are a few important features to consider.

Now that I've put the cart before the horse (so to speak), I'd like to back up a bit and talk about massage training. You may even be asking yourself "why would I want to learn massage?, my escort practice is good enough." Well, Cosmopolitan did say that massage therapist make the best lovers.. hmmmm, I'm still waiting for the Advocate to confirm this! I will say that the training received in a massage program does make you a better 'toucher.' And it certainly comes in handy when you want to extend an escort session or sense that your client would benefit from some deep relaxation. Massage is a different kind of touch, one that any body will appreciate! Massage is a very 'safe' icebreaker for those newbies that are just stepping out of the closet and getting their feet wet. A good massage establishes trust and connection. Also, on those days when you are just not "in the mood," doing massage is another way to keep the bucks rolling in until you're "up" for more taxing work.

There are massage schools in nearly every state, each with it's own laws and licensing procedures. So, if you are planning on becoming a Licensed Massage Therapist, check with your individual city/state (usually within the health department). Some states offer programs that can be completed in as little as two weeks. New York requires well over a thousand hours of instruction costing over ten grand. Hmmmmm, that's quite an investment just to make a client happy, yes? There are other options. For example, New York's "Open Center" (www.opencenter.org) offers classes in Swedish Massage, Reflexology, Polarity, Alexander Technique, and other bodywork and movement classes. These are an inexpensive alternative that will pay off big time. I would imagine that if you check out your local health food store you will find pamphlets, magazines, brochures that list schools or workshops in your area as well.

There are a few schools and workshops that teach erotic massage as well. I might add here that learning erotic massage is a great addition to your massage training, but not in place of it. The Body Electric School (www.bodyelectric.org) for example holds erotic massage seminars, but also offers massage classes leading to certification as well. Gay Spirit Camp (www.gayspiritcamp.com) this year is offering 'Massage and Bodywork Training' during the summer. Joseph Kramers New School of Erotic Touch (www.eroticmassage.com) offers workshops and instructional video tapes. A book that I would highly recommend is The Book of Massage by Lucinda Lidell. This book has been a standby for years and is very easy to follow.

All in all, videos and books are OK, but I cannot recommend taking formal instructions enough. There is nothing like "hands on" teaching. The side benefits of making new friends and practicing this skill on different body types can't be overlooked. Let's not forget that flying off to exotic San Francisco for two weeks of massage instruction also makes for a nice tax write off.

All right, now to get down and out of this hotel I've opted to close my eyes in the elevator. The visuals are just too much and I look silly clutching onto the hand rail as it is. It's bad enough my lunch will be jumping up from my esophagus. Jeeeesh!!