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

I was in the sex trade for eight years and I believe that in these eight years, I learned a lot about how the sex trade works and the different types of clients that are out there and what they expect for they money they pay. Included in this article are some tips on how to get the money you deserve while being careful when applying them.

I have experience working on the streets as well as working indoors as an independent escort. When working on the street, I learned not to rely on the type of car that a guy drives to indicate to me how much money he has. The kind of car that a client drives has nothing to do with the money that he may be prepared to spend on sex with a hustler. I have met men with expensive cars that can be so cheap or frugal that you often know why they drive such a nice car – it’s because they probably save every dime that they have. What I am getting at is that there is no way to know just by looking at someone how to know how much money he has. You can definitely assume, however, assumptions are not good though. Here are some pointers that helped me the get the money that I deserved.

1. Always ask for the “donation”. I never asked for the “cash.” i.e. “Would you like to get the “donation” out of the way before we get started? I have found this helpful because it takes away from the fact that you are actually trading sex for money. Also if you are working independently, and you describe to the client that all you are doing time is spending time together and you request a “donation” for your time, you can avoid the law to some extent. Never did I have a client say, “Well I thought that it (the sex act) was by donation only.”

2. Let’s say that you charge 100.00 and that is the donation that you expect. I would always ask for 120.00 that gives you an extra 20.00 and after 5 clients a day, believe me it makes a difference. I have worked in L.A very briefly and Vancouver, B.C. with Vancouver having a fairly across the board norm for pricing and the going rate is about 100.00 for an in-call. So just apply it to what ever the going rate is in your area.

3. Tipping can be a great way to get a little extra money when with a client .Be very cautious when asking for a tip. I did it once when I was just starting out and never saw my regular again. I learned quickly from this that I would have to get more creative when asking for a tip. In some instances, I implied that I would not be able to stay at the location that I was at currently with the money that I was making. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. Be careful. You could lose out on a regular very easily.

4. Doing “extras” can be a great way to make bigger amounts of money depending on what your standard price is. Here are a couple of issues I’ve had with charging for ‘extras’: I found that it took away from the intimacy of my work. You have to understand that with female sex trade workers this is what they rely on. They charge a standard price and usually work up. Personally, I found it rare that I could get clients by saying my starting out “donation” was $100. Whatever your preference.

5. Make your best effort to always treat a client with respect. This can often be difficult if the client is not clean, acts rudely, or disrespects your home. If a client is not clean, you have three options. I have done all of these and only two worked out to be anything positive. 1) You can ask the client to use your washroom and take a shower (take into account the time issue). 2) You can always give the client back his money. Or 3) you can ask him to leave and explain in a reasonable fashion that he has wasted your time and you need to be compensated. If you use the last tip that I have given you, proceed with caution. There is a chance that violence will erupt. I stopped using the reasoning that he had “wasted my time” because often clients do not consider that time is money, unfortunately.

There are many different types of clients and escorts. You will encounter clients that have no issues with paying for sex or “your time” and will talk openly about it with you. They know what they want and know what they will pay to get it. In my experience, these clients have been ones that frequent escort establishments or see independents often. Be as honest as possible when describing yourself and describing what you will or won’t do. Many escorts just tailor their look to a specific fantasy. You will encounter less of a problem if you are as honest as possible. You will, more often then not, run into someone who wants something for nothing. I hope that this article has shed some small light into what has worked for me in the past.