Below is the version I approved I'm not sure how much it was changed after that, haven't really compared.
As I walked up the stairs of the quaint looking house in suburban Sydney I tried to control my nerves. While I had long been curious about the adult industry, I had no idea about the realities of working in a brothel, like this one.
The day before I’d phoned around several ‘houses’ (the politically correct term we use for brothels) to find out about the job requirements. Most simply told me to come in if I was interested but one young guy went further: he was very patient and answered every question I had, from what I would do (full-service: massage, protected oral sex and intercourse) to what I would wear - dress like you’re gong to go on a date, he said. We spoke for 45 minutes and in the end he invited me to come in, have a look around and meet the girls. “If you don’t like it, you can leave,” he told me.
Thinking I had nothing to lose, I went. I was ushered through a security door and met by a friendly older man (it was a father and son business) who introduced me to the group of girls, some looked to be in their 20s, some much older and most were wearing skimpy outfits or lingerie. They were friendly and open and I started to feel so comfortable in their presence. It was nothing like uni or school – where everyone is judgmental, I felt like I fitted in.
Little did I know then that just seven years later, I’d be named Best Escort at the Australian Adult Industry Awards and running my own successful escort business. It’s an achievement I’m proud of especially since the sex industry seemed an unlikely career path when I finished Dux of my high school in 1999. Back then, I was on the path to becoming a genetic engineer, but life took a strange twist when, while partway through my Advanced Biology degree, I was forced to leave to take care of my boyfriend who suffered from an auto-immune disease. Becoming a full-time carer had left me $20,000 in debt, which I was still having to pay off after we recently split up. I worked full-time in an office, but I’d heard that a job in the sex industry paid extremely well and would help me become dept-free that much quicker.
As I talked to the women that day, I discovered they were just normal and not unlike me. While some were there to pay off debts, others had drug or gambling addictions to support. One was a single Mum and one was just ridiculously horny! After chatting, they showed me the rooms they worked in, which were slightly run down and contained a bed, shower and towels, and how to do a visual STI check on a client. Then when the manager asked me if I wanted to start that night - I was shocked! I thought, ‘this is a big decision maybe I should think about it for a few weeks?’ But they suggested I just try it by chatting to the next client who walked in, as all the girls would. He would then choose who he wanted to spend time with. When the buzzer rang again I did ... and he picked me.
After a pep talk from the girls, I went with the client who was in his late 20’s, fairly fit with nice eyes and found it surprisingly easy to have sex with a stranger, even though he was only the second person I’d ever slept with. Afterwards, I expected to feel different - bad or dirty - but I really just felt the same. It probably sounds unemotional - that I could jump into it like that - but the idea wasn’t really new to me. As a teenager, I’d thought about becoming a stripper, but had been put off because I didn’t think my body was good enough. Sex work was now not only paying the bills, but it was fun and fuelling my ego – body image didn’t matter now, men were picking me.
The only downside to my new profession was my mother’s reaction. When she found out she begged me to stop, unable to believe that her ‘intelligent’ daughter could be happy working in the sex industry. Our relationship never really recovered when I refused.
I saw 10 or 12 clients that first night and made $850. After eight weeks, earning more money in a day than I earned in a week at my normal office job I had paid off all my debt. Having accomplished my goal, I said good-bye to the girls who had become good friends by then and left the industry, not thinking that I would ever go back.
Starting my business …
But I did … sooner than I thought. Shortly after a married colleague from my day job I’d been seeing called off our affair, my phone rang. It was the guy I’d originally spoken to at the brothel. He told me they were low on staff and did I want to work? I was upset so I thought, why not? It wasn’t like I hadn’t done it before. And so I was back, just [two months] after I left.
I went on to work in a few different [brothels], always maintaining my day job and working at night. Soon the office environment became too stressful there were so many poltics – people are miserable in corporate world, and I wasn’t in a happy place. That’s when I decided to go into sex work full time.
I did shifts in a [brothel] that provided fast service – it was like McDonalds! I earned a lot of money, about $600 per shift, and I would take my friends who were all supportive of my career out to expensive restaurants and shout them dinner and cocktails – it was great, but the clients were in and out in half an hour. They were there simply to get their rocks off as quickly as possible. I began to feel very empty, like a blow up doll, nobody really cared and it was taking a lot out of me ... so I decided I would start working for myself and only take on clients who actually wanted to spend time with ‘me’.
I started a website, advertised in the paper and arranged security and a driver who I paid a fee per job. That was 4 years ago and business is good. I require 24 hours notice to see a client, so I don’t get the men who are just horny and drunk, if I get a bad feeling from a client on the phone, I don’t go. My clients are everyone from young men looking for a good time, to businessmen who don’t have time to date. I do ‘in calls’ at my apartment, overnight calls, or even visit them in hotels where I drink expensive champagne. I don’t look like a supermodel so I can’t charge as much as some of the other girls, but I can hold an intelligent conversation about anything from the weather to politics. While a lot of the girls sell their look but I sell my personality.
Financially, the move has paid off. I earn about $80,000 annually and that’s from only working a five to six hour week with an average of three clients! I used to make a lot more in the brothels, but I also worked a lot harder, seeing up to 25 clients a day.
My relationship …
People ask if I have a high libido - I guess the more sex I have the more I want – but, in reality, I only have intercourse in about 50 percent of my bookings as a lot of clients just want oral sex. In terms of my enjoyment during ‘working’ hours? I find a lot of clients like to give oral sex and I do climax sometimes. As far as my services go, I’m open minded. If a client has a fetish and it doesn’t hurt me I’ll do it, although I did draw the line at the guy who asked to crap on me. The only other thing I won’t do is have sex without a condom and I’ve never had an STI as a result. I’m cautious because I not only have myself to consider, but also my boyfriend of 2 years who understands that my having sex with clients is business, he doesn’t see it as a threat, although he is still worried what his workmates would think if they knew. Me? I don’t care what anyone thinks. In fact, I’m happy to have been voted Best Escort by this industry and my clients. I think I’m appreciated because I have a lot of time to talk to my clients and make them feel at ease. It may not be recognition for a traditional career, but this one makes me just as proud.
[Subs: She is 26. Also she needs to ‘view’ the copy before we send – as she is being identified. So there may be a few small tweaks. Please check with CC]
Captions: Melanie's recently won the Australian Adult Industry Award for Best Escort 2007, as voted by the industry and clients in an online poll.
