You can judge all you want, but the fact is that everyone has to make a living in one way or another.
And, as they say, prostitution is the world’s oldest profession, so it’s not like this is anything new.
I’ve personally always been interested in how these jobs actually work. I’m talking about strippers, escorts, prostitutes…and I mean women AND men. To them, it’s a job they do to pay the bills. Simple as that.
Here are some interesting responses from AskReddit users about what their first days were like as adult workers.
Let’s take a look…
1. In da club.
“I started as a waitress in a strip club. 3 months later I tried dancing. My first time in the VIP, where I had been seeing the workflow for 3 months, so I knew what to say and where to go.
But my hands were shaking. The guy even asked me if I was okay. After that first hour it was fine but my body literally was shaking in the beginning. I didn’t feel scared, though. It was a natural reaction.”
2. Being heckled
“Stripped briefly to pay for a semester’s worth of tuition and books. On my first day, a lady shouted, “whip out your pecker!” And I couldn’t help but to laugh from both nerves and the fact she said “pecker.”
After that, the rest seemed pretty easy.”
3. A gigolo.
“I knew what it would be like going into it. I’d been working for the agency for a few months as a driver. Taking the girls to their appointments, making sure they didn’t get robber or killed.
My boss mentioned that he had had some interest from females wanting a male escort. I’d seen Deuce Bigelow. I figured, why the hell not. I was 18, and I cleaned up pretty nice.
My first client was a woman in her late 30s. Not a super model, but not unattractive at all. She was in town for some auto parts convention and wanted someone to show her around. We wound up sleeping together after. I got my money, and left the next morning. I did that until I moved out of state 3 years later.”
4. Not a great start.
“It was terrifying. I was 21 and had never even stepped foot inside a strip club. I had bought a matching bra and underwear set from Marshalls along with regular heels (big mistake). I was told to watch the dancer before me on stage, who of course was gorgeous and clearly knew what she was doing. I went up there and immediately busted my ass because of the normal sized heels.
The rest of the time was just spent holding onto the pole for dear life and hoping I wouldn’t get fired for being the worst dancer they’d ever witnessed. I wasn’t fired and eventually got the hang of everything, but I still cringe at how awful those first initial days were.”
5. Cam girl.
“I was a cam girl for a little bit.
First time was with my roommate. She had been doing it and I knew she was a camgirl. She was making more in one night than I was from babysitting like 4 times a week.
It was really awkward at first but my roommate was a pro and played into it. “First time lesbian” sorta thing. Those tokens were flying in.
Despite it being awkward it was fun and we made a lot. So I started my own account became a cam girl.”
6. Making people feel good.
“I worked independently as an escort so there wasn’t really anyone to give me advice on what to expect. I read some websites here and there with general advice and set up a profile, the first few messages were people trying to scam me or looking for free nudes and eventually somebody came through who seemed genuine. We discussed everything and then set a meet up at his place.
Followed up with a phone call as I was setting off to confirm, seemed a bit shifty over the phone which made me nervous and I didn’t fully understand the directions to his place. I walked in circles around several apartment blocks being lost and called him nearly in tears because I couldn’t figure out where to go.
He ended up standing outside his block so I saw him and he actually looked normal lol. Slightly balding,wearing a t shirt and jeans with round face and a kind expression. I can still picture him waving at me and me running towards him like a lost child who just found their parent.
Got inside his apartment, ushered him into the shower with me and then the actual sex part was over fairly quickly. He booked a whole hour and we probably spent 45 minutes just talking about his life, video games and movies we like.
The job has its’ ups and downs but after that I stopped being so nervous and learned it wasn’t as difficult as I thought. Most of my job was just being a good listener and boosting egos, make people feel good about themselves.”
7. Magic Mike.
“Former Male stripper here. It was awesome! It was comedic, sexy, and fun. Just an absolute party. The crowd had a blast. We quintuple lap danced the bachelorettes. It didn’t pay much, but I wasn’t really in it for the money.
I would totally start another show if I can make it happen. I only had two brief uncomfortable moments that night. First, an old woman just grabbed my goodies. Second, another old woman shoved a dollar so far between my cheeks that I didn’t see it until after the show.”
8. Respect for the women who do it.
“I’m 21 and was an oil wrestler for a short time just last year and I was terrified. I had no practice or was shown anything. I made $10 in tips that night but as it went on for the next three weeks, I began making more.
The girls were really clique-y and at times total bitches. The men we entertained were disgusting low hygiene “cowboys” and rude as fuck. Not my scene but nothing but respect for the women who are able to have fun in that environment.”
9. AWKWARD.
“I did phone sex for a bit and the first day was… awkward. I felt like I was in a corny porno from the 80’s.
There were also a surprisingly high number of men that asked which area I lived in and were weirdly insisting on knowing. I’m guessing bc it was over the phone it felt more real to them.
After a couple of hours I got into my role and moaning like a bad actress became easier and funnier but the first hours definitely felt awkward.”
10. A mixed bag.
“Escort in a brothel (edit, escort is a commonly used synonym for all the other words for full service sex worker where I’m from, making a note as there has been some confusion)
Honestly my first day was a mixed bag, the other girl I worked with was hilarious and properly took me under her wing, and fed me a glass of wine before my first john to settle my nerves (I haven’t drank on the job since that day but that one drink really helped) I got tipped by one client, assaulted by another.
When I was assaulted though, the other worker, the receptionist and my boss all had my back and gave him a proper telling off an barred him. This was a one off it hasn’t happened since. I’ve never felt safer in any other job, and I have more control.
I walked home that day with more money than I’d earn in a week in my last job, I’ve never looked back.”
11. Story from an old pro.
“I’m long-retired now, but I was 21 at the time and at a loose end, new city and no job so decided to work at a “Gentleman’s Club” (as a prostitute). I’d done my research and been in for an interview so I was feeling confident and relaxed.
No one else showed up on time so I was the only girl there on the day shift and sat chatting to the receptionists. My first client was a really good-looking English/Sri Lankan guy who was really sweet and equally nervous. We both couldn’t believe it was the other’s first time until we were both fumbling and laughing trying to put a condom on correctly.
I can’t remember who else I saw that day, but I do remember getting paid more than I had earnt in a week working two jobs. I ended up working for around seven years and really enjoyed it.”
12. Very nervous.
“Was a stripper in my late teens…first day I was nervous as fuck. Some drunk dude walks up to the stage waving a dollar bill and said “slap your ass, I’ll give you a dollar!”
Oddly enough, that made me somehow more comfortable with the whole thing. I actually enjoyed it, and wasn’t half bad. Made more money (legally) from 17-20 than any other job I had until like 2 years ago. (I’m 37 now).”
13. Working as an escort.
“Did escorting for about a year. First day was relieving. I was terrified at first because I was given the run down for what redheads to look out for. There were a lot. But I went on.
Most of my clients ended up being older men who “just wanted a pretty girl to be seen with and to listen to them.” My first day felt more like a therapist than an escort.”
14. Needed the money…fast.
“I was kicked out/left on my own (it’s complicated) at 19. I saw the writing on the wall and needed money fast, so I started as a stripper at 18. The Great Recession happened a few years later, and so I moved to escorting at 22.
First job as a dancer was with two other girls to a private party. I had something of a debut, and while I had no idea what I was doing, I had my heels on and I knew how to shake my butt. I had literally $200 in singles just rained on top of me. 30 minutes of “work.” Who knew how much the other girls made…. but I was hooked.
The economy took a huge downturn a few years later, and so many of my regular hot-times were not as prolific. I only worked on-call (private parties/bachelor parties/ rush week, etc), as I wanted to stay out of a fixed location due, but this would up hurting me in the long run.
I turned to escorting, through an agency who actually was pretty kind (and I’m still amazed I never had to audition for any of my agencies….). He set me up with a “John” who was an utter gentleman. Kind and considerate. Explained his side of things in a way that made sense, and helped me find peace and less of a sense of guilt about what I was doing. I saw him a couple of times, but I think after that my novelty wore off, which is fine.
Every once in a while my thoughts float to him and his beautiful golden retrievers. I hope he’s living a good life somewhere.
I’m pretty sure my life would have went a different way without those two experiences. And don’t get my wrong – I’ve had plenty of just raunchy, awful, ungodly, unforgivable things done and said to me in my career for the sake of rent… but holding on to the few bright moments I had helped me make it through to financial and familial freedom as well as “retirement” from the industry.”
15. This is quite a story.
“I wasn’t a pro, but when I was 16 and homeless an older gentleman offered me a serious chunk of money for a weekend. He thought I was 14, I was hunger-skinny so it was believable. He had a hotel room, bought me some clean clothes and makeup and left me alone for a few hours to get the street off of me. When he got back he threw out my old clothes and took me to dinner.
I spent three days with him and none of it was terrible (I wasn’t living my best life at the time so the bar was pretty low,) he was polite to me and wasn’t rough, he let me drink in the evenings but never let me get drunk or high, and had me call him Dad in public, he told me it was because it would look odd otherwise, but I called him a normal name that I’m sure wasn’t his real name when we were alone so it didn’t feel particularly predatory I never told him my name so he called me Anna.
We went out during the days, sometimes to eat or shop, once to the zoo, and sometimes I’d stay at the hotel while he went out. He didn’t tell me much about himself and his life, lots of old anecdotes from his younger years, and silly stories.
He liked me to tell him about my life, stupid teenaged garbage about my friends and parents, what kinds of things I liked and why. When we parted he gave me a bit of cash, but used most of the money we agreed on to get me a motel room for a month. He talked about being worried about how I was living.
Beyond the money I earned he spent a bunch on groceries and toiletries that I didn’t see until after he left, so I couldn’t thank him, but I felt more cared for by this stranger who paid an underaged girl for sex than anybody else in my life. He also extended my stay with management for another two weeks, the owner came to my door and told me not to check out yet.
Having a room with a lock helped me hugely. I wasn’t being robbed anymore, so I could work small jobs and hide cash, and I didn’t have to worry about the violence I was trying to avoid before, and I wasn’t taking drugs everyday because my life didn’t disgust me.
When my stay ended, I was able to move in to a group home and live a bit cleaner and safer, and never did the streets thing again. I did plenty of drugs and drinking, but just for fun and with friends, not to stay warm or stay awake.”
For context, this was in Canada and was very illegal.
That’s a pretty interesting peek into a world that most of us know nothing about.
What do you think about this kind of work?
Perhaps you’ve even done it yourself at some point?
Share your thoughts with us in the comments, please!
We’d love to hear from you!
