“I first became involved in sex work after traveling to London for a job interview and losing my ticket home,” Paul Lowell tells Vice in a fascinating new article about retired sex workers.
Lowell’s career started while he was walking around the West End and noticed a man cruising him.
Related: Male Sex Workers Reveal The Truth About Their Lives And Clients
“I asked him the time, and his comically cheesy response was, ‘I have the time and the money,'” he recalls. “I had no qualms about taking him up on his offer, and felt empowered by the fact that I was able to use my only possession, my body, to earn enough cash to buy breakfast and another train ticket.”
Lowell, whose mother left him and his four siblings to be raised solely by his father, says poverty and a general sense of desperation played into his decision to enter into the sex trade.
“Add to that the psychological effects of abuse and a troubled school life that produced no qualifications,” he says, “and it’s easy to see why I went down the road of prostitution.”
He found most of his clients at gay bars and clubs and in cruising areas.
“Alcohol and drugs added a rosy haze to everything,” he says. “They were a crutch that made life bearable and helped me to remain optimistic.”
Related: What I Learned From Diving Head First Into The World Of Dom/Sub Sex Work
Lowell continued the work for some time, even after finding a regular, full-time job.
“I still didn’t quit because I didn’t trust my ability to keep it,” he says. “I had more faith in maintaining my regular customers than in remaining legally employed.”
He finally gave up sex work, he says, after falling in love.
“I was so smitten that I wanted to give my new relationship 100 percent,” he recalls. “The biggest difficulty lay in revealing the truth. But without question, I was accepted.”
Today, Lowell is happily married to a man who supports him. He says he doesn’t miss the money he made from prostitution, nor does he feel ashamed of his past.
“I’m slightly proud, if anything,” he says. “I used what I had to make an interesting life for myself, never stole from people or hurt anyone, and entrusted my destiny to karma.”
Related: ‘Mostly Straight’ Male Sex Worker Opens Up About Being Gay-For-Pay And Much, Much More
Celtic
I say, “Good for you, mate!” If you’ve got it use it. For us older men, you can be a Godsend. I am happy you found your soulmate.
bottom250
What a beautiful story, sweetheart.
Masc Pride
This is a nice Pretty Woman-like retelling. I’m sure the reality isn’t quite as happily ever after. Alcohol, drugs and prostitution usually equals HIV among other things.
crowebobby
I thought hustling was the coolest thing in the world when I was 16, in the 1950’s. Of course I now know the reality of it wasn’t, but I was too timid to do it and I admired the guys who (as I saw it) had the guts to; I’m talking about the guys who stood on the corner of 42nd Street not the high-priced gigolos. To be hot enough and have nerve enough to support yourself anywhere in the world with just your body sounded like a good deal to me. From seeing and knowing others who did it, I knew I was good looking enough even if I didn’t “feel” good looking enough; I just couldn’t get myself to name a price even if I was asked. In my early 20’s I hooked up with a call-boy agency (when they were very rare) and went on calls in New York till I left for Paris 3 months later. It was as safe as meeting up with a stranger anywhere can be and the clients were all polite and well off enough to afford the $50 bucks, plus tip. A couple were filthy rich and very interesting. Once I got to Paris I met someone who was always trying to hook me up with rich old men and women, but I couldn’t fake a relationship. I never hustled again, but I loved it while I was doing it: getting a call and hopping into a cab; having someone treat me like I was so hot I was doing them a big favor. I’ve never regretted for one second.
Billy Budd
I have absolutely nothing against prostitution and it is my belief that it should be totally LEGAL everywhere in the world. Sex workers must pay taxes, be protected and receive all the necessary benefits including a pension plan and health insurance. It should be regarded as a profession just like any other. It has always existed and always will.
Baba Booey Fafa Fooey
Wow.
No gay engineers or gay doctors that could have been featured?
Gay men love their porn and prostituion.
Baba Booey Fafa Fooey
And, straight men. Gay men love straight men.
ErikO
@Baba Booey Fafa Fooey: Well said. This site has articles about way too many people who are in porn or hookers.
ErikO
This guy is your typical person that does not want to take personal responsibility and admit that they made the personal choice as an adult to become a prostitute.
From vice interview:
Poverty, abuse, and desperation were also factors that pushed me toward that line of work. I was abandoned by my mother and raised by my father on state handouts, along with four other children. Going without the simplest things created a strong urge to have. Add to that the psychological effects of abuse and a troubled school life that produced no qualifications, and it’s easy to see why I went down the road of prostitution.