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It’s interesting how surreal life can be when my travel schedule collides directly with the domestic side of things: By that, I mean the very distinct personal switch between my home life and my life when I’m bumming around the world. It’s not like I rip apart my tank-top to reveal a large ‘SH’ painted on my chest (SuperHooker, naturally) when I’m heading to the San Antonio airport, but there is a definite change in mindset when I’m packed and ready to roll.
Home life isn’t always so glamorous: I’m sitting here today watching a small army of electricians rewire my loft so a new AC air-handler can be installed tomorrow. I’ve got about 4,000 square feet of factory-loft to cool, so in addition to now running nearly 10-tons of new air conditioning, I’m getting the blowers to match.
… I bet you didn’t think AC talk could be so erotic. You’d be surprised.
All this talk of outdoor compressors and heat-pumps is giving me the vapors
What it all means is that in addition to more cold air, I’ll also be getting far less humidity in my place. Ultimately, my electric bill, which was running somewhere in the neighborhood of $800/month, will now drop down to $250-300/month. That’s just fine with me.
From the mound of email I’ve gotten this past week, it seems that other escorts are worried and becoming downright outspoken about their last-minute cancellations. Here’s a link that might better explain what I can’t truly explain in a paragraph:
Daddy’s Escort Review Message Center
While I know I don’t agree with the practice of being a total flake, I’m not really sure what sort of recourse an escort might have in this situation. It’s far from kosher to take the would-be client’s info and post it online as a shame tactic, but there’s a breaking point at which you need to do something to prevent it from happening over and over again. While I don’t see a large circle of guys, I find that making sure you’re well-versed with IP address information can help you sort through who’s legit and who’s a continuous game-player. If you think for a second that a core group of escorts out there don’t talk privately and on a regular basis about what’s happening in the industry, you’d be dead wrong. It’s not gossip, but simply an inner-working warning system for those who have abused the system one too many times. You are not made a target: You’re just cut off from being taken seriously ever again.
All of this brings up the very real existence of ‘client blacklists’ on the web: A series of private blogs that post as much information on the offender as possible in order to save other working guys from making the same mistakes. I’ve never submitted to any of them and likely wouldn’t, but do from time to time read through and see who’s made the list. A few times I’ve even gotten names de-blacklisted by emailing. The biggest problem with these lists is that it’s far too easy for clients to end up on them for no reason, as the vetting process is slim-to-none. Some of the posted info is really personal (ie, wife’s name, children, employment, car type, etc) and all it takes is one angry escort to feel offended for a name to be added. Escort review sites like Daddys and MER at least try to even things out by offering escorts the ‘final say’ on any of their less-than-stellar reviews: This can often be the make-or-break moment for the accused to tactfully weather the storm or allow them just enough rope to hang themselves.
That, in itself, makes both review sites MASSIVELY entertaining. You haven’t laughed out loud until you’ve read a rebuttal that makes it clear that getting fisted up to the elbow is fine as long as the client doesn’t have bad breath.
Tony The Tiger would never no-show on his ho…
What, you’re asking, is my personal answer to last-minute cancellations and how to handle them? If it happens once or twice, just let it slide and chalk it up to life, but if the guy’s a serial flake, drop him like a bad habit. The ability to always be able to say ‘no thanks’ is a very powerful thing, but requires you to have more than enough money stocked away to do so. That’s the position you always want to be in: Never being so desperate that you take anything that comes along, but simply willing and wanting to see the folks who you enjoy spending time with. It requires vetting, patience and the practice of building a true relationship. The payoff, aside from the financial strings, can be quite incredible in the long run.
But what would Suze do? (WWSD)
After a long and complex phone call about the basics of male escorting and money investing, Suze says don’t waste your time on time wasters. Sadly, it’s usually too late by the time you realize this, but ultimately there’s no use in trying to get even. In a fringe industry, it’s best to just walk away and move on. The only time I would ever condone using a blacklist is if an escort was physically abused, raped or stolen from. You’ve got to accept that no matter how professional you handle yourself, you’re still in a business that functions in the dark cracks of society and that can often times attract an ugly element. I’ve worked well off the Golden Rule since bceoming a male escort, but it’s not always a reciprocated behavior. I’ve long since realized that even though I’ve had it taken advantage of on occasion, it’s not excuse enough to then only see the bad in people.
My ideaology is simple… and lifted direct from The Muppets Take Manhattan: People is People. It’s not groundbreaking, but it makes sense.
Has it really been a year already? I got an email yesterday from Cybersocket about nominations being open for their Web Awards (I’m a 3x nominee). While I don’t yet consider myself the Susan Lucci of the gay web porn awards, I will provide a link to the nomination ballot and encourage you to vote for 15mm as Best Adult Blog and Best Escort Website:
I’d also like to give a plug to the always-entertaining and on-top of things Damon Kruezer, who IMO, should be nominated as well for Best Personality. He does do an incredible job on his website(s), but I find his unique brand of attitude, intellect and brash wit to be most enjoyable. If you haven’t had the chance to read his stuff before, there’s no time like the present.
I’m currently watching through my massive DVR’d back-log of SYTYCD episodes: For those who aren’t acronym-friendly, that’s So You Think You Can Dance, the reality/dance show on the Fox Network that replaces American Idol while it’s on seasonal hiatus (and while Paula Abdul dries out in Palm Springs from her ‘nerve pill’ addiction). It’s a guilty pleasure of mine and as a former tap dancer, it allows me to live vicariously through real dancers who are trying to make it their life’s work. I admire that quite a bit.
Nigel Lythgoe: His suit and smile are both badly constructed…
The only pit in this otherwise perfect show is Tyce Diorio. For those of you who watch the show and know true Broadway-style choreography, you know what I mean. For those who don’t know that the hell I’m talking about, go see the documentary Every Little Step now playing in movie theaters. It’s a vouyeristic look into the casting of the recent A Chorus Line revival on Broadway and Tyce makes it to the final cut, but not without sticking his foot into his mouth repeatedly and likely talking himself out of the job. Once again, there are two kinds of idiots in this world: The ones who keep their mouths shut and keep you wondering and those who constantly confirm it.
Nick Adams
My guilty pleasure blog for this week has been that of Nick Adams (a Broadway chorus dancer-cum-always shirtless gay rights advocate). While he’s a little too G&P; for me (gay and pushy), he’s aesthetically pleasing and I admire his ability to work his D-list status for every drop of publicity possible. In a world of people only making status quo, I admire those who push just a little bit further to get into the pages of Star Magazine and The Tudors billboards in Times Square.
After a cryptic Twitter posting this week involving would-be scandal, it seems a well-known gay escort agency may have recently lost a copy of their total client list. While this situation, I’m being told, is being ‘taken care of’ from the inside, it brings up the must-ask question of client security and how that information is being handled. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Protect yourself, your identity and always know what recourse you might have. Think with your head first when you’re wanting to play with your dick. As for this agency and their brewing problems, I’ll keep 15mm (and Twitter) updated with the latest that I hear. For now, it seems it’s nothing more than a tempest in a teapot.
Another bit of info gathering dust on my desk pertains to a newly-minted porn couple who also do ‘massage’ on the side: Nothing new there, but what’s interesting is their loose lips about their power list of clientele. Even more interesting is that when fact-checking into some of their claims (both public and private), some of their ‘guys’ have never even heard of them. For the twosome, supposedly leading the luxe life of $5000 overnight appointments, it seems the smokescreen isn’t thick enough to shroud the truth: That they’re just another couple of road-weary young guys looking to make the quickest buck possible.
I’ve been playing with Google Voice for about a month now and damned if it isn’t the cat’s pajamas… And likely to make illicit (ie, sex, drugs, rock-and-roll) work easier and more anonymous than ever. For a rundown of GV’s complete features, take a look at their website and sign-up for a free invite to use the service. What it allows you to do is create one anonymous phone number to give out that will ring you at any other land or cell-based phone number. It does this all without revealing your actual cell or home phone number, leaving you to create an endless stream of decoy contact numbers that can be trashed at will. The Google Voice number also accepts txt messages and will send them along as well. WHOOHOO!
… Best of all, it’s free. And as we all know, free is the best price.
Here’s a brand-spanking-new edition of Eye Candy (otherwise known as ‘Dulces de Ojo’ to our friends South of the Border) to browse and bray over: Enjoy this week’s selection. I’m also thinking of opening up an entire separate blog dedicated to the massive mound of unused eye candy I get, as well as some of the steamier pics that come my way. A lot of you have noticed that I’ve gotten away from using full-frontals here on 15mm, but I’d like to give people a place to go to see hot, young, muscular guys from head-to-toe. Let me know what you think: Benjamin@15MinutesMore.com.
A big thanks to Chad for his suggestion on some great real-time chatroom software. As I beta test this across various web browsers, look for updates on Twitter about upcoming chat sessions. I hope to hold monthly chats and ultimately wire into a live webcam while doing it. I’ve also been thinking about streaming some of my travels (via my Blackberry) onto YouTube to create a sort of video blog of my life bouncing from time zone to time zone. The logistics have yet to be worked out, but if you have any suggestions, always feel free to drop me a message.
Adios 15mm’ers. It’s gym time,
BN