A new documentary explores the lives of male escorts working in the UK, with one 21-year-old admitting that he routinely engages in unprotected sex with his clients.
New Channel 4 documentary Men for Sale – Life of a Male Escort explores the lives of three male escorts providing different services and is presented by Benjamin Jund.
A 21-year-old man from Durham, going by the name Tom to protect his identity, works a nine-to-five job in the service industry and has recently started living on the side, even though he knows his family will disown him.
She told Benjamin: ‘I like sex, it’s exciting, risky’, adding that she advertised herself on an escort site and received 25 messages from people wanting to meet her.
Many of the women he has sex with bring their husbands to visit, and he admits it’s ‘very dangerous’ because he often has unprotected sex without asking for proof that the people who pay him are STI-free.
The 21-year-old from Durham, called Tom to protect his identity, works a nine-to-five job in the service industry and has recently started a sidekick.
He says clients are mainly women in their 30s and 40s and he offers anything from simple companionship to actual sex.
‘A lot of them are cuckold meets, where the husband or partner who sees the wife is pretty good,’ explained Tom.
He said he would charge £15 an hour for his services which he described as ‘a bit less’.
When Benjamin asks Tom if he wears protection, he replies: ‘I can but I also offer bareback, which is unprotected sex. Most people prefer to be vulnerable.
‘To be honest I’m actually playing myself a bit there because obviously they don’t give us evidence of STD results or anything like that.
‘It’s very dangerous.’
Later in the documentary, Benjamin catches up with Tom again and his sister has since learned about his escorting side hustle from a friend.
Tom basically had unprotected sex with his clients and revealed that one begged her to get pregnant
He said that if his family found out about his secret activities, they would ‘disown him one hundred percent.’
He showed the presenter his message chain with his sister. Tom asked him ‘Will you deny me?’ To which he replied: ‘Yes, I would have denied you. It’s not a good look. It’s like being a prostitute.’
She continued and wrote: ‘Everyone will talk about you and think it’s disgusting,’ which echoes the taboo around sex work.
Tom said he felt ‘a bit sad’ when his sister said it because he ‘didn’t think it was boring.’
Later in the program, Tom also reveals that he is trying to do something he has never done before, having sex with a woman in order to have a baby.
‘So this woman I’m meeting is someone who contacted us to try to get pregnant,’ she said.
He had never met this woman before, or spoken to her on the phone, which meant that the first time they met, he would try to impregnate her.
Asked if he was getting paid for this service, Tom said: ‘Not at all. No payment, just paying for petrol.’
Danny is a male escort who also produces ‘gay for pay’ content and has been in the industry for over ten years.
The roofer charges £50 to meet the boys and heir activities can range from getting a beer or a drink to going shopping together.
Tom said he was ‘100 per cent’ looking forward to it and said he ‘really can’t wait.’
Asked what her mother’s reaction would be to having a child with a stranger, she said: ‘She’d probably be like “What are you doing with your life?”.’
The documentary also looked at other services offered by men, ranging from sensual massages to sex options.
Danny is a male escort who also produces ‘gay for pay’ content and has been in the industry for ten years.
She turned to escorting because she needed the money initially and she works as a roofer.
When asked to define ‘gay for pay’, Danny said; ‘It doesn’t mean you’re doing anything gay.
‘I feel like some gay guy is paying you.
‘One guy was saying how he sees straight guys and wants to be their friend, hang out with them, pay me £20 to get me a beer or another bet.’
Guys usually pay Danny around £150 to meet him and their activities can range from getting a beer or a drink to going shopping together.
She says she tried having sex with her clients but it ‘didn’t really work’ for her because she ‘couldn’t perform.’
‘I’m happy to be surprised because I just close my eyes and go to my happy place,’ Danny said.
Rubens, from Brazil but now living in London, advertises himself as a sensual masseuse and escort who only works with female clients.
He also adds that he’s had people assume he must be gay, but Danny says he’s not, but is in a gay ‘circumstance’.
He also creates personal content for clients and this particular one asked for a ‘humiliating’ clip of Danny being abused on camera and treated like that person.
‘I throw a bit of abuse slowly at the camera, like them sucking my socks or something, and then I can say “Don’t do this and don’t do that.
‘It makes them go they say “Oh I love the way you say that word”.’
Rubens, from Brazil but now living in London, advertises himself as a sensual masseuse and escort who only works with female clients.
She can make up to £450 an hour and Rubens charges a maximum of £200 if you want to have sex with her.
Jess, who is hiding her identity, pays Rubens for a massage because she wants to explore her sexuality in a ‘safe space’ with a ‘professional’
She said: ‘Sometimes they also go for the option of vulva massage. During the massage I will massage your clitoris, I will massage your vagina, internally, externally.’
Rubens says she sees how much it benefits both women and couples who turn to her for services that help ‘improve their sex lives’ or just their ‘general lives’.
She says she avoids calling herself an escort because of the negative connotations the term carries.
She also offers ‘boyfriend experiences’ where clients pay her for her company. They can go out to dinner or go on a trip – something that couples experience together.
Jess, whose identity has been protected, had one of Ruben’s appointments and when asked why she booked a massage, said: ‘A lot of women are ashamed or embarrassed of their own sexuality and their own desires.
‘And to feel in a safe place with a professional is something really amazing.
‘This experience is very different from our conception of sexual action.
Benjamin also met Lewis who runs The Prince Experience, an agency selling non-sexual escort services to ‘high-flying women’.
‘It’s quite difficult for women to pay for sex and turn up at someone’s flat and just be involved because we need a bit more connection.’
Benjamin also meets Lewis who runs The Prince Experience, an agency selling non-sexual escort services to ‘high-flying women’.
‘They are the kind of women that if you look at them you think “Would I expect that from this woman?”
‘Very good looking, great job, but we have all kinds of women.
‘Women can have sex anywhere, anytime. They could. They come here and want something very different.’
Louise says the men are always applying and the clients are ‘building and building’.
He also revealed that many women are looking for partners over six feet tall.