Devon Hunter

I just got back from Houston, and (as always) I had a wonderful time. I had never seen an opera live before, so when I was asked what I wanted to do, it immediately came into mind. Houston supports a wide variety of high quality arts, and since we’d already seen a musical, a play, and a symphony, I thought “Madame Butterfly” would be a nice way to spend the evening. Oh, it was glorious! All I could say after was, “Damn, that was a lot of voice for a lot of time!” It was amazing to me that the singers had the endurance to get through all of it… And the story, of course, is just revolting (but in a way that makes it beautiful at the same time).

Do you know how the antagonist in a production has done a good job?? I will tell you: When the player comes out for the bows, and you want to boo. The man singing Pinkerton must have been fairly extraordinary, because I absolutely loathe him (which is the whole point). It was a great performance with many talented people, and the set was compelling as well: The minimalist Japanese aesthetic with its simple lines and uncomplicated color palette was very effective at evoking place, but it also highlighted the stark contrasts in moods within the narrative. It was also very poignant to wait all night with Butterfly and Suzuki while the center of the stage literally rotated 360 degrees (in a reference to the passage of time: The wheeling of the stars, or the turning hands on a clock). Such a sad story. I loved it.

Oh, and as a totally separate topic: I heard from a female colleague who had stumbled upon my blog somehow. She thought I might be interested in her site as a resource (which includes blacklists, though these specific lists may not be helpful to M4M people, the rest of the site definitely is). She has a page called “Escort Drama!” There are about 70 survey results given by heterosexual clients and escorts who have been harassed by law enforcement and/or arrested. I have wanted for some time to include information about this under my Career Advice category, but never felt I had access to anyone with any experience. I am hoping she will agree to let me interview her about her insight.

PS

Happy Samhain! I wrote an entry last year explaining what this holiday is, and tomorrow is the first day of the New Year. I think it will be a good time to reflect on November 2009 – October 2010…

Hello,

My name is Devon Hunter, and I saw the CNN story about your organization that helps care for victims of sexual slavery in Nepal. I was deeply moved, both by the generosity of Maiti Nepal and the strength of spirit in the girls and women who have survived brutality. I want to help financially, and I know how to find the information for your bank account on your website. I plan to donate, but I have a specific question first: What is the annual cost of providing food, shelter, medical care, therapy, and job training for a patient for a full year? I would like, in my mind, to know that there is a single person out there with whom I have connected, even if I never know her name or see her face. If you could please give me the estimated total for this, I will then make arrangements to give what I can toward the goal of helping “my special girl” each year.

Thank you for the kindness you give to the world,

Devon Hunter

In light of what is happening with Rekers there are a great many conversations out there dominated by people who should shut the fuck up.

“Escorting is a livelihood, not a career.”

Oh, really? Well, look who knows so much.

Let’s take a moment to evaluate whether or not escorting is a career. A career is that work one does for which one is paid, and it is generally supported by personal investment, training, expertise, and networking. I would like to address each of these in turn as a proof that although escorting can be “only” a livelihood, it can also be a full-fledged career.

Personal Investment

As Dolly Parton said, “It costs a lot of money to look this cheap.” Let me just tell you what I have to pay in order to play the part. Equivocate this to paying for college if you will; however, know that careers generally involve a huge investment on an individual’s part, and adult entertainment is no exception. This is what it costs me to maintain the Devon Hunter brand:

1. Personal training at $40/hour, 2-3 times/week
2. High quality food at $100 – $150/week
3. Products from Aveda (because you may was well eat what you put on your skin) at $150/month
4. Therapeutic massage to break down muscle and remove toxins at $65/hour, 1-2 times/week
5. Supplements such as vitamins and muscle maintenance at $125/month

If you want me to keep looking like I look, it’s going to cost me about $1500/month. At about $18,000/year, that is a college education. This doesn’t include the in-kind spa services that a friend treats me to (I probably got $500 worth of hair coloring, teeth bleaching, and face peeling yesterday). I am investing in my profession, so that I can remain competitive in a glutted market. I have to offer what employers want. Period.

Training

I cannot speak for all escorts, but the best among us study and train. We hire at first, in order to emulate, or associate with high quality escorts who help us avoid pitfalls. We learn a code of conduct. We talk to people who hire escorts to understand the culture of the interactions. We are honed into the equivalent of courtesans in Europe and geisha in Japan. We are artists with a variety of techniques and skills of many types and purposes. I happen to be a very vocal and open escort (concerning my thoughts and my humanity), but you are naïve if you think my experiences differ all that much from any others’. There is a process to becoming an escort. Any tramp can be a two-bit whore who throws his legs in the air for $20 with 10 minutes notice. It take time and skill to be what we are. Art is what makes it look easy.

Expertise

Every career has a set of skills unique to it which require a submission of the self to the technique. It goes without saying that a skilled escort will have honed his expertise for a particular group of clients. I happen to focus on the Boyfriend Experience (BFE). It’s what I like, and it is what I would want for myself. And that makes it easy for me to offer, and it makes it pleasurable for me to give. I would be a terrible fetish escort. I would fail at it. It isn’t my area of expertise. I am very gifted at emotional and personal connections. I am good at it. Other escorts have learned the safety issues and refined practices for whatever it is they do (e.g. S/M, B/D, water sports, extreme play, etc.). They practice their skills and learn the body. We, all of us, learn about people in intimate ways that rival the intricacies of professionals in other fields. And we charge professional fees accordingly. If you want a two-bit fuck, then go pay $20 for one. They are available, and it might be what you need. But… If you want an experience that goes beyond this… Well, you pay for that too.

Networking

Whether it be through advertising, introductions at social events, or any other method of contact, a professional escort has to build and maintain a network. The best escorts see the same clients over and over and over and over. Why? Because we’re professionals! In whatever industry you are in, how much of your sales come from established accounts, and what would happen to you if you were not to maintain those relationships? It should go without saying that professional adult entertainers of all types are highly organized, savvy, and professional people. My rant here doesn’t make me less of a professional, in my opinion. I would equate this entry to making the outside world privy to the break room banter that I would have with any other professional in my industry when something is vexing us.

You have just witnessed what I would say to any escort or exotic dancer when some stupid ass tells me that my profession is “only” a livelihood.

Dear Devon,

As you pursue your new full time career, please know that you are not doing anything wrong… I do not think you are, nor do I think I am wrong for hiring escorts… Also, consider hiring escorts yourself and enjoying them, so that you are learning to be the best you can be. Good luck to you!

T

Dear T -

I definitely believe in fostering Good. And that’s a philosophical point I’ve written about: The difference between encouraging Good and doing Right. To me, Good is eternal – it goes beyond us as individuals. It is what it is, without regard to time and place. On the other hand, Right changes based on the culture/person that is examining how best to accomplish Good.

No matter the time, place, or person, Good is universal (e.g. Love). However, totally dependent on time, place, and person is Right (e.g. cultural mores that regulate sexuality). What is Right to one person may not be Right to another. For example, Boston 2009 does NOT have the same sense of Right as Boston 1709. Boston, in both times, is full of people who want to encourage Good, but this same place at different times has very different ideas about Right and how it leads to Good. Do you actually think a sect of Puritans would get away with hanging 21 people for “witchcraft” in this day and age? The Puritans thought they were Right. So did Hitler. So did the Inquisition. So did the Aztecs. So do the terrorists. In trying to encourage the ideal that is Good, they tried to do what they thought was Right. And that’s the problem: I think people should encourage Good. I do not think people should do Right. Good is for everyone, but Right is only for a privileged few (and who wants that? BLAH!).

And that is the point I want to make: I am totally comfortable that I am encouraging Good in making my transition into this full time career. Affection and respect encourage Good. I provide (without guilt or shame) a service that is desparately needed. We are integrated beings, and if we do not have outlets for our passions/emotions, we die (literally and figuratively). We cannot separate our desire from our selves/ourselves. They are part of a whole. I give people, who many not otherwise have the option, a chance to connect to that deep well of satisfaction. How is that not Good?

And it’s funny you would mention learning by hiring: I am quite honored to brag that Sean Knight (www.seanknightxxx.com) is my mentor. I talk to him daily, we travelled together in Florida all last week (and will be travelling together again in NYC the first week of September), and I am soaking up everything he feels inclined to share. You see… I used to be an educator. I know it’s better to learn from an expert, rather than reinvent the wheel. So… I am already totally invested in doing an “apprenticeship,” and I’ve been lucky enough to make friends/colleagues with one of the best in the US. Sean has already helped me more than I could ever truly repay. He and I have a bond that is friendly, generous, and respectful.

At any rate, I hope this didn’t go on too long. I look forward to hearing your thoughts as to whether or not the October visit is something you would like to commit to. Be well, and I will talk with you soon.

Devon

Okay, so this week has been a mixed bag… The trip to Florida has not been the financial windfall I’d hoped it would be; however, I have had a good time with my travel companions, and I’ve learned alot. This alone makes the voyage worth it.

But there is still a great deal to contend with in my head. I don’t want to focus on any of that noise: There are some points of improvement, and these are the lights I want to focus on. My roommate got my car to start, and she said she drove it around the block – it seems to be running just fine. The silicone I used to patch some tiny holes in my convertible top have held through several heavy storms. I got the electric bill transferred into my name at my new apartment, and they didn’t ask for a deposit. And my landlord is going to let me leave a month early from my lease (and will simply keep the deposit), so I don’t have to pay rent on two places for September as well as August. WHEW!

I do try to look for the humor in life. Without it all of this would be utterly unbearable. Although I still have some bridges to cross as I leave the clubs and enter escorting, I can at least put a few checks in the boxes on my list of items to accomplish. So… in the interest of finding the fabuluscious points of gay light in all this ridiculous Frankensteinian darkness I offer you a song from “Rocky Horror Picture Show:”