Suzan Chala
It seems South Africans are better businessfolk than Germans. In this country, women who are looking for “fun” pay in advance.
Media reports last week quoted German police saying a brothel catering for women in that country had closed because female clients refused to pay in advance and afterwards paid only what they thought the service was worth.
“If only they’d made sure they got the money before the sex, they would be all right,” said police spokesperson Peter-Georg Biewald. The brothel was claimed to be the first of its kind in Europe.
A spot Mail & Guardian survey this week showed that comparable establishments in Johannesburg require payment upfront. But women clients do have the same natural inclination as their German counterparts.
During his seven years in the industry, says Wayne, owner of the Highwaymen establishment, he has learnt that male clients are more reliable than females.
“One woman told us: ‘Oh! I thought he was going to pay me’.”
Highwaymen is a male-only escort agency that caters for both sexes. Of the seven men working there aged between 19 and 26 Wayne says three are straight. They offer services that include massage, oral sex and penetration.
“There isn’t a single agency that caters for women only in this country,” he says. “You’ll have individuals advertising their services to women only but most of them are not your good looking-good body type of men.”
Female clients pay a full R300 cash upfront for an hour and no house visits for them, unless they become reliable regulars.
“Otherwise you hear the most ridiculous excuses like: ‘I thought I’d reach orgasm twice but it only happened once, so I’m only paying half the amount,’ or ‘His penis was half the size I expected so I’ll pay half’. Sometimes a female client asks for travels [house visits] and when the boy gets there, she turns him back because ‘he is not as good-looking as I expected him to be’ whereas I’d have spent money on transport.”
Wayne opines that most women don’t believe in paying for sex.
“They’d rather go to a bar and look available.”
The M&G visited another agency in Johannesburg’s plush Hyde Park also offering services to both men and women. Unlike at Highwaymen, the owner refused to allow interviews. But we’d already sneaked in anonymously. Surrounded by a tall white wall, the house doesn’t look any different from its neighbours: lawn, trees, pool and dogs.
Assuming a colleague and I were a couple of women looking for a good time, a good-looking, body-to-kill-for blond named Grant led us into a maroon-painted bedroom furnished with a side table full of government-supplied condoms, a dusty-pink three-seater couch and a double bed covered with maroon linen.
The guys then came in one at a time to introduce themselves. In an attempt to be picked, they each explained how they would “rock your world” for R350 and an extra R150 for house visits. They told us their names, age and the sizes of their penises in inches. They also undressed, on request, to show off their bodies.
“I can show everything else, except for the front (penis). That you have to pay for,” said one. Even here, clients pay in advance and there is no discount. (Earlier, one guy insisted over the phone: “We give you what your money is worth.”)
But back to Highwaymen, where first-timers are also treated to a display but “we have never had a client requesting the guys to undress and I don’t think it will happen,” says Shaun black hair, well-defined biceps, bulging chest in a black T-shirt.
“Our clients are high-profile, respectable people.”
He says he’s been in and out of the industry for six years.
“I needed the money so I thought: why not?”
It is a job like any other job. His parents and relatives don’t know what he does for a living and he does not plan on telling them.
“Society hasn’t accepted it yet.”
Shaun says a “good guy” can make up to R20 000 a month. Recruitment is done through advertisement and applicants go through the normal routine: short-listing and interviews. He says owner Wayne encourages employees not to stay in the industry for more than six months.
“He tells us to make the money and leave.”
Says Wayne: “If they stay for longer, they lose ambition or they don’t know what to do with their lives. The client doesn’t want that.”