*Click here to go back to Sex Work Stories
I was young, 18, and living in Vancouver when I got into sex work. I started going to bars and would meet people there. They’d pay me to “model up” – put on vests and chaps and things.
I was born in Prince George, then lived in Terrace, and came to Vancouver Island when I was eight. I’m 39 now and have spent most of my adult life around Victoria and Vancouver. I found Peers Victoria a few years ago through AIDS Vancouver Island, and started coming to the drop-in, mostly for the food and the honorarium for courses at first.
I’ve been coming to Peers probably five years now. I come here every day that the drop-in is available. There are only two or three other men here, but that’s OK. I like coming here.
I think that sex work should be decriminalized, but dealing with police hasn’t been an issue for me personally. Every now and then the police are in the park trying to bust people for having sex, but that’s about it.
My goal is to be a chef. I need to work more in kitchens to build up my experience. There’s a culinary course in Ottawa I’d really like to take. I like to DJ, too – I really like music – but I don’t get much of a chance to do DJ work.
Sex work for me hasn’t been a negative experience. I don’t feel like a victim. I feel safe in the work. I’m still working, sometimes at Beacon Hill Park and sometimes other places. My buddy and I did a call on-line a while ago, a doctor who offered us money to roll around and make out.
Housing was an issue for me for a year, but for six months now it has been good. I’m doing all right.
