I've been in the sex industry for twenty-one years. Wow. Twenty-one years. It seems like three lifetimes.
The greatest thing that I've learned from being in the industry is that not many people wear masks. You see what human nature is really about. It seems to me that in "normal" society, you never really know where someone is coming from or what their true intentions are. But things happen so quickly in the sex industry that people have no time to be phony. I have found that people are genuine and mean well for the most part. I leave this industry with no ill will, but with a great fondness. And the memories of all the good and bad times will be forever branded in my mind.
I ran away from home when I was fourteen. I had a smothering mother and my hormones were raging. I was a skate punk at the time and I had many friends that hung out in downtown Portland, so I followed them. Periodically I would get busted by social services and they would throw me into group homes here and there. After a couple years of being a "hard placement", I was forced to either go to an institution for girls or move back in with my mother.
My mother was so happy to have me back that I was able to do anything I wanted. I had my boyfriend move in with me and I was rarely home. I was hanging out at an underage gay nightclub. That was where I got a taste for the stage by lip-synching to the likes of Nina Hagen and Blondie. However, I needed money to maintain my "free living" lifestyle. So, at the age of sixteen, I started to dance burlesque at the Carriage Room.
It wasn't full nudity and I was very tall. Perhaps that's why no one asked me for my ID. When I turned eighteen, I started working at Mary's and the Sandy Exit. The bartenders at these bars treated me like a daughter. They were warm and welcoming and filled with good advice. But I was getting bored with the Portland scene, so on one of my many trips skateboarding the ramps up and down on the West Coast, I decided to stick around in San Francisco.
I was quickly introduced to the tattoo and body piercing scene. Body piercing wasn't huge at the time in the hetero scene. It was mostly popular with leather fags who needed the different piercings to identify what their various BDSM interests were in the bathhouses. Some of the "bears" had insisted that I meet a lady named Goddess Brittany who was a professional dominatrix in a large house of domination in San Francisco. She said I would be a perfect candidate for the job as I was tall, strong and attractive. So I enrolled in her two-year training program where I earned various titles. Miss/Ma'am was the first six months, then Mistress for another six months; next came Empress and, finally, Goddess.
In no way was the title Goddess meant to imply that we thought we were immortal. We were highly trained in bloodsports, scarification and breath asphyxiation. Thus we played God with other people's lives.
Feeling a bit homesick, I came back to Portland. Since there was no place to advertise my new "education", I decided to work at Mary's and the Sandy Exit once again. I accumulated a few clients through the clubs and slowly but steadily built up my equipment and outfits. I found a few swingers magazines to advertise in, but because they all wanted my services for free and my equipment was expensive, I continued to work the circuit until the T&A Times came out. I was able to build up a large clientele through that publication and leased several very nice facilities to store my wares. After a time, a new magazine called Xmag (which is now Exotic) with a large distribution became popular in the adult bookstores and strip clubs. Through Xmag I was able to build an even larger clientele which allowed me the time and freedom to do many things the average nine to five-er wouldn't be able to do.
While working in this industry, I never really experienced any scary or tragic events, save for losing a boyfriend here and there as they didn't like what I was doing for a living. Eventually I became determined to find someone who was accepting of me in every way. After eons of sifting through both the male and female dating scenes, I finally met my match seven years ago. My husband is kind, thoughtful, patient, and completely understanding of and interested in my past.
Now with a little bit of burnout and mommyhood on the brain, I've decided to get out of the industry entirely. I've opened up an animal care facility that offers boarding, grooming, daycare, food and supplies for cats and dogs. Over the many years of being in the industry, I was able to work many different "real" jobs on the side, and I was also able to complete college. Working with animals is my true love.
Still, I will always be involved in the kink community. I have met so many wonderful people involved at every level of the industry: dancers, models, escorts, club owners, bartenders, even customers. I will always be grateful for the wonderful friendships forged as well as the amazing opportunities the industry has offered me.
So, stay tuned for the next Fetish Masquerade Ball, Halloween Ball, or whatever else my company, Severina Productions, plans on doing. If you're interested in future events, you can email me at: severina@nwlink.com. If you have a kitty or puppy that needs pampering, go to www.dogandcatspa.com. Yeah, I went from training men to training dogs. Oh, the sweet irony of life.