An Interview with Isabella Divine - My first year of escorting

[Guest lydiahardwood]

Hey darlings! This week's interview is with the gorgeous @IsabellaDivine 😍 When I first approached Isabella about doing an interview, she wondered if she'd have much to say as she's only been in the industry for a year. But I think that's an incredible topic in itself! I hope you enjoy reading about her experience.

Q: Hey Isabella! Thanks for agreeing to do this interview with me. So tell me, how did this career start for you? 

A: So I started my sex work career at a massage parlour when I was about 19. In Cegep we read The Portrait of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde which made me realise how much of a sheltered life I had lived. I became very curious about what the “real world” was like so when I saw an ad for a massage parlour I applied. I worked there for about two weeks before quitting. When I was 21 I started working at a different parlour (this time only happy endings). I worked in happy ending massage parlours for about 6 years before switching to FS, then finally branched out and started escorting. With the Covid pandemic it didn’t feel safe to continue working in an area with a bunch of other women and a high number of clients. I felt safer only seeing a few people per week and being able to have control over who I saw was very appealing. 

 

Q: So you started escorting about a year ago - with the Pandemic I imagine that was a strange time to start! Can you tell me - what was your opinion on sex work at that time? 

A: Well I can’t say I ever had any negative view of sex work. My opinion of sex work started as I worked in it, as that’s about when I realised this existed in real life and not just movies. In terms of escorting, I did think it would be slightly more glamourous, but I only worked for about two months when restaurants and bars were actually open. 

Q: What was the first week like? I hear a lot of people in "vanilla jobs" quitting new jobs pretty fast. Did you have that temptation at all? 

A: I transitioned from massage to escorting rather slowly and there was a lot that I was learning on-the-go. I definitely wanted to quit after my first month because I made a negative income, which was very disheartening. 

 

Q: What were your initial concerns about going into this line of work, if any? 

A: I was concerned that I would regret it or that I would eventually feel shame. Maybe I will, but as time goes on I feel stronger ties to the sex work community and it’s become a larger part of my identity. I’ve been doing sex work for 8 years now and I don’t see myself stopping anytime soon. 

 

Q: What would you say were your biggest learnings in the first few months of sex work? 

A: I learned to make sure I was never stuck in sex work. When I worked in salons there were always a few women who were grumpy and hated their job. I quickly deduced the common factor for all of them was a feeling of being stuck in the job, usually because of a lack of education or high expenses. While I started SW to pay for my schooling, I made sure to always keep a civvie job that I can fall back on if ever I start feeling too much pressure from SW. So far it’s been going well.

 

Q: When you first started out, how did you advertise? 

A: I advertised on Slixa, Humpchies, LL, and Twitter somewhat. Needless to say it didn’t go well. 

 

Q: So now you're a year in, how has your job changed, if at all? For example, do you have regular clients? Have you found more places to advertise? 

A: I have a few regular clients but I haven’t been super active with Covid. I started touring to Toronto last month. I was in Toronto when they announced the border closures, so unfortunately that was cut short but I look forward to going back. I’ve also discovered more sites to advertise. I also learned to be more organised so I know where my clients are coming from and where I shouldn’t waste ad money on. 

 

Q: Have you built a good support network over the year you've been doing this? Any people you wanna shout out to? 

A: I haven’t met anyone new, but there’s a pretty strong Twitter support group that is nice to have. 

 

Q: Can you see yourself doing this for a while? 

A: I honestly can’t see a future where I’m not escorting, at least part-time.

 

Q: Any big aspirations in terms of your career? Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 

A: I really want to travel as a sex worker. I’d love to work around the world and be able to live in different places. I had plans to move to Spain before Covid hit so maybe I’ll try that again post-Covid, or maybe Australia.

 

Q: I hope you get to travel very soon! Thanks so much for your time! Anything you’d like to add? 

A: Not really. This has been great, thanks!

 

[NotchJohnson 214129]

I remember when @IsabellaDivine joined this community I was very excited to see a new face(sort of speak) with a sexy body.  Alas we never got a chance to meet but do hope to get to know her better if we ever have a chance.  Thanks for inviting her @lydiahardwood.

 

[Allie Zeon 2925]

Thanks for sharing dear @IsabellaDivine it's hard for me to believe you have a negative income when you did it first time.  Look at you girl!

So tell me how you finally recover from a 'negative income' to finally  state 'will not see the future without escorting'?

Please share the recipe 😋

 

Thanks

[Allie Zeon 2925]

To my daughter @lydiahardwood thank you!  I love when you interview younger generation in this industry dear.

30 years ago, we advertised on the back of a newspaper and now, everything is online.

there is even an option to pay with a Bitcoin or transfer to a paxum account for international clients.

Wow...what a change huh!

I have to keep it up  with all of  you youngsters.  Very inspiring 

[HenryOcean 196]

Thank you to the lovely @IsabellaDivine, it is admirable you had taken the leap during the beginning of the panemic. In an a unpredictable time you made it work for you. 

@lydiahardwood this interview subject was brilliant and on point with what has been happening. With such uncertainty in life, following our hearts is something we should be most certain of more than ever. 

@Allie Zeon YOU are inspiring. I can understand the negative income comment, all part of the entrepreneurial spirit. Taking risks and enjoying it's rewards. Especially if it's something you love.

Stay safe all!

 

 

 

[Allie Zeon 2925]

16 hours ago, HenryOcean said:

Thank you to the lovely @IsabellaDivine, it is admirable you had taken the leap during the beginning of the panemic. In an a unpredictable time you made it work for you. 

@lydiahardwood this interview subject was brilliant and on point with what has been happening. With such uncertainty in life, following our hearts is something we should be most certain of more than ever. 

@Allie Zeon YOU are inspiring. I can understand the negative income comment, all part of the entrepreneurial spirit. Taking risks and enjoying it's rewards. Especially if it's something you love.

Stay safe all!

 

 

 

Thanks dear. I wish she answers my question. Bluntly speaking, escorting is almost ALL about sexiness, sex appeal and beauty to start with.  No matter how good we are as a person if we are not attractive physically, it's hard to be successful in this business.

Therefore, for those who are attractive and ESPECIALLY young, it's hard to imagine to have a negative income to begin with.

I wish I could have started much earlier in life.  My biggest regret, simply thinking of  how much potential $$$$ wasted in the drain for those silly men who fucked me for free lol

 

[Jaden 2]

Nice topic and very sexy you must try touring in Alberta as well especially Fort McMurray as there are just few ladies and I will say 90 percent are fake and always wanna scam people 

[IsabellaDivine 56]

On 5/22/2021 at 5:00 PM, Allie Zeon said:

Thanks dear. I wish she answers my question. Bluntly speaking, escorting is almost ALL about sexiness, sex appeal and beauty to start with.  No matter how good we are as a person if we are not attractive physically, it's hard to be successful in this business.

Therefore, for those who are attractive and ESPECIALLY young, it's hard to imagine to have a negative income to begin with.

I wish I could have started much earlier in life.  My biggest regret, simply thinking of  how much potential $$$$ wasted in the drain for those silly men who fucked me for free lol

 

Hi Allie,

Sorry! I didn't mean to ignore you, I just don't come on Lyla that often. 

I was at a negative income because I learned everything from Reddit, where it's mostly American workers and I would wager fairly high-end. I thought I needed to start with a super nice incall, professional photos, a website, ect. I split an Airbnb with a friend but it still cost be about 1000$ and we weren't very good at splitting the days. While professional pictures are important I think I could have started with my own pictures, not had a site right away, and a more reasonable incall. I also didn't really know where or how to advertise and my first few ads were not sexy at all. I didn't lose *tons* of money, but my first few months I would end it at around -50 to - 100. It was once I got a permanent incall that I started feeling more safe, seeing more people, and then it kept going. 

[IsabellaDivine 56]

On 5/27/2021 at 9:07 AM, Jaden said:

Nice topic and very sexy you must try touring in Alberta as well especially Fort McMurray as there are just few ladies and I will say 90 percent are fake and always wanna scam people 

I'm thinking of coming this summer or in the fall. I'd really like to do a cross-Canada trip once things open up again.

[Allie Zeon 2925]

On 6/1/2021 at 6:24 PM, IsabellaDivine said:

Hi Allie,

Sorry! I didn't mean to ignore you, I just don't come on Lyla that often. 

I was at a negative income because I learned everything from Reddit, where it's mostly American workers and I would wager fairly high-end. I thought I needed to start with a super nice incall, professional photos, a website, ect. I split an Airbnb with a friend but it still cost be about 1000$ and we weren't very good at splitting the days. While professional pictures are important I think I could have started with my own pictures, not had a site right away, and a more reasonable incall. I also didn't really know where or how to advertise and my first few ads were not sexy at all. I didn't lose *tons* of money, but my first few months I would end it at around -50 to - 100. It was once I got a permanent incall that I started feeling more safe, seeing more people, and then it kept going. 

Thank you 😊