Hobbying Before The Internet

[Cherry]

For those gents who hobbied pre-internet and would like to share - I was curious. How did you find asps? What were your experiences like?

[MrReindeer-9515]

Streetwalkers, alternative and regular classifieds, yellow pages, AMP's, personal reccommendations, Nevada brothels, bar pickups...and there's probably more.

Don't have time to elaborate re experiences, but let it suffice to say: other than the addition of pictures in ads, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

[kevluvsflex]

Huh. Didn't know the bar thing was real.

[LegalEagle]

Yellow pages. Worked for me both in Upstate NY and in Oklahoma.

[Speed]

Ads in the Rocky Mountain Oyster. And it was iffy at best.

So I didn't hobby much back then. Maybe once a year.

[Nightrain]

Street walkers (1980's were the salad days. Stopped doing this around 1990, so don't know what the quality is like these days). I still remember my three ATF, drained me of fluids and cash.

There was a rag called the Rocky Mtn Oyster that had escort ads. One out of five were some sort of cash and dash type rip-offs.

Low end strip joints. This usually called for a fair amount of time and money to earn the ladies' trust before they would meet you outside the clubs. Pretty good success rate with these types.

Hallelujah for the internet.

[mrvegas63]

other than the addition of pictures in ads, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Amen to stay the same. Like today and BP having lots of fake pics, when "Rocky Mountain Oyster" had pics in ads, 99% of the time were fake. So, yeah, not much has changed.

And as others pointed out, "Oyster", "Westword" and other free papers, "Rocky" classifieds, etc.

As for experiences, overall, pretty good. Found a couple of agencies in the day that always had attractive and willing providers, and the agencies knew my type, so, never got steered wrong. That said, lots of misses getting to that point.

Big help/change today is review boards and image search websites, when used, can at least weed out obvious rip-offs & fakes. And if one is willing to stick to reviewed providers, pretty much eliminates any unpleasant sessions.

[pfunk]

There was a rag called the Rocky Mtn Oyster that had escort ads. One out of five were some sort of cash and dash type rip-offs.

Ads in the Rocky Mountain Oyster. And it was iffy at best.

The Oyster...I found girls here 99% of the time. Pre cell phones, so I called from a pay phone, and then she directed me to another pay phone near her location (if it was incall).

It was fun to try and figure out if "Hot independent blonde" was the girl you booked last month as "Jeannie in a bottle". I saw many girls multiple times, cause they changed their names and ads all the time. Pics were always "representative".

It was YMMV from "you can't touch me" to full GFE/PSE. Total crapshoot. If you found someone you liked, you kept the number, but it rarely lasted more than 6 months. Incalls were not common. I often had to get a room at a cheap motel so I could see someone (I also often left them in it, so they could use it as an incall).

I usually had some kind of fun, but looks were rarely as described, and kissing was even rarer. Mostly BBBJ, DATY, and FS.

When I first read a review on alt.sex.prostitution, I was in heaven!

[Nightrain]

I usually had some kind of fun, but looks were rarely as described, and kissing was even rarer. Mostly BBBJ, DATY, and FS.

Agree kissing was rare but, in my experiences, bareback FS could be had at an extra cost (in the days before about 1990). I guess I dodged a bullet as I never caught anything worse than crabs.

[geecue2]

Yes the Oyster, remember that well. Also local Denver newspaper always had ads in classified section.

[TheMouth]

The Rocky Mountain Oyster and it was hit and miss. I had more hits then misses.

[Bit Banger]

Streetwalkers, alternative and regular classifieds, yellow pages, AMP's, personal reccommendations, Nevada brothels, bar pickups...and there's probably more.

...

That about sums it up. While I didn't do Nevada, there were some underground brothels in Chicago. In Japan I'd grab the post-it-notes on utility poles & phone booths.

As others have mentioned, Westword. Most municipalities have a similar rag; The Reader in Chicago.

[ctgiver]

First time I did this was in San Diego in 1995 and found a local alternative newspaper in the restaurant I dined at for lunch. I was with an ASP by 3:00 pm. Very disappointing first time encounter. Yellow pages followed in major cities and then by 97 the internet had really started to kick in. All in all I think I saw two or three women between 95 and 97, all were disappointments....and then you find that diamond in the rough that just blows you away!

[JRWolfe]

The Rocky Mountain Oyster and it was hit and miss. I had more hits then misses.

Intresting so many of you started with the Oyster. As most of you know ,it ceased to exist when the publisher died and left no business plan for it to continue,lots of money still sitting untouched in that bank account

As its longest served writer/photographer, I can tell you now that in the Oyster, if a girls face wasn't in the ad..90% of the time it was a stock photo with the head cut off. If the ad showed a face..99 % of the time it was not a fake photo.

Reading all the 411's on TOB and all the complaints of fake photos, I often wonder if that habit started with the Oyster.

That said..and getting back on subject...remember when the adult bookstores used to have " girls behind glass " ?? They don't anymore because a lot of those girls met their hobbiest that way and would meet them nearby . When I was a part time dj at "Saturdays " in the mid 80s, streetwalkers would approach guys leaving the club in the parking lot.

[Bit Banger]

... When I was a part time dj at "Saturdays " in the mid 80s, streetwalkers would approach guys leaving the club in the parking lot.

Many had cribs a block or two away so you weren't fooling with the car date issue.

[DAVEWSTR]

I too started out with the Oyster and Westword. Hit a couple of real gems, one of whom is still working today. Also hit some rip-offs and cash and dashes. It was definitely hit and miss. I am very thankful I bought a computer and found TOB by 2003. Been here ever since. Used to use Gina's agency all the time back then. Hi Gina! LOL

[ddog]

First off i want to say "Thankyou internet". Things are much better now.

Colfax was my main source of adult pay-for-fun action. Hit and miss but overall i had good luck without to many ripoffs.

[jackg720]

...it ceased to exist when the publisher died and left no business plan for it to continue,lots of money still sitting untouched in that bank account

fwiw after X # of years that money eventually goes to the state\govt. I've seen it happen a few times over the years as I have a lot of friends in the banking industry.

As for me I didn't do this per-internet but before I found TOB\etc I was on those date phone call places. Got quite a bit of free tail and a few providers as well. Tho that being said I spent way more on not getting laid on those phone things then I care to admit.

[JRWolfe]

fwiw after X # of years that money eventually goes to the state\govt. I've seen it happen a few times over the years as I have a lot of friends in the banking industry.

We're very aware of that,more so the pity that she didn't leave a business plan or a will .

That said...its amazing how many times in any given month that I'm still asked about the Oyster.

Back on subject...curious as to what the best/worst scenerios were for those that used it for hobbying before the internet.

[Guest Fetish King]

Sunset Blvd in the mid 70's, Dam that was great NO AIDS and loads of hookers dressed to the nines.

[DaveinPhoenix]

Before the internet I was active on the alt.sex.prostitution news group where we had packet readers slowly download text messages at 300 baud (no not k or m but just baud) using MS-DOS machines.

On that newsgroup I was one of the first to coin GFE but it had a totally different meaning of a sincere intimacy "connection" without having to "fall" in love but for the moment (or hour).

I also recall the Oyster... gee is it still around and if so probably as bad as BP now. I visit Denver usually once a year for a business conference (be there mid Sept) but my interests are more intimacy interactions not the usual abbreviation stuff but more like GFE originally was.

[Bit Banger]

Before the internet I was active on the alt.sex.prostitution news group where we had packet readers slowly download text messages at 300 baud (no not k or m but just baud) using MS-DOS machines. ...

Not to be picky, but newsgroups developed as early Internet features and were the early equivilant of forums like this. They grew out of email lists & list servers. What you're describing would be before the World Wide Web and GUIs (Graphical User Interfaces).

[mrvegas63]

Yep. I first started using newsgroups back in '81 on VT100 CRTs, and even then, newsgroups were not new:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VT100

[DaveinPhoenix]

Not to be picky, but newsgroups developed as early Internet features and were the early equivilant of forums like this. They grew out of email lists & list servers. What you're describing would be before the World Wide Web and GUIs (Graphical User Interfaces).

Yes of course I meant the web (not internet) before GUI's and before AOL, or the Prodigy boards which were one of the first "boards" vs newsgroups I was active on. There were Colorado folks on it back then !

Heath, Dell, even card readers and B80 Burroughs machines that read cards ran thru sorters for business records I used.

Later the Wang 2200MVP I really liked with its HUGE like 3 foot diameter hard disk platters on drives the size of tables.

[The Oxymoron]

Well, before the internet there were Inside Girls and Outside Girls.

"Outside Girls" were sectioned off onto tracks (on the street), high-track, mid-track and low-track. High-track was for the hotties in designer clothes, low-track was for the junkies. Mid-track was for those on their way down, or on their way up (I started on low track).

"Inside Girls" were mainly asian rub girls, or the older girls working for yellow page agencies or via print ads. Older being 25-30 and up. Us younger chicks on track always considered the inside girls to be old, and not attractive enough to be able to compete on the street.

Also, high-track rates in the 90s were approximately what Internet providers are charging today, except there was no GFE, no kissing, no bbanything.

As a young provider in the late 80s and 90s, going out to work was like going on an adventure every night, and many of us with $1000 a night quotas (from our pimps) did it without any problem at all. Of course, robbing, stealing and scamming was our main order of business though, and it wasn't all roses and glory.

Times have changes, this industry has changed. I miss the olden days, but I'm glad for many of the changes. And most of all I'm glad to have seen it pre-internet to post-internet. Plenty of memories to amuse me in my golden years.

Oxy

[DAVEWSTR]

Another resource way back when was Massage Parlors (not necessarily Asian). How many remember the topless club at Aloha Beach that had a Massage Parlor right next door. I'm talkin late 70's here. I would go there and get far more than just a HJ from some pretty fine quality ladies.

[Guest The Discreet Escort]

Before the internet I was active on the alt.sex.prostitution news group ...

On that newsgroup I was one of the first to coin GFE but it had a totally different meaning of a sincere intimacy "connection" without having to "fall" in love but for the moment (or hour).

Wow Dave that was a long time ago it seems. Yes GFE has morphed into something totally far away from what you originally meant it to be.

[DaveinPhoenix]

"Outside Girls" were sectioned off onto tracks (on the street), high-track, mid-track and low-track. High-track was for the hotties in designer clothes, low-track was for the junkies. /QUOTE]

This sounds similar to the tracks in Vancouver I wrote about on my canadian site "While some street prostitution can be found scattered in most of Vancouver, just like in most any large U.S. city, in Vancouver there are 3 distinct types of street prostitution that mostly occurs in certain quite well defined areas. There is the Kiddy stroll with homeless kids mixed in with adults, the druggie strip and the high-class very expense downtown area.

This was in the 90s but may still exist as I shifted my travel and reports to Toronto, Niagara Falls and Hamilton.

Today in most US cities, probably in CO as well as Phx LE has extensively tried to stop street hookers. At one time in Phoenix our infamous Sheriff Joe had his posse on horseback on the street most known for street hookers. But the mess the horses left even with diapers an issue and hard to work streets on a horse!