Hello All,
Id just like to start by saying im really pleased to have found this forum, such a shame i hadnt found it a few years ago when i was first introduced into this industry(may have made a few things easier for me).
Now,i apologise in advance for this next part(my introduction & the back-ground story,but i feel its nessesary!!),i will try keep it as brief as possible...
Im GMC, im 27, from Leeds and i have been a Doorman in bars & nightclubs for the majority of the last 10years.
Just over 2 years, i met this wonderful girl(im pleased to say we are still together today,and things are good,but it hasnt always been so easy!!) in a big club i was working at the time,she visited the club a few times,we eventually got talking and things moved on.
At this point i need to say,despite all my time on doors,i had never had any involvent with this particular side of the "Entertainment" industry,either as a customer or worker,the closest been i worked sometimes in a strip club,and was friends with many of the dancers.
My soon-to-be girlfriend had come in,so i went to say hello,this turned out to be the first proper conversation we had,so chatting away i asked her where she worked,to which she replied "you already know",automaticly i think the strip clubs,so i say im sorry which one,and explained i knew alot of the girls around town,but didnt recognise her...this was to be my first introduction to a new world!!
Turns out she was a "working-girl" at a very well known place in Leeds,i was shocked for a few seconds,but only because i didnt expect her to be so direct,as time went on we saw more of each other,i purpously avoided the entire subject of work,as i didnt want her to think it bothered me, for quite a long time i managed this,during this time my mind was getting more curious,and i was starting to feel more for her, i started meet some of her friends, and id start to hear bits about her work,a few funny stories here and there,and i didnt have a problem with it.A few months into our relationship we would have little chats about things,but she was pretty selective what was spoken about,now im not stupid,nor have i led a sheltered life,so i was fairly well of aware for what her job involved for an outsiders view,i was also more aware of the life she had lived,and the struggles that many of the girls had been through in previous years(i forgot to mention she is Albanian,so you can probaly imagine how her past had been,and how she got into the job!).
By now,im living with her,thing were more serious,she was coming towards the end of getting her UK citizenship,and she was almost finished with the qualifications in Holistic therapies.By now it was a fairly well known fact within my circles what my girlfriend did for work,bit i didnt care,its was only a job,and things were been said,most of the time behind my back,but occasionally i had to deal with things head-on. Slowly,i didnt even realise at first,but her work was starting to bother me,seeing her getting ready at home,coming back at end of the night ect ect,i tried my best to put it out my head,but she was changing also,it was effecting us both.We soon began to argue,and i would drop little comments about things,i was asking more questions also,because id never seen her in that enviroment,and felt i needed to know but couldnt understand properly,but still needed to know,she got more and more uspet...we broke up,and it wasnt done in a good way.
Three months went by,the hardest of my life,and hers,i didnt see her for the entire time,and all i could think about was her at work,it almost made me ill.
Now,i always knew she didnt like the job,and she wanted out,but she had to keep going ,her papers,and the theraapy training we delayed,it was a horrible time.Three months to the day had past,id changed clubs also,and she turned up!!Luckily,we had a good chat,decided to try again,on the condition she stopped working as soon as possible.
Not long after,she had Citizenship(took 6year,and in excess of ?20,000,with solicitor using her as a cash machine,and verious other dispicable situations.),she had her qualifications,things we good between us,and she left the job!!Everything should be ok now?no,i was still tourchering myself with her old job,it was my imagination making it worse,but i had nobody really to talk to about it,who would understand!!
I started to get on with her mate's boyfriend,who was a bouncer at the very place that caused me so much stress over the 2years,he seemed to understood(he worked there at the sametime his girlfriend did!!ouch!!)but in a slightly different way,i was getting it out my system,and was able to discuss somethings between the four of us,and it helped.
Anyway,long story short,i work their now on security(i conquered my nemesis in a massive way),and i enjoy been there,it has its hard times when something will remind me of what she had to do,but i cope...and the whole situation has not only made me stronger,but i have learnt alot about it as a bussiness,a trade and some of the problems that can attach to it.
I first felt sorry for many of the girls i met,but for doing the job,then i noticed i was wrong all over again,i saw the girls just getting on with things,putting on a smile,and making the best out of it,and realised the strenth that takes.
I know everyone has a different story,nobody is the same,especially in such a diverse industry,and now i have nothing but respect for them,only problem i have left with any of it,is the certain people that think they are better,and make an already bad situation worse for these girls,either by been cruel/bullies,insulting,selfish even(as i had been)and gererally making a hard situation 100times worse.
Now,with history over, i come to the point of why i join this forum,and bored you with all this...i am more than aware not everybody can ,needs or wants helping ,and this industry(in all its verious forms)isnt never gonna go,so after many conversations with my girlfriend(and looks of shire disbelief),i decided i want to be more involved within the trade,understand it a bit more, maybe work my way towards looking after my own place,and just try make it that little bit more "tolorable" for the girls.A business is a business,but i believe certain things could be tweaked,to make a reasonable difference,and maybe make some poeple a little happier...such as security ect ect.
Ive decided im going to have a go at setting up and running a small escort service sometime in the near future,and gain more experiace of a different branch of the industry.So i would just like to know as much as possible of what evrybody has to say/think/know  about it,from any angle...as a business,managment,promotion,workers perspective,any thoughts of improvments,general ideas,books to read,ect ect....i think the best way to learn is from the different people that already have a wealth of knowledge,and the entire in's and outs of the subject.Thats you people!!If anyone would be interested in my progress on my first challege is going,i keep you posted from time to time.i will probaly be doing alot of reading of this site for a while.
Thanks for your time.
                                             GMC. 

I saw this before I went to bed and hoped that it would magically have disappeared by morning, but alas no...

GMC, read what Emily said, and digest. This is a forum for those in the sex industry to share ideas and experiences and request help, information and advice if they need it, not for random third parties to patronisingly congratulate us all on how well we are coping with our dreadful situation. You may be glad to have found the forum, but you're on the wrong one. There are industry forums where they tolerate outsiders - try Punternet; I would shorten your post before you treat them to it though, we really do not need your life story and with the best will in the world, no one is likely to read it all apart from the poor bastards like me who are obliged to.

If the ladies you know need help and support at local level, I can give you the contact details for Genesis, which is your local sex work project. They do a lot of off-street outreach and are very experienced in helping migrant workers - they are credible, legitimate and know the job inside out, including the fact that for many people, sex work is maybe not the ideal, but it is far from terrible but necessary ongoing torture for its participants (and your inference that the people you know are by definition trafficked or coerced purely by virtue of not being native British is ignorant, condescending and offensive). You are going on what hearsay you are picking up and filtering out the bits that suit you and make you feel like you can justify an unhelpful and possibly harmful involvement in our work. I can tell you this; one thing the world does NOT need is a brothel run by a clueless twenty seven year old doorman.

I am locking this thread, since it can serve no useful purpose whatsoever. If anyone thinks they have anything constructive to add, please do PM me and I will consider reopening it.