I started about 37 years ago.  I had just graduated college and was still a virgin and I was detemined to do something about it.

My first foray was into Boston's Combat Zone on lower Washington Street.  I entered a strip club for the first time.  I figured I could somehow get laid there, but all I got was rooked out of about $25 for a cheap bottle of Champagne for a five minute conversation with some gal and nothing more.

Back to the drawing board.

I had always wondered about those personal ads in the back of the weekly entertainment papers, so I decided to give them a try.  After calling about ten numbers, someone answered and gave me an address.

She was a very thin gal who gave me a ten minute massage and a hand job, topless for $25.  I was delighted.  I returned a week later and got a blow job for $40, and she removed her undies.

I was off to the races, and never looked back.

I wanted to suggest that some experienced men, and newbies, share stories about their first time (or one of their first times) hobbying.  

How was the experience? The first experience so-so. I used my phonebook to call an agency. The agency sent over a provider that had experience by her mid twenties.  

How did it go? My first did not excite me. I called the same agency a few weeks later, remembering my first experience, I told the agency what I didn't want. The agency sent over a hot woman who rung my bells. I have had sex only via the hobby since that night.  

What is different now? I don't use phonebooks. The web has been a game changer. Prior to the web, chosing a provider was a dice roll.  

What would you do different today? Hobbyists today are living the golden era of hobbying curtesy of the web. There are efforts afoot to damage the hobby, particularly the punish demand movement. The proponents of banning the hobby will learn the lessons that prohibitionists learn, that by banning even the better forms of hobbying, they will in turn open the gates to a hell that they now can't begin to imagine. Men and women involved in the hobby will find what they are looking for. Those that now dishonor the hobby will do so in more gross fashion. Once the abolitionists have put society through a hellish period, the true golden era of hobbying will come about, an era where consneting adults can have their pleasures without concern for unimformed moralists.  

Share any insights you want to share

went like this.  I had gone to a lingerie shop in Tampa in the early 2000.  There, the girl meets you in the lobby, takes you back to a small room with a couch, asks you to put her tip (you paid a room price of about $20 first) on a table and "get comfortable".  The girl comes back in the room, counts the tip, and then says "what do you want?".  Well, if the tip wasn't high enough you got less than you wanted if you could come up with more $.  Now, I know this is called upsell.  Never could figure out how much you needed for a CBJ, HJ, or even FS--that was part of the mystery of this system.  After I was done, she said to check her ad on Eros and contact her through there for a better experience.  I never did but . . .

To make a long story short, I used Eros to window shop and got lucky.  Met a provider and had a good 1 hr. date.  Eventually, I found the reviews section of TER and learned how to use the reviews to select even better providers.  About 6 months later I found the discussion boards and increased my knowledge even more so I joined TER to get VIP.  Since then, I haven't had a bad experience.  Sure, some dates are not as good as others, everyone doesn't click with everyone else, but I have learned if you go with well-reviewed ladies, your odds for a good time are much better.  However, I have seen a few ladies who I met through discussion boards who had either none or 1 or 2 reviews; but, I felt comfortable because I had gotten to know the lady through her posts, PM's, and email exchanges.  And, yes those dates went well.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.