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Sex

My Friend is a Punk Rock Rent Boy

My friend Alexis Penney is a drag bitch, party hostess, and part time lip-syncer. He recently added "punk prostitute" to his resume because being a whore can be extremely lucrative if you’re not a fugly meth addict.

My friend Alexis Penney is a drag bitch, party hostess, and part time lip-syncer. He recently added "punk prostitute" to his resume because being a whore can be extremely lucrative if you’re not a fugly meth addict. Alexis throws a weekly party called High Fantasy at the legendary drag bar Aunt Charlie's Lounge in San Francisco, where all of SF’s cool trannies, drag queens, and sex workers hang out. I talked to Alexis about what life is like as a young punk hustler.

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Vice: Why did you decide to become a punk prostitute?
Alexis Penney: I always fantasized about being a prostitute when I was a kid. It seemed super glamorous and seedy. Plus, I've been insanely promiscuous for a long time, and have done some porn and have lots of videos on Xtube and all that. But I’d never been paid for sex until this past summer when a friend of mine, who has been doing sex work for years, suggested I advertise on rentboy.com. It seemed like easy money, and there is an infrastructure of support for sex workers here in San Francisco, so it seemed safe enough. Really I just wanted to pay off my credit card debt.

How much do you charge for various sex acts?
I charge $200 an hour, so not by the act. The thing is, when I turn tricks I don't do anal or penetration really, mostly just oral or jacking off while Johns watch--that’s super common. Whenever a John tries to touch my ass I always say, "That's extra!" I've heard it works but none of mine have ever been willing to pay more.

Why no anal?
I can't really half-assed fuck a guy, you know? If I'm not into it I'm not into it, but if I had a totally hot John I would probably fuck him. I don't really let anyone fuck me unless I trust them, so I wouldn't let a John fuck me. I've let a few finger my ass but I usually don't do that, either.

Do you have a favorite customer?
There’s this guy George who looks kind of like Newman from Seinfeld. About once a month he drives over from Oakland and holes up in some cheesy hotel. He's fat and mostly just wants to suck my dick. He's pretty good at it, but I still have to get hard through guided visualization a lot. Then he gets me to strike poses on the bed while he sits on the floor jacking off, but clothed--he doesn't even take his underwear off. He's really nerdy and kind of has a lisp, and the whole time he says stuff like "God that's so hot!" while alternately doing poppers, taking hits off a pipe, and chugging bottled water over and over and over. Eventually I'll cum for him and maybe he cums, and then he tells me how fashionable I am and how well he's going to sleep, and then he passes out. This is usually around 7pm on a Friday night.

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Would you ever sleep with a woman for money?
I don't think I could do it with a woman. I want to be good at everything I do, and I don't even know where to start in that area. Maybe if a woman were in the room it would be OK. I've done that before. Not for money, though.

What do you wear to meet Johns? Do you dress in drag, or do you find out ahead of time what he’s into and then adhere to his tastes?
Actually I always wear really cheesy, stereotypical hustler-punk outfits. Like tight black jeans, boots, leather jacket, and ripped T-shirts or tank tops. I've never turned tricks in drag, as I think my look is too severe. I usually know a little about what the guy is into, especially if he answers my ad, because I kind of play up that I'm a punk.

Have you ever read any Dennis Cooper? Your description of your experiences turning tricks reminds me a lot of some of the characters in his novels.
The only Dennis Cooper I've read is his book My Loose Thread, which was amazing but didn't feature any young hustlers. It was more like suburban weirdness, brothers fucking, and Columbine-y kind of stuff. I should read more of him, as I love stories about young punk gay guys! I've basically manipulated myself into a caricature of what I thought a glamorous gay guy was when I was a kid. It feels good! Although it is a little fracturing sometimes when I look in the mirror and feel this complete detachment from who I was and who I am now. I guess mostly everyone feels that, though.

Your life sounds so fun.
I know! I feel like a little girl playing dress up and suddenly she blinked and she was the princess that she was pretending to be! Sounds cheesy, but it's true!

KARLEY SCIORTINO