corndog

I think that the "$5 reservation fee" is the latest grindr scam. I've run across it a few times in different geographical locations.

I was raised to be a germaphobe, too. However, sometimes you've got to think through how rational it all is. Consider this scenario: Let's say I've invited a guy over for... well, what we're usually talking about on this forum... and then he urinates without washing his hands. My first instinct is "OMG! He just peed, touched his penis, and didn't wash his hands!" And then, it occurs to me that I'm probably about to put that penis in my mouth, and I realize that whether he has washed his hands is last thing I should concerned about.

I realize that most people may be looking at his cock in that photo, but the body shown in that one is not nearly as defined as the rest of his shots.

After interacting with him a bit more, and waiting for him to ask me to visit a link to a shady site or pay him in advance, he never did. I later spotted his ad on rentmasseur, so I think he might have actually been real. I'm currently thinking that, since he's from a foreign country, he entered his height in centimeters, and it was a grindr bug that incorrectly converted it to 5'12". I'm thinking that I probably pushed away a real guy by assuming he was yet another grindr scam.

I was chatting with a guy on Grindr (his name was "m@ss@ge..."). He didn't seem to be a bot, since his responses to questions were all sensible and on-point. As the chat continued, I kept waiting for him to insist on texting me, or ask me to sign up with one of those scam verification web sites. Didn't happen. The thing is, in his profile it listed his height as 5'12". For those of you outside the U.S., that doesn't make any sense. The correct height would be 6'. This is the second time recently that I've seen a measurement like this show up in Grindr profile, so I checked on my iPhone, and you can't select that; it (correctly) goes from 5'11" to 6'. (Could someone check the Android version and see if it would be possible to specify 5'12"?) So, my best theory is that whatever software these scammers are using to hack into grindr and create fake accounts is allowing them to select answers that aren't valid, and can't be selected in the real app. Any other theories?

In his profile, he refers to himself as a "king." I've seen this a few times recently. Any ideas what the the connotation is?

HOW COULD YOU NOT KNOW WHAT "TIAFFP" MEANS?!? Everyone who has used the internet for five minutes knows that means "Thanks In Advance For Future Posting!" Just kidding... I'm just messing with you to make my point.

I'm guessing that you're taking about Kuala Lampur, but, please, avoid unexplained abbreviations. It isn't always easy to figure them out. --TIAFFP

In my opinion, if they hang around you and provide good company/conversation, they've earned something. If you're totally disinterested, I think you should say so right off the bat, or just not really engage in conversation. But, if you take up their time, you should at least offer them a drink, or tip them $5 or so. In many cases, I've felt like a guy earned his tip chatting with me, and I'll agree to a lap dance in the back, just as a formality to compensate him for the time already spent.

I recently had sort of the opposite situation... The guy, who I had met before, texted me for a follow up meeting on Monday. Unfortunately, I was out of town, but I proposed Wednesday instead. He replied "that will work!" Then Wednesday came, and I texted him to confirm. It had been less than 48 hours since we had agreed on Wednesday. I heard nothing back from him, and texted him a couple more times during the day. Nothing. About a week later, I got a text from him saying that he had been out of town. This is lame. First of all, it seems unlikely that this out-of-town trip popped up within the 48 hours since I had last communicated with him, and secondly, where could he have been that he couldn't send a quick message to let me know that he was not going to be able to make it? Jail, maybe. (I'm mostly kidding about that, he doesn't seem like the jail type.) He's been texting me every couple days with increasingly sexy and provocative messages and photos. I haven't responded at all. He's hot, but I'm feeling like if I wanted to deal with this kind of flakiness, I could just use Grindr for free.

This, like quite a few other discussions between escorts and clients, comes down to the simple question of who is going to take the risk: the client, or the pro. It's basically the same as the debate about paying upfront, or after the service. Service providers who require payment up front will claim that they've been ripped off by clients who didn't pay. But, many clients tell stories of paying upfront and being ripped off. Both are valid points. Someone has to take the leap of faith and trust the other. I understand that providers feel like "I'm a good guy; I would never rip someone off." That's fine, and may very well be true. But, you've also got to understand that a new client doesn't know you, and doesn't have enough information to judge your character. This isn't disrespect, it's just prudent action with a stranger. Paying for an Uber may seem like a relatively small risk, and it is, compared to paying an entire fee upfront. However, when I was thinking that way, I proceeded to order an Uber to pick someone up, he couldn't be bothered to be where he said he was until the third Uber showed up. Then, after the session, as he was leaving my hotel room, I ordered an Uber to take him back home. Somehow, he didn't make it from my room to the front of the hotel, and the Uber never found him. I guess he found some other way home. Ultimately, I got charged for three no-shows in addition to one Uber fare, and my Uber rating took a hit. I'm not doing that again. So, although I'm sympathetic to situation that escorts and masseurs find themselves in, I think that the risk of flaky clients is essentially just a cost of doing business. Most service businesses take similar risks. Can you imagine paying for a haircut before the service is performed?

I think that it can also mean that the person is negative, but ok with having sex with HIV+ persons who are on treatment and have suppressed their viral load to "undetectable." At this point, it is a well-accepted fact that when someone is undetectable, they are incapable of transmitting HIV. "U=U" Having said all that, it seems like a bad idea to ever take someone's word for their HIV status, whether they claim they're "negative," "on PrEP," or "Undetectable," their claim may or may not be true. Each of us should always take responsibility for our own sexual health, whether that means using condoms or PrEP.

Multiple other threads about him: https://www.companyofmen.org/threads/massage-by-gio-visiting-la.150063/#post-1793821 https://www.companyofmen.org/threads/411-on-yizus-aka-gio.145996/#post-1737142 He also advertises here: https://rentmasseur.com/yizus His pics are accurate, and I've only seen good comments. I'd give him a B for massage skills, and a B+ for "extras." He seems like a nice guy.

In the past, I've ordered an Uber to pick up a guy. I won't do that again. The Uber driver couldn't find the guy at the address he provided, and it wasn't until the third Uber that he finally connected. I had to pay cancellation fees, and my Uber rating took a hit. If I'm within the city that the guy is adverting in, and he advertises an outcall rate, I believe that his transportation costs should be factored in to the outcall price.

And, when they give you their phone number, it's always broken into two or three separate messages.

I had a similar experience on Grindr. The guy refers me to a profile at rentmasseur.info. The text and reviews of the profile were stolen from a real guy on rentmasseur.com, but the pictures were different. Clearly, rentmasseur.info is 100% scam.

But, his profile says he's "110% Real!" Lol.

Although I would be on the lookout for red flags, I think he could be for real. I think there are few guys out there that are genuinely into older men and have realized that it's probably easier for them to hook up with an ad on an escort site than it is to find a free hookup on Grindr. It's tempting to believe that Grindr is a frustrating waste of time only because we're older and not "prime meat," but I think that the Grindr experience (especially in big cites) is universally frustrating. It doesn't matter how hot you are, Grindr is full of people who are all talk and no action, or will perpetually be looking for "someone hotter." Yes, it works sometimes, but, no matter who you are, it's 99% wasted time, and 1% jackpot.

I met him in February, and left a review on rentmen (he requested a review there, rather than here). In case you don't use a VPN to enable the text of the reviews on rentmen, here is what it said: I don't remember his rate, and I think he listed it in his ad at the time, but I think it was reasonable.

That's intriguing. Do you suppose that could be an effort at some kind of retribution to a client that sent him a photo, then discovered that he was a fake, and called him on it?

It's interesting that the two positive reviewers are both "Trusted RentMen Client since 12 Dec, 2018." Another post https://www.companyofmen.org/threads/lizaro_x-in-sf-2-reviews-in-less-than-24-hours-since-joining.147633/ also discusses a guy with these two apparently fraudulent reviewers. Usually when evaluating the veracity of Rentmen reviews, I consider the whether the reviewer joined just before posting the review, but in these cases, the reviewer is several months old. So, unless Rentmen is complicit in these frauds, it appears that the fraudsters are playing a long game and have established some "trusted RentMen clients" to add credibility to their series of fraudulent escort ads.

I understand that psyllium is known to have effects on many medications, but Truvada is well studied, and interactions are well known. Psyllium is not listed by the manufacturer, or by other scientific sources, as an interaction with Truvada. Science matters. https://www.drugs.com/drug-interactions/emtricitabine-tenofovir,truvada.html

I don't think this idea is supported by facts. While there is a certain logic to it, it wasn't a factor during clinical trials and isn't listed as a problem in the Truvada prescribing materials. I would be very interested in links to any scientific basis for this recommendation.

Even that number is optimistic. There is data that says they're 90-95% effective when used consistently, and real-world effectiveness maybe as low as 60-70%. All of the numbers for PrEP are significantly higher than this. Clearly, the best protection comes from using both together, but if you're going to choose just one or the other, the data suggests that PrEP is the safer choice. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9141163 http://www.aidsmap.com/Do-condoms-work/page/1746203/

Generally speaking, if a masseur takes the meeting another direction from the start, they don't have the skills to give a good massage. Sometimes the best course of action is to "just go with it" and enjoy it for what it is.