Rentboy ads - face

[Tonyko]

I've always been curious; I tots understand an escort not wishing to show his face for reasons of privacy, even in his priv gallery, and some offering face pics only upon request or for trade which I also understand. But what I never understood, esp when you are in cities like mine (NYC/LA) where there are often up to TWENTY FIVE PAGES of ads, is why an escort who DOES include his face in his ad, chooses NOT to use one of THOSE as his main profile pic. (the pic we see when scouring thru all the ads) To be honest when I see just a close-up of a private part or piece of a body, esp with SO many pages to browse thru, I tend to keep scrolling until I hit a face :-) And if I decide to go another round and check out the ones I skipped, I'm often surprised to see a handsome face to go with the body when I do open their page :-) And I think WHY isn't THAT their main pic lol???

[Philly50]

Good question. I've often wondered the same thing. I also tend to skip the penis pics.

[+ poolboy48220]

A face picture is a near-must for me, but not for everybody. They may figure they're choosing the picture that shows their best asset.

[masonguy]

I agree...face pics are pretty important

[bigvalboy]

A face picture is a near-must for me, but not for everybody. They may figure they're choosing the picture that shows their best asset.

 

Absolutely.... face pics initially, and then it is important to 'skype'....fake face pics are rampant in ads.

[wearytraveller]

I agree...face pics are pretty important

 

+1 I have hired without a face pic but only if they are well reviewed and the reviewer specifically mentions the escort's face. I figure if the escort was good looking enough to make an impression such that it warranted a mention in the review then he must be handsome.

[desertguy1954]

I base my hiring on reviews. That is what is so great about this forum. I feel that if the reviews are that consistently good then I would enjoy that persons company. Just think of the men (I have not had the pleasure of the company of these guys) you would miss out on if you only went by face pic. There is Dane Scott, Juan, The legendary Dave, Chris Eisenhower and the list goes on. So I would say not to limit it to just the guys with a face.

[Rudynate]

I've always been curious; I tots understand an escort not wishing to show his face for reasons of privacy, even in his priv gallery, and some offering face pics only upon request or for trade which I also understand. But what I never understood, esp when you are in cities like mine (NYC/LA) where there are often up to TWENTY FIVE PAGES of ads, is why an escort who DOES include his face in his ad, chooses NOT to use one of THOSE as his main profile pic. (the pic we see when scouring thru all the ads) To be honest when I see just a close-up of a private part or piece of a body, esp with SO many pages to browse thru, I tend to keep scrolling until I hit a face :-) And if I decide to go another round and check out the ones I skipped, I'm often surprised to see a handsome face to go with the body when I do open their page :-) And I think WHY isn't THAT their main pic lol???

 

Muscles and body hair are higher priorities for me than facial appeal. So I have hired without a face pic, though only a couple of times. Both times, I was pleasantly surprised that the guy also had nice features, although not a stunner. But since muscles and a hairy torso usually win out over a handsome face with me, not being facially stunning is fine.

[Juan Vancouver]

Hi Tonyko,

 

In few words, it's just marketing.

 

Some do it because they want to bring attention to what they believe to be their best asset (Whether you agree with this assessment or not). Some do it because they believe the asset they are highlighting is the most marketable, as in more people will be interested in it. Some highlight different body parts to convey a specific kind of services and personal styles.

 

You are a face man, some are but men, some are dick men, some are hairy torso men, the list goes on forever.

 

There is something for everybody!

[MiamiLooker]

I base my hiring on reviews. That is what is so great about this forum. I feel that if the reviews are that consistently good then I would enjoy that persons company.

 

It's been mentioned here in numerous threads throughout the years by client posters that they don't normally submit bad or mediocre reviews, so you're only going to see good reviews.

[+ Lance_Navarro]

How My Ads Have Changed Over Time

 

I encourage all of my clients, when they are looking through ads of other guys to hire, to go with someone that shows a face pic. I do understand privacy, but I also believe that the best and most successful escorts are the ones who have pride in what they do, and aren't concerned for how others might judge them. This is a business built on passion, and you must have passion to be great at it. Over the course of 6 years my ads have changed drastically. When I started out, almost all of my pics were naked and most of them were "glamour shots" from porn scenes. I did that because that is what everyone else was doing. In time, I learned that my heart, knowledge and soul are just as important to my clients, as my body, so I begin focusing more on pictures that projected the greater sense of who I am. Now, if you look at my ad, I think I only have 2 or 3 naked pictures, and they are more artistic than pornographic. I largely took a cue from the professional female sex-workers/ pro-doms out there, who almost never show themselves nude in ads or websites.

[Philly50]

Years ago when Hooboy was still the proprietor of an earlier incarnation of the review site, I posted a negative review of what had been a mediocre experience. In that case most of my discontent was directed at the agency (an agency that has long since disappeared) rather than the escort himself, but it was a negative review because I indicated I would not hire the escort again. Actually, had the agency posted a more honest description, I wouldn't have hired him at all.

 

There was a bit of a brouhaha after the review was published, and I felt bad for the escort.

 

Flash forward 15 years and I find myself posting reviews again. A couple months ago I had a mediocre experience with an escort, and I decided not to post a review because it would have been a negative one, indicating that I would not hire this individual again. I would post a negative review if I had a truly bad experience; just can't bring myself to do it for a blah one.

[Juan Vancouver]

I do understand privacy, but I also believe that the best and most successful escorts are the ones who have pride in what they do, and aren't concerned for how others might judge them. This is a business built on passion, and you must have passion to be great at it.

 

Hi Lance,

 

Glad to see you are joining the ranks of escorts posting here. We need more! =)

 

I wholeheartedly agree that this is a business built on passion, and also that this is a laudable work when done well, a work about which one should feel proud. I also agree that the great ones don't give a rat's ass about other people's opinion. Where I disagree with your argument is your assuming that the choice of not showing a face picture comes from shame or lack of passion, nor -as some clients think here- because the escorts who don't post pictures are ugly. Some of the escorts that I know who don't post their face have some of the most beautiful faces out there.

 

Perhaps 70 percent of my business comes from spending time with men in high positions of power or subject to public scrutiny. While a few men like these are perfectly comfortable hiring the celebrity escort or the porn star escort, most of these clients deal only with men who fly under the radar and would never be identified in public as an escort. When I go to dinner with them, when I go to the theatre or travel with them, it's just two guys doing something together. My privacy and the privacy of my clients is of paramount importance. I am perfectly happy not meeting the clients who are looking for the celebrity escort and I am very happy spending time with the men who are looking for the service I provide.

 

It's possible that my lack of face picture might convey a lack of success to some, (I will never be escort of the day here, I will never be in the headlines, I will never be "best" anything at the Hookies because they contacted me when they started saying that people had voted for me and in order to win I had to agree to show up at their event, and have my face posted wherever they wanted to use it.) but the way I measure success is that warm feeling of satisfaction after a session or a trip, knowing that I provided a high quality, specialized service that is allowing me to thrive and that is making some people's lives a little better.

 

I think sometimes we forget that there are very many different faces of escorting, and even if they fall under the same category, our lives, choices and goals could not possibly be more different. That is why I love it here when we are all granted an inside view into the other ways in which people see this work.

 

So glad you are here! Hope you will stick around.

 

I wish you much continued success, and most of all, may escorting be a continued source of fulfillment and pride for you.

 

Big hug, sexy!

[J-Man]

Juan -- Your Rentboy link doesn't work.

[Juan Vancouver]

Juan -- Your Rentboy link doesn't work.

 

Thank you man, I am just solving that. =)

 

Big hug!

[+ WhamIAm]

As a client relatively new to hiring, I cosign everything in Juan's post above.

 

Oddly, this thread made me realize that almost half of my dozen or so hires have not had face pics. My first hire was overseas where there were limited ads (at least that I could find). Lots of hot bodies, lots of hot faces, but the only guy who really appealed to me based on the text in his ad had no face pic. After much hand-wringing, I made the date. He was gorgeous from top to bottom, inside and out. My other "blind hires" (which also came only after a good amount of hand-wringing) have also not disappointed in the looks department. Obviously, looks are very important. But, a guy who also writes from the heart (or appears to) is very very sexy. (Actually, my two most disappointing experiences have been with guys who are the high-profile, porn dude, Hookies regulars Juan references.)

 

In talking to these guys, many of them had the same reasons for avoiding face pics as clients do -- other careers, family concerns, just a general want of privacy. Mostly, though, they were far more interested in being with clients than living the life.

 

In short, I don't wring my hands anymore when considering guys without face pics. I go by what they say, what info I can find in reviews and, mostly, my gut.

[Tonyko]

GLAD to hear so many responses to my thread, thanks esp to the scorts for their opinions. It seems most agree w me that a face in the profile pic = more interest. And I agree, it IS important. I'm sure we've all been w buds and checked out a guy and said "wow" he's cute, only to have our bud say Really?? Not to me. LOL. It's such a personal and specific thing that's different for ea of us therefore important when choosing someone to hire. At least to me :-)

[+ Lance_Navarro]

I really appreciate you taking the time to respond to what I said. I had never really thought about the fact that some clients may not want to hire a guy who's face is out there and perhaps others might recognize him as an escort. Presumably that would of course be if he was around other gay men, who either recognized the guy from porn, or because they look at escort ads as well, but still, I can appreciate their need for discretion. I also agree with what WhamIam said, you really can tell alot more from a well written and structured ad, than you can from a picture, whether it shows a face or not. I am loving the open and honest conversations on here, keep it up everyone!

[rvwnsd]

...A couple months ago I had a mediocre experience with an escort, and I decided not to post a review because it would have been a negative one, indicating that I would not hire this individual again. I would post a negative review if I had a truly bad experience; just can't bring myself to do it for a blah one.

 

I don't see why a review of a mediocre experience has to be negative.

[Dave]

try raising kids and being an escort.

you won't show your face.

[+ quoththeraven]

I don't see why a review of a mediocre experience has to be negative.

 

But it's not positive either. Some people think it's not fair to post such a review because it's down to lack of chemistry, which neither party has control over. Others don't do it because it's not much fun to write -- in fact, probably more difficult to write than any other kind of review. Why go to a lot of effort to write a review that's going to hurt the escort, not help him, when you don't feel the need to warn other clients away from him and think it may just be a matter of personal style or an off-night?

[rvwnsd]

try raising kids and being an escort.

you won't show your face.

 

There is a plethora of reasons for an escort to display cropped pictures, including the one you just mentioned. So far, I've never been disappointed by a guy's looks when I did not see a face pic in his ad.

 

But it's not positive either. Some people think it's not fair to post such a review because it's down to lack of chemistry, which neither party has control over. Others don't do it because it's not much fun to write -- in fact, probably more difficult to write than any other kind of review. Why go to a lot of effort to write a review that's going to hurt the escort, not help him, when you don't feel the need to warn other clients away from him and think it may just be a matter of personal style or an off-night?

 

I guess I look at reviews differently than others. I think a "satisfactory" rating is perfectly fine. Most think it is a negative. A "mediocre" rating, to me, speaks to a lack of chemistry, unrealistic expectations, or someone having an off day. However, if the reviewer describes why he had a mediocre time, I might learn that my interests compliment the escort's and we might have a great time.

 

Here's an example: Many posters have spoken disapprovingly of escorts who like to get serviced and show off. They would probably rate that as a mediocre session. For them, it would be mediocre. For me, that would be a GREAT session. I want to know about that. It is similar to restaurant reviews. I like pork chops. If a vegan writes a mediocre review about a restaurant because all the entrees contained pork chops and they could only eat the sides, then I know to eat there when I want pork chops.

[Philly50]

I guess I look at reviews differently than others. I think a "satisfactory" rating is perfectly fine. Most think it is a negative.

Quite probably each of us looks at reviews differently. Unless the body of the review indicates otherwise, just saying that one would not hire the escort again makes it a negative review, IMHO.

 

If I felt that my experience was blah, but others might react more positively, I might very well try to write up that kind of review.

 

In the case of the escort that I chose not to review, I didn't think I could put a positive spin on the experience. Plus, I don't think the escort was planning or even capable of making a career out of escorting. He was just doing it, I think, to make some cash. His ad has long since disappeared.

[William]

Hi Lance,

 

Glad to see you are joining the ranks of escorts posting here. We need more! =)

 

I wholeheartedly agree that this is a business built on passion, and also that this is a laudable work when done well, a work about which one should feel proud. I also agree that the great ones don't give a rat's ass about other people's opinion. Where I disagree with your argument is your assuming that the choice of not showing a face picture comes from shame or lack of passion, nor -as some clients think here- because the escorts who don't post pictures are ugly. Some of the escorts that I know who don't post their face have some of the most beautiful faces out there.

 

Perhaps 70 percent of my business comes from spending time with men in high positions of power or subject to public scrutiny. While a few men like these are perfectly comfortable hiring the celebrity escort or the porn star escort, most of these clients deal only with men who fly under the radar and would never be identified in public as an escort. When I go to dinner with them, when I go to the theatre or travel with them, it's just two guys doing something together. My privacy and the privacy of my clients is of paramount importance. I am perfectly happy not meeting the clients who are looking for the celebrity escort and I am very happy spending time with the men who are looking for the service I provide.

 

It's possible that my lack of face picture might convey a lack of success to some, (I will never be escort of the day here, I will never be in the headlines, I will never be "best" anything at the Hookies because they contacted me when they started saying that people had voted for me and in order to win I had to agree to show up at their event, and have my face posted wherever they wanted to use it.) but the way I measure success is that warm feeling of satisfaction after a session or a trip, knowing that I provided a high quality, specialized service that is allowing me to thrive and that is making some people's lives a little better.

 

I think sometimes we forget that there are very many different faces of escorting, and even if they fall under the same category, our lives, choices and goals could not possibly be more different. That is why I love it here when we are all granted an inside view into the other ways in which people see this work.

 

So glad you are here! Hope you will stick around.

 

I wish you much continued success, and most of all, may escorting be a continued source of fulfillment and pride for you.

 

Big hug, sexy!

 

+1

 

Everything Juan writes is intelligent, heartfelt, and (for me) useful. Another excellent feature of Juan's posts is that he can politely disagree with another poster (such as the very sexy Lance) without putting down the other guy's intelligence or integrity.

 

For the record, most of my hires follow the Lance model, i.e., face pix, but a big minority follow the Juan model. For guys who have been well-reviewed on this website, the Juan model has always worked well for me--but when there is no track record I am more likely to pass when there is no face picture. Often, however, I follow a third approach--and ask the escort to send me a face picture, maybe even one partially obscured.

 

So there is a middle ground: Some escorts do not post face pictures in their ads but are willing to send face pictures in an email if sufficient and genuine interest is shown by a client. I realize that escorts who have commanding interests in privacy (e.g., Dave's point about escorts with children) might not want to follow this third approach, and I'd be fine with that. But escorts who want privacy for professional reasons (e.g., they are models) sometimes follow this approach.

 

The question about the middle ground: Does "private" sharing of face pictures ever boomerang? How often do those "private" pix become "public"? And how often does the escort "face" bad consequences? (I do not know the answers to these questions, frankly.)

[scottspearsxxx]

I have no problem showing my face and anything else that the client may want to see! Some guys that escort are not out or open about their sexuality, I have no problem with that.