Certified for Cuddling

When you tell somebody outside of the companion industry that escorting is not just another form of prostitution, that it offers far more physical and mental comfort than just plain sexual gratification, most of them will scoff at you for being ‘naive’. The truth, however, is that most return clients seek out escorts for the kind of relief that they cannot get at home. Even when a customer books a companion in order to turn some of his wildest fantasies into reality, the encounter is gratifying both on a physical level and a mental one – he finally can be with somebody who will not judge him for his desires, and who will also enjoy the meeting as much as he does.

Most escorts, however, recall at least one moment when all a customer wanted to do was talk or when the conversation seemed like the most pleasing part for him. This is because humans require physical touch in a platonic way as much as they do in a sexual way – sometimes even more. Hugging, spooning, cuddling - we have so many words for the gentle embrace that it’s incredible we still correlate intimate touching with romance. The two aren’t necessarily mutually inclusive as one woman found out.

On her website, Cuddle Up To Me, Samantha Hess invites you to contact her if you’re looking for some “one-on-one cuddle time without the complications that life normally brings us”. That’s right, the 30-year-old fitness instructor is what some would call a Professional Cuddler. In 2012, fresh out of a 13-year long relationship, Sam found herself in need of a service that didn’t exist. She did not want to fall back into a new romance, but still felt like she needed a human connection, so in May 2013, she founded Cuddle Up To Me and began offering cuddle services for $60 an hour.

Around 90% of her clients are men aged 20 to 75, who have suffered from traumatic disabilities or disorders, rendering them shy from human contact. Her service, which she calls a “massage for the mind” is meant to “rejuvenate you and make you feel that openneness and happiness in your brain by resetting your system from top to bottom.”

Sam is genuine in her encounters and tries to personalize each experience with a myriad of embraces, different outfits, make-up and even specific hairstyles, each designed to suit her various clients. What she does, like many escorts, is offer a form of therapy through human touch. Add her services to those of a regular companion, and you gain the finest experience that can take place between two people.