Inside Kings Court Massage, Australia's largest 'adult massage centre' -...

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News.com.au was granted access inside Kings Court Massage, Australia’s largest adult massage centre.

Matt Youngnews.com.au@MattYoung

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THE smell of chlorine burns through my nostrils.


I’ve entered the largest adult massage centre in Australia through a discreet, back alley entrance, which guarantees men “will leave with a smile on your face and a wobble on your knees”.

I’m later told the chlorine that wafts through the air at Kings Court Massage, just outside Sydney’s CBD in the inner west suburb of Glebe, is a reflection of the overall cleanliness of the sex on premises venue. “Cleaner than a toilet seat,” its manager, Bianca, tells me.

Kings Court has been entertaining gentlemen callers for the past two decades, and has built itself a reputation as one of the best in the biz. A recent Google review of the venue described it as “a great place to unwind”.

It’s one of the biggest venues around; a tour of the art deco building unveils three-floors of erotic fun, including 22 “massage” rooms, where clients are treated to a massage and a happy ending. Ten of those rooms include a spa for an extra wet experience, and another two rooms have been converted into “full service” rooms, where a handful of the Kings Court ladies (around 15) offer vaginal sex. For a hefty price, that is. Because these girls don’t come cheaply. An hour and 15 minutes for a massage in one of these rooms will cost you $255.

“Anything outside of that we would say is to the ladies’ discretion, but the men coming in here definitely don’t think it’s a free-for-all,” another manager, Kate, reveals.

“You get what you pay for. There’s a lot of massage places around that are cheaper, but one thing that brings people in here is the fact it’s such a large business and we treat the girls really well.

“There’s always boundaries, we’re really clear about that with clients, when they come into the club we explain very explicitly what we do. We want the girls to know if a client chooses to try to push those boundaries, we’ll always back them up and let them know they don’t get any extras or special treatment, you get the service we provide.”

As I climb up the concrete stairs, I find myself at a sealed door. To my left, there’s a window, encased in metal bars. It’s here where a manager will deem a gentleman caller worthy to enter the premises, and receive the full rundown; because these people have seen their share of bulldust.

The back alley entrance into Kings Court Massage.Source:Supplied


It’s a fascinating place, this. The women come in all shapes, sizes, ages and backgrounds. Blondes, brunettes, caucasian, Islander. Every type of girl for every taste on the menu. They roam around in underwear or silk gowns. They present themselves with a smile, a glint in the eye, a cheeky grin. But despite popular opinion of sex workers, you wouldn’t spot these women on the street. They’re students or single mums. Some of them work nine to five jobs, but are looking for a little extra on the side, either to pay off debts or fly to that island paradise they’ve always dreamt of. They’re normal, hard-working, young women.

“It’s like a point of pride for us, it’s not just you show up for two weeks, make money and we never think of you again,” Kate says.

“We do want people to enjoy their time here, we want people to achieve whatever goals they’re working or saving for, we want them to feel empowered by the work they do and feel happy and comfortable.

“When they go home at night we want them to think, ‘it was a great day at work’. That’s super important to us.”

While there’s 55 ladies on the roster, at any one time up to 30 girls are working within the venue. I’m told it gets “very busy”. An average day sees around sixty “jobs”.

On the day I show up, it’s free spa day, so “we have a lot of people in the spa rooms”.

At least six men turn up during my time at Kings Court; it’s just after lunchtime, and they look surprisingly normal. Business and IT types; some young, some a little older. The majority are fairly attractive men, from all walks of life. Many of them work odd hours, giving them the ability to show up at any hour of the day.

“People are a little bit shy, it can sometimes be a little intimidating coming here,” Kate tells me.

“I can understand why people are nervous, going in it can be a little bit scary. But the more plainly we speak about it, the more comfortable they are.”

When the men arrive, they’re seated in the “club lounge” and soon after, all the ladies gather around, introduce themselves and chat among the group until an appropriate match is chosen. It all happens within the space of minutes, and soon after the club lounge is quiet again.

“We get a lot of guys in between relationships but want a bit of company,” Bianca explains.

“People want to be touched, they want to be heard, they want to be shown an interest that they don’t otherwise get in other parts of their life.”

I meet Sarah* shortly afterwards. She’s 25, and started out as a sugar baby (you can find a definition of that here), before moving on as an escort, and now, a massage therapist.

She tells me she moved on because the “transactions got too messy” and “the guy felt ownership of me”.

You can tell she’s an old soul, born with a fiery nature. With cropped, brown hair, she sits herself next to me, fully clothed, her big, brown eyes staring deep into mine.

“What makes a good client?” I ask her.

She thinks about it for a minute.

“Respectfulness,” she replies.

Though she’s unapologetic about her choice of profession, she says some clients can be “grossly objectifying and try to push your boundaries.

“I’d say a lot of guys might try but you just say, ‘back off’, and they won’t try again.”

But Sarah is one of the few girls in the business who doesn’t fear reprisal of exposure.

“I can generally tell if it’s not worth telling someone. I’ve actually ended a relationship over this,” she explains.

But that’s not the case for the others.

“This is an industry with a huge amount of stigma,” Kate says.

“A risk I associate a lot with working as a masseuse wasn’t a guy who might try to have a grope, but what happens if my family finds out about this? What are they going to think? What happens if someone I’m dating finds out about this? Or my friends? Or another job I have? What happens if someone from the local university comes in and tries to take photos?

“That was always on my mind as a much bigger risk; it presented the potential for a longer lasting effect than if a client tried to come in for a kiss.”

It comes a week after the University of Sydney’s Wesley College was forced to apologise yet again in a fresh round of disturbing sexual allegations.

Students from the college apologised to women at Kings Court after they allegedly threatened to reveal the identities of staff on the premises.

It was all thanks to an initiation ceremony “scavenger hunt” in February, where first-year students were told to get a massage at the sex premises and come back with photographic proof.

Eight students, wearing Wesley College shirts, entered the reception and “began shouting over each other and demanding staff attention”.

When the students were told photography was prohibited to protect the identity of its sex workers, its staff and customers, a student fired back with a $10 offer for a photo.

Despite being told it was a “degrading request”, one male student allegedly signed a business card, took a photograph, and left the venue.

But despite their fears the women of Kings Court are telling their own story, praising their regular clientele and dispelling the myth that sex workers are treated disrespectfully.

Despite the Wesley College incident, the type of client that walks into Kings Court, I’m told, is the “kind of guy who looks after his mother”.

“I hope it’s not a thing that's unique to Kings Court, but that’s the kind of guy we get though,” Bianca says.

“There's a prevailing idea that in order to have a transaction-related experience, that you’re by definition degrading her.

“I think people frequently imagine that clients don’t respect women. That’s not the case here.”

Are you a sex worker with a story? Share yours — youngma@news.com.au

Sex Trade45:08

WARNING - Graphic Content: These women appear to lead normal lives, but they each have second jobs, catering to the most basic of human desires.

• December 10th 2015
• 5 months ago
• /video/video.news.com.au/TV/Documentary/

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