The indifference I’m feeling about this article has me asking some difficult questions—about the hobby, about perception, and about how progress is often undone before it ever truly begins. I want to hope this could be a breakthrough moment, something that opens a wider conversation for like-minded individuals like us. But instead, it feels more like another setback disguised as a headline.
What I’m referring to is the recent news surrounding the CEO of a startup water company who was named in a prostitution sting involving high-end brothels and, most disturbingly, sex trafficking, according to court documents. Despite the severity of the allegations, the company issued a statement defending their CEO—voicing faith in the legal system and staying focused on their mission of clean water. The CEO has not stepped down and continues to publicly champion the brand, likely to avoid complicating the legal optics of the situation.
And here's where my conflict lies.
On one hand, I want to acknowledge that the company standing by their CEO could signal a shift—maybe a quiet acceptance that involvement in consensual sex work shouldn’t be a career death sentence. In that light, it could be seen as a step forward for a hobby that’s often viewed as inherently destructive and morally bankrupt.
But then there’s the other, much darker part of this: the trafficking angle. It’s impossible to ignore. According to reports, some of the women involved were trafficked—exploited, coerced, stripped of choice. And that is where the line is drawn. There’s no grey area there.
This, unfortunately, is what keeps dragging the hobby through the mud. No matter how much progress is made—no matter how many of us advocate for consensual, adult, ethical sex work—stories like this reset the public perception back to square one. They reinforce every stereotype, every negative assumption, and they paint all of us with the same brush.
What makes it even worse is that these men clearly had the means. They could have booked verified, independent providers. They could have supported consensual workers operating safely and freely. Instead, they chose something not only morally wrong but criminal. We know there’s a difference. We know the hobby can be about choice, empowerment, and agency. But headlines like this bury those nuances beneath the weight of public scandal.
I’m still processing my own feelings here. Indifference, disappointment, anger—they’re all swirling together. But above all, I’m reminded of how fragile the progress is. How easily it can be undone by the actions of a few who chose wrong.
For those who want to read more, the article is available
here.
