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<\/p>\nWould You Pay $80 an Hour to Be Professionally Cuddled? \u2014 WATCH<\/b><\/p>\n
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A recent video<\/a> featuring queer-identified professional cuddler Christopher Ammon takes a look at the world of cuddling service Cuddlist.<\/p>\n Ammon calls<\/a> the service, established in 2016, \u201cthe most accessible, reliable source of connection\u201d and is enthusiastic about his work:<\/p>\n \u201cA year ago I both came out of the closet and left the Mormon Church while appearing on MTV\u2019s \u2018The Real World,\u201d Ammon told The Huffington Post. \u201cI lost my family, my community\u2026 everything. It was devastating.\u201d<\/p>\n He says that a friend introduced him to Cuddlist and paid for his cuddling training, which includes an in-person or online orientation training course<\/a> and attending at least one Cuddle Party workshop, and subsequently, his life has changed.<\/p>\n \u201cI now consider my clients to be some of my dearest friends,\u201d he said. \u201cLearning about their lives, their heartaches, their dreams\u2026 it helps me to better understand my own.\u201d<\/p>\n According to a press release sent to HuffPost, Cuddlist\u2019s mission is to \u201caddress touch deprivation in a safe, professional environment\u201d by using \u201ctouch and non-sexual intimacy.\u201d Sessions cost $80 an hour and the company has 80 professional cuddlers working in major cities across the United States. A clear set of guidelines provided by Cuddlist to clients makes sure\u00a0\u201cthe cuddle session remains comfortable for both people.\u201d<\/p>\n While the notion\u2014and the\u00a0name itself\u2014of cuddling can seem lighthearted, the service\u2019s benefits are billed as quite serious. Its proprietors view it\u00a0a bulwark against depression\u00a0and social isolation. Ammon frames it\u00a0as a tool against the struggles that members of his community can often face:<\/p>\n \u201cI want to be a part of the fight against LGBTQIA suicide,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat this does is that it actively fights against loneliness.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The post Would You Pay $80 an Hour to Be Professionally Cuddled? \u2014 WATCH<\/a> appeared first on Towleroad<\/a>.<\/p>\n