Would you pay a total stranger to cuddle you? A Vancouver-based business is generating a lot of buzz for selling the healing power of touch.
Marylen Reid is the founder of The Cuddlery, Vancouver’s first professional cuddling service, and insists while it does sound intimate, there is nothing sexual about it.
"There is no nudity. Some people can get aroused, and if that happens, we just change to a cuddling position that is less intimate," said Reid.
Before the session begins, an agreement is signed that there will be no sexual activity, no touching of areas covered by undergarments and no nudity.
The client’s ID is photographed and sent to a third party for safety purposes and sessions are recorded and held for two weeks to protect both parties from allegations of misconduct.
"I get to bring physical intimacy to people that are devoid of it,” said professional cuddler Joel Semczyszyn, “I get to make people feel comfortable and happy and be able to put food on the table at the same time.”
The cuddlees get the benefit of human touch, affection, access to a non-judgmental listener and a confidential shoulder to cry on if necessary.
Reid says her clients start off as strangers, and leave as friends who have shared something special.
"People that think that what we're doing is wrong, I just want to hug them and say, ‘come and see how it feels’ and probably you'll change your mind."
The Cuddlery offers sessions for as little as $19 for 15 minutes with a professional cuddler or $325 for the “spend the night package”. The cuddler will sleep next to you with 15 minutes of cuddling before sleeping and another 15 minutes in the morning when you wake up.
Other Canadian cities with Cuddlery franchises are: Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary.
