INTERVIEW by MOLLY SIMMONS
Many sex workers are healers whether they know it or not — clients seek our companionship for the energetic exchange we provide. Their conscious mind wants sex, but their subconscious often seeks something deeper. With psychedelic medicine we can take things a bit further. This season Petit Mort unpacks with Danny Gold who facilitates integrated experiences where their clients can explore the power of presence in all of its physicality.
PETIT MORT (MOLLY SIMMONS)
So what started you on your psychedelic journey? And how did you end up bringing that into sex work?
DANNY GOLD
I’ve been a sex worker for a long time now – going on 14 years. Up until a couple of years ago I had been a high functioning alcoholic—basically my whole adult life. I started getting curious and I started going a more holistic route with my therapy and healing—a more spiritual approach. And I ended up coming across a therapist that was an open proponent of psychedelic use in conjunction with therapy, so I began microdosing with mushrooms. From there, I completely just lost interest in alcohol naturally, without even really having to try and then just started making these better decisions for myself in general. With my therapy and my spiritual practice I was able to just start seeing my own patterns better. Since then I’ve done Ayahuasca and Bufo, and I’ve done a lot of psilocybin in more formal and ceremonial settings. It’s become a huge part of my life and my healing. In 10 years of therapy I hadn’t made nearly as much progress as I have in the last couple years of using psychedelic medicines.
Also, I have come to recognize that sex work is a very energetic business. We’re always trying to notice the waves—when business is slow, when it’s busy, or when clients are being funky for one reason or another. We’re always trying to explain the cosmic weirdness that is sex work.