“When the panic button was pressed, I had to step in.”
You might expect to hear this from a security guard in a bank or prison. But this is a day in the life of a Melbourne brothel madam.
Historically, the world’s oldest profession has been run by women.
Australia has a rich history of madams tracing back to the era of powerful female monarchs like Matilda “Tilly” Devine.
That’s because women are often better placed to navigate the sensitive balance between the needs of their workers and clients. But few are cut out for it.
From humiliation kinks to biker gangs and high-powered clients, Krystal Galtry has seen it all.
Now, the glamorous OnlyFans creator is lifting a lid on her glory days working in the legal sex trade. Spoiler alert: there was never a dull night.
Because wherever you stand morally on the issue of prostitution, who isn’t curious to see what really goes on inside a brothel?
“In the deep end”
For Galtry, it all kicked off during the pandemic. Like many others, she found herself out of work when the world stopped spinning.
One night, she met an events promoter with a misty offer for cash-in-hand work.
“He gave nothing away,” she told news.com.au. “Just, ‘wear black and look presentable’.”
Only on arriving did Galtry’s new job sink in: she’d been hired as a brothel door girl (she was later promoted to madam). There wasn’t a wealth of onboarding.
“With only a brief rundown of what to do, I was thrown in the deep end.”
Night in the life
Galtry’s shift would start by greeting clients and ushering them into the intro booth.
Before workers come in, they can identify clients via a security camera. This ensures it’s not someone they know or wouldn’t feel comfortable having sex with.
Next, Galtry prompted the workers when it was time to file in one by one and introduce themselves. Before a decision was made by the client, Galtry would sometimes negotiate what services were on and off the table – and for how long.
“At first, I wondered: why are they talking to me about this? Then I learned they’re more comfortable arranging it through me.”
Galtry would then collect payment from the client and assign them a room. In brothels, workers pocket a percentage of their earnings, with the remainder going to the business.
Next, she notified the worker and supplied the tools of the trade.
Galtry was then responsible for keeping track of who was in what room and for how long. Or if they needed a hand getting out.
Panic button
That’s when workers could use the infamous panic button to alert her when they need help. This was her time to literally step in (the doors were never locked).
“The button is for when clients broke the house rules,” she says. “They might try things like removing condoms without consent, which is sexual assault. Or they might try services that weren’t negotiated or paid for in advance.”
At that point, Galtry would step in to “end the session”.
But what if they didn’t get the message?
“I’d call the other girls in. No security guard is as intimidating as a bunch of fired-up sex workers.”
Despite evoking a Wild West impression, Galtry said she never felt unsafe on the job. And she made the safety of her workers a top priority.
“Brothels are full of strong, supportive women who look out for each other,” she said. If anything, it was the uncouth clients who ended up feeling spooked by her.
“And I’ve always been a bit intimidating. If someone acted up, I had no issue giving it right back.”
“That’s what makes me a good fit for the role.”
“Collars and leashes”
Galtry said there are many presumptions about the sort of people who frequent brothels, and most of them are wrong.
She saw many high-powered figures coming and going. And whatever their sexual fetish or fantasy, she catered for it.
“Many were married, wealthy and into submission,” Galtry says. “When you spend that much of your life in a position of control, what entices you most is letting go it.”
Galtry says these clients often wanted to fulfil humiliation fantasies – including blackmail roleplay.
The more strange, sadistic, and ridiculous things got, the more fascinated she became.
“It’s all about power. The client wants to be dominated and made to feel completely out of control.
Clients would provide embarrassing photos or a wife’s phone number. The dominatrix would use this threat of exposure to get them off. “This provides a real sense of risk and submission,” she explained.
These businessmen would get changed into dresses, collars and leashes, sometimes asking her to lead them around on it like a dog. One client even asked to have a worker rub Deep Heat on his genitals.
But ultimately, Kystal believes what they were searching for is human connection.
“Sex workers offer something incredibly valuable: non-judgmental intimacy,” she said. “Not everyone is able to find love or connection in traditional ways.”
Galtry says for some clients, brothels are the only hope of human connection.
“It can bring the emotional and physical closeness they were missing — without strings like the social pressure of dating.”
She says other clients enjoy the transparency.
“The exchange is clear: both people understand it”.
Criminal underworld
Despite the sexual nature of the experience, the legal sex industry in Australia is heavily regulated. All brothels must be licensed, registered, and granted council planning approval.
They face fines and closure if they don’t carefully follow a strict set of rules.
To enforce these rules, officers from the health department and the council often make unannounced visits.
Ironically, brothels also intersect with the criminal underworld. The shadow of outlaw bikie clubs has long hung heavy over the industry.
Galtry said this legacy lives on today.
“There’s still some level of criminal crossover. While nothing overtly illegal happened in front of us, you’d see men come in and out who were clearly affiliated with bikie gangs,” she said.
“With time, it was another side to the job that became normal to workers.
“It wasn’t something we engaged with or questioned. The connection to the criminal world just hovered in the background.”
Dirty laundry
Of course, it wasn’t all peaches and cream.
Like any job, being a madam has its tough slogs – like doing the laundry at the end of the night.
“I’ll be honest: that was the worst part!”
Galtry also said it was challenging being exposed to vulnerable workers.
“One of the hardest parts is dealing with workers who come into the industry for the wrong reasons. They’re often struggling mentally or emotionally,” she revealed.
“They usually don’t last long, but while they’re there, it can be tough watching them try to cope.”
Despite these challenges, she says it was an overwhelmingly positive culture. She added that perceptions of the industry as seedy and misogynistic are misunderstood.
Despite the stigma, it’s a profession that most women pursue by choice. And she no longer feels ashamed of or embarrassed about her time as a madam.
“At first, I was nervous about people’s reactions, so I kept it private. But now I say it proudly,” she said.
“People assume we’re only in it for the money. We’re all drug-addicted. We only do it because we have no other options.
“The truth? Many of us do it because we love our bodies and their power to create a safe, accepting space where people can feel seen, cared for, and understood.
“Most women in this industry genuinely love their work. The sex industry can be incredibly empowering,” Galtry added.
“Personally, it brought back my confidence.”
While Galtry has swerved into a successful career as an OnlyFans creator, she says she wouldn’t have gotten where she is without being a madam.
“It opened my eyes to the world of kink and eventually led me to incorporate similar services into my online service,” she said.
“This industry has done so much for me, it deserves credit.”.
Ultimately, Galtry is adamant of one thing: despite the ugly stereotypes, brothels are a place of beauty.
Nelson Groom is a freelance writer. His novel The Auction is coming soon. Learn more on his Instagram
Got a story? Get in touch: nelsonsamuelgroom@gmail.com
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