Sorry, I noticed this earlier today while surfing on my phone and made a note to type something up once I actually got in front of a computer.
Questions first, then an answer for the OP.
Im genuinely curious as to for example, how Tickle Abuse gets so many models who are willing to get tickled.
Money. M-O-N-E-Y. I'm kinda surprised at how often people are baffled that women will (*gasp*) let people tickle them for money, and I can only surmise it has something to do with some kind of shame over their fetish. Like, there's a lot of people here who can't even say "the word" without breaking out into a cold sweat, so it boggles their minds that other people can not only discuss it, nay, but actually
do it - and with complete strangers, no less!
Anyway. Not a dig at you, xion. But you'd be surprised at how many fetish models, porn stars, strippers, sex workers, escorts, and other free-wheeling women are out there who don't mind making some easy money. And that's all a tickling shoot is to them. Even if they're the kind of person for whom it'd be torture - it's still over in an hour. Or, maybe they're one of the gals who would be found here, and actually like it. Heaven forbid, right? Well, they do. The girls I work with do, anyway. I mean, c'mon. Prostitutes get fucked up the ass by total strangers, and usually for less money than a tickling shoot pays - why is the notion that women will work with us so alien?
Not usually, no. I was contacted by an agency once, but they backed out once they realized the scale of my operation and the fact that it was fetish work. They thought I needed foot models for shoes or something.
Most models, especially fetish models, hustle like a motherfucker. Even the pros, who are established, often cruise the want-ads looking for extra dosh. Now, that's not to say that agencies don't exist; I booked a shoot with a fairly well-known porn star through her agent once (it fell through, though). Six of one, half-dozen of the other.
What kind of questions do models ask?
The two most common questions I get asked are;
"How long is the shoot?", and "How much am I getting paid?".
Usually, while chatting during initial prep, the girls often ask me if I myself have a foot fetish, since that's usually the focus of my work. Sometimes, yes, they do ask what the shoot entails but most of the time they just want to know where to show up. (As an aside, I'm kind of surprised at how many of them show up - to my apartment, no less - without any kind of escort. Then again, I mostly work with coeds... but even the pros rarely do.)
Who knows? I'm also kind of curious as to why everyone thinks models are stunned by what they're getting into. None of them have ever freaked out and been like "I DIDN'T SIGN UP FOR THIS!" and run for their lives or anything. Then again, that's usually because regardless of whether or not they ask about the shoot, I tell them about the shoot. I don't want a girl showing up to my place thinking I'm hiding anything or that she's been tricked, especially since I don't work out of a studio. At this point, I kinda feel like it's my job to do the model's thinking for her, because (as I mentioned previously) they rarely do their due diligence, so even if they don't ask, I always make sure to tell them "Hey, you can bring security if you want, and here's what's involved."
What questions are asked to potential models?
I always ask models if they're okay with what I plan to do (which depends on the shoot). Most of them have no idea what foot worship is, for instance, so if I plan on doing a segment involving that I always make sure they're okay with it. Usually, though, I just verify that they're ticklish. None of them have ever lied or otherwise been misleading about that (in other words, I've never worked with a girl who said she was ticklish and wasn't), so it's sufficient on my end.
Is it a quick recruitment process or does It take time to develop rapport and trust?
It's fairly quick. A few E-mails back and forth to verify we're both on the same page, then I schedule a shoot and bam; we're done in a few days to a week, depending on her schedule. "Rapport" doesn't really need to be built, for two reasons. One, if you're hiring a pro she (or her agent, and it was an agent that told me this) has a finely-tuned "creep radar" and can sniff out if you're "off" pretty much instantly, and two, coeds don't care. They want to get paid as quickly as you want to get the shoot done.
Okay, with that out of the way, here's my answer to the original post. But first, I need to clarify something.
...to her ending up tied at your whim?
I hope this was just a poor choice of words on your part, because no model is ever "at my whim". Nothing happens that is not agreed-upon beforehand. Period. Crazy as it sounds, even though shoots are fun, they don't carry the same kind of thrill as a regular play session. I never once thought "oh boy, Kim is coming over and I've totally got her at my mercy". You're shooting a product, and nine times out of ten you care more about how the lighting is casting a glare than the girl in front of you.
Anyway.
I get most of my new girls from Craigslist, although a few have been referrals. In the case of CL, I post an ad and wait. Eventually I'll get a hastily-typed message, usually in text-speak, with a selfie or two (head and feet) via camera phone, informing me "hi im interested". If I'm really lucky, she'll actually form complete sentences and link me to some form of modeling portfolio. I'll message her back and confirm that she's aware that this is a tickling shoot and that she knows how much I'm offering (I list it in the ad). If the shoot is for differing types of scenes (tickling, worship, etc.) I'll ask her what she's open to doing, then confirm that when she says "im up for anything" that she truly means that, and that she'll be okay with tickling, foot worship, and optionally, bondage. (I rarely use bondage in my shoots but I make sure to let the girls know that it's entirely at their discretion.) I also confirm that there'll be no nudity, and also that her anonymity will be respected if that's a concern. Again, they rarely ask about this stuff on their own so I consider it my responsibility to make sure they're informed. Once we're all good, I'll schedule a shoot and remind her that she'll be signing a model release and that she needs to bring proof of age.
Referrals usually work the same way. I call the potential model and ask her how much her friend has told her about what I do, but otherwise proceed the same as above. (For the record, Catherine, Priti, Patience, Lina, and Natasha were referrals. I don't remember if there were others.)
The day of the shoot, she usually texts me to let me know she's arrived. I send off my own photo ahead of time so she knows who she's meeting, and then go out and meet her (I live in a gated complex.) We go inside, I give her the quick run-down of the history of Sole Mates and let her know about how the videos are edited and sold ("Visit the website ahead of time", I say. They never do.)
We chat while I'm setting up my gear (and she's reading/signing her paperwork), then before we begin filming I usually do a quick "dry run", tickling her feet a bit with all of my different tools and using different techniques so that there's no fumbling around or surprises once the camera is rolling. I also ask her for feedback, and we generally work out the most effective way to tickle her and find all of her best spots, then I give her a safeword ("red") and get to shooting.
Shooting is a pretty simple affair, for me; I tend to wing it and come up with shot angles on the fly, but otherwise use as many of the different tickle tools as I found to work well during the "research" phase. I do as much of this as we have for the time alotted, then wrap it up, give her her cash, get either a handshake or hug (depends on the girl), and walk her back to her car. Sometimes I give them one of my business cards, if they express interest in future work, and make sure we have each other's contact info. Then I go export all of the footage to my PC and there it sits, waiting to be integrated into my release schedule.
I try to make it as fun as possible, and the girls usually enjoy themselves. As a result, I get outtakes like this;
View attachment KVP1 Outtake 1.wmv
Now, that's how a small-timer operates. Based on my understanding of the photography industry at large, the big guys generally have more gear, more paperwork, and work with models who cost more money. If I left anything out of the process that's unique to them, they can expand on what I've said here.
EDIT: Would you believe that I just got a response to my ad while I was typing this post? Time to get to work...
