413047-Underground-Commercial-Sex-Economy

pimp reported, “Usually you stay in your circuit. Northerners stay up north. Once in a while a northerner
comes south, but they aren’t welcomed. If you’re from the same place, it’s a friendly competition. You’re
both trying to make it” (G8). Respondents also made observations about their competitors from different
cities. One pimp stated, “Some of these guys come from other places. Couple of guys from Memphis, some
from LA, some from Detroit. They were kind of ruthless. They were some special cats. They were kind of
violent” (D10). Another respondent believed that pimps out of Washington, DC were the most violent:
“DC—them dudes there, this one dude came down and he was like in the middle of the street directing
traffic, saying, ‘Bitch, you looking at me’ [I was thinking,] ‘Man, what’s wrong with that cat Someone get
him, call the police’ … They call it gorilla pimps; [it’s a] different social circle” (D13). Another respondent
reported, “Vegas fools are intense. Memphis fools must have ran really tight game. I met some cats from
Denver, but I’ve never had no problems with them. I met one cat from Alaska. There’s big pimping out
there, he ran a really tight game” (A3). While respondents expressed little agreement on the regional
characteristics of different pimps, their observations indicated the extent to which they travelled and
networked in cities beyond their hometowns.
Whether supportive or antagonistic, relationships with local pimps informed respondents’ desire to travel
and success on the road.
Sending Employees “Automatic”
I would get rental cars and they would go out of town … I never went with them
nowhere … they would go by themselves. (E10)
Multiple respondents reported sending employees on work-related trips without accompanying them.
Pimps shared different rationales for this practice. One respondent explained the convenience of sending
employees alone, particularly at a time when he wanted to be home with his family:
You just pick a spot you want to live in. Times I don’t even come outside. Just book flights
for girls to different cities. Get on flights, check in to a hotel near the airport, they come
back a month later with money. They check in. Yeah, it’s called automatic. I just had my
newborn so I wanted to spend a lot of time with him and be at home with my son.
Sometimes I would fly in to see my mom, fly into this city for a couple days, go out with
the girls, get their money, fly to another city, do the same thing, and then fly home. (E2)
Another pimp sent employees on travel alone in an attempt to avoid crossing state lines with them, citing
concerns over prosecution. As he explained:
I didn’t take them to work in other cities because it was crossing state lines. To keep from
interstate crossing state lines for practices of prostitution, we’d go from Georgia to
Florida and stop the car at the state line and let them walk across the state line so we
didn’t transport them. The girls would travel for the Super Bowl in Miami. Two or three of
my best girls go there and work in the club, [but they go by themselves]. (G7)
Money transfer was particularly important to pimps with employees out on business travel. One bottom
explained that her pimp would send her funds by either mailing a money order or by wire. Another
respondent noted, “We started doing cash with overnight mail at the post office. We put insurance on it.
Big bills only—20s, 50s, and 100s” (D18).
Whether for convenience or risk prevention, pimps did not always accompany their employees on work
travel. As pimps were not physically present, they maintained control and management over employees
when they were on travel, often through the methods of coercion discussed above.
Lucrative Relationships with Legal Businesses
While respondents maintained underground businesses, some pimps enjoyed lucrative relationships with
legal businesses. Hotel employees and managers often turned a blind eye to prostitution occurring within
their establishment. In some cases, hotel employees would actively support a pimp in order to earn
additional income. One pimp explained, “Some Holiday Inns, stuff like that. They were involved in the
activity. Some hotels, they don’t know what’s going on, but they have employees that like to make a little
money on the side” (E13). A female pimp reported that she maintained a lucrative personal relationship
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