INTERVIEW by PENELOPE DARIO
This isn’t Rosie Averett’s first cover story: she graced publications all over the world in 2021. Since moving to the United States, Rosie has single handedly built a 7-figure business that
continues to grow each year. Petit Mort was lucky enough to steal a few hours of her time for a chat about brand development, boundaries, and the fight against stigma.
PETIT MORT (PENELOPE DARIO)
You have one of the most successful independent brands in the industry today. It’s clear that you could apply your talents in marketing and business development to any profession. What made you choose to invest in this field of work?
ROSIE AVERETT
Well, first of all, thank you very much! And second, I started in this field at 16 years old on a site for cam models. There was a website called friends.com, it’s not around any more, one of the very first sites which offered camming.
I found it through my friends in the Czech Republic. It was ‘an amazing opportunity to make a lot of money: all you have to do is sit for 12 hours in front of a camera and talk to people!’ At the time I thought, “oh my God, so much money!”
We didn’t realize that the website charged like two dollars per minute. We were so happy. The translator would be paid $10 per hour and the model $15 for a 12 hour shift. We were so happy, you have no idea. We didn’t consider it work because it was fun. All you had to do was hang out. You could drink and laugh. That was my introduction to sex work.
I did that for maybe a year or two on and off. I quickly realized that the money I could make was much more than the money my dad, who has a PhD in math and physics and was working in a university, could make. My mom was a Czech school principal and she taught English. Their salaries combined weren’t even close to the money I could make at age 16. Even though I was terribly underpaid, it was still amazing.
When I turned 18, I wanted to travel and see the world, so I started stripping. I worked in many, many countries: all over Europe, Paris, Switzerland, Japan, Spain, the Caribbean. But when I came to the US I wasn’t able to strip because I didn’t have papers. Reputable clubs here require social security cards.
So I never had the experience of working as a stripper in the US. In the US I’ve only done full service sex work. And before I came to the US I worked in Paris as a full service sex worker as well.
