The Ascent of Natalia McLennan

Regardless of who oversees the activities of whore - pimp or madam - the outcome is predictably bleak. Engaging the profession of prostitution is but a senseless degradation of the human spirit as the autobiography Natalia McLennan piercingly proclaims. As a courtesan, Natalia McLennan lived the melodic life. Though it is difficult to compute the wealth amassed over her fleeting career, what seems clear is that she was making unwarranted amounts of money, having fun and traveling to exotic locations. The specific amount of cash and the chronology of events are of no real consequence to the narrative. The trajectory of her lifestyle embodies the path of least resistance. What seems relevant is that she made unquantifiable amounts of money for admittedly doing nothing. According to her memoirs, Natalia started off her sexual flight at an entry level wage of $540 an hour, for 10-hour appointments. On some of her more preposterously lucrative excursions she reportedly made $26,000 per week.^[1] One can only surmise that those were slow weeks since at the height of her career she booked as many as three appointments per night at $2,000 per hour with a two-hour minimum charge. The New York Magazine branded her The $2,000 an-Hour Woman.^[2],[3][4] At other times, she reported to being booked solidly for three months at $1,200 per hour with her standard two hour minimum. Undoubtedly, and by her own admission, she lived in fantasy world enjoying $15,000 dates.^[5] Unlike pedestrian hookers, Natalia reveled in a surfeit of money and love.^[6] As she claimed, she was hurtling to success on a collision course with destiny.^[7] She was living the dream life, or so she thought but to live such life one needs to be awake. In this fabled existence, she splayed her wings – and legs - in far flung destinations in enviable style. In one two-month period she crisscrossed the country at the expense of her clients.^[8],[9] As there was no scarcity of opulent clients, the money simply poured in. However, just as fast as she was being drenched in torrents of cash, most was rapidly gushing away. Recklessly, she binged on heroin, Adderall, Ketamine, Ambiens, ecstasy and methamphetamines.^{[10],[11],[12]} A typical day saw her snorting several lines of cocaine which she combined with any number the other mind-altering drugs. With a cadre of friends of similar bent, her life degenerated into an immoderate orgy of sex, drugs and alcohol. To soothe her expensive taste, she splurged on pricey jewelry by Bellagio, designer accessories by Gucci and high-end shoes by Spanish designer Manolo. Her exquisite collection of designer dresses and La Perla lingerie embellished her wardrobe and inflated her ego.^[13],[14] Her dietary habits suitably complemented her fashion sense as $1,000-lunches became routine. Manicures, pedicures, tanning sessions, and miscellaneous items added another $2,500 per week to living expenses. Not that it mattered. The money just flowed in effortlessly.^[15]



The Crash Landing

An easy life on the fast track is a date with disaster and the contours of Natalia McLennan’s life was predestined to validate this aphorism. After six months of uninterrupted whoring, sleepless nights, binging on hard drugs and alcohol, she had reached the apotheosis of her voluptuous calling. Her flight of sexual escapades begun its descent with deadly velocity.^16] A drug overdose precipitated epileptic seizures leading to hospitalization. At that point she was not only broke but friendless and no one to help or lend moral support. So extreme was her drug-snorting habit, it destroyed her nasal septum leaving her with chronic rhinitis. More devastating was that through a combination of neglect and abuse, her youthful vigor had irretrievably decomposed; she broke out in unsightly skin eruptions.^[17],[18] And her troubles got worse. Indicted for money laundering, she ended up in jail at Rikers Island – one of the worse in the US. With no money, no friends, no lawyers and bail set at $250,000, she was unable to make bail.^[19] Her only redeeming factor, she was the best dressed vamp in the entire institution. In her cold cell, her feet were still adorned with Gucci heels.^[20],[21] Unable to afford rent, she lost her apartment and daily survival became an issue. Predictably, in pursuit a self-indulgent life she descended into the cesspool of whoredom. In such desperate circumstances, she was unable to afford a plane ticket back to Canada.^[22],[23] Hence, in a state of involuntary solitude, the only person she could turn to was her mother whom she had caused much distress.^[24],[25] Following her release, she returned to her native city of Montreal where ended up working in a spa. Her soaring illusions of glamor had imploded in mid-air returning her to the reality of ground zero. But in her memoirs, she did offer this gem of wisdom for those contemplating the allure of this glamorous profession: In its purest, darkest form, it’s horrible, she said.^[26] Hers is not a lone voice, there are others.

Her enabler was Jason Itzler, the self-proclaimed King of All Pimps. He was Natalie’s despicable procurer who showered his sensual superstar with little trinkets valued at $6,500. His personal philosophy was to have fun, make money and get high, not necessarily in that order. He drove a Mercedes S600; wore a $5,700 fox coat; guzzled several bottles of Johnnie Walker Blue Label in any given day; and made millions on his phone sex business. At the peak of his pimping career, he was the jubilant beneficiary of the services of 50 working girls and hauled in over $150,000 a day.^[27] Of significance is that, independent of Jason, Natalie claimed to be making more than he did leaving one to wonder the wealth she must have generated during her fleeting career.^[28] But as the easy lucre gushed uninterruptedly into Jason’s filthy coffers, significant amounts were bled off by devious employees.^[29] Over $500,000 is said to have been diverted for the personal use by a single associate. Like his sexual superstar, Jason’s decline accelerated after he was charged with promoting prostitution, the criminal sale of controlled substances and money laundering.^[30] Unable to make his own bail and while in custody his pimping empire was commandeered by his friend and caretaker Lawyer Paul Bergrin. He lost it all. In what seem like karmic justice, Bergrin was indicted for using his law practice as a front for prostitution, drug trafficking and other criminal activities and was jailed for life.^{[31],[32],[33]} On May 14, 2012, Itzler was sentenced to four years in prison. Like Iceberg Slim, Polly Adler and Natalia McLennan, he too ended up with where he began, with nothing - the price of a facile wealth.

Excerpted from The Eloquence of Effort. https://www.amazon.com/Eloquence-Effort-Beware-Least-Resistance/dp/0995344000

Pictures were extracted from online sources