Inside the Golden Apple brothel, Sydney

ONCE you set foot into the Golden Apple brothel you step into a world of contrasts.

A building full of bedrooms where no-one sleeps, with women who would have sex with the world's most unattractive man but refused service to an international celebrity.
And there is one woman there who by her own admission has slept with thousands of men but has never had a one-night stand.

Kylie*, 30, has been working as a prostitute at the establishment in Sydney's Kings Cross for the last eight years while maintaining a "normal" private life.
She began working there as a receptionist before "jumping the desk" to work 9am to 5pm as a working girl.
Despite the longevity of her career she has never told anyone in her private life, including her boyfriend of three years, how she makes her money.
"I've kept it a secret, nobody knows," she says.
"It's the kind of job where if people knew I did it, even 20 years from now, if they saw me in the street they would say 'That's Kylie, she used to be a hooker.'"
And she's adamant that even if she marries she would never tell her husband.
"Oh God no, I could never have respect for a guy who knew I did this and was OK with it," she says.
"I'm a prude in my personal life. I'm 30-years-old and I've never had a one-night stand. The guys that I date like to think that I am prim and proper.
"And if anyone ever accused me of working in a brothel none of my friends would believe them because they think I'm such a prude."
When clients enter the brothel, they descend to the basement level reception area to book and pay before being led through to the lounge and bar area known as the introduction room.
The introduction room is monitored by CCTV cameras which show Kylie and the other workers who is waiting.
"If the client looks even remotely like someone I might know then I won't go down," she says.
Kylie has also developed a back story for use outside the brothel that she says she's never been caught out on.
"I tell people I'm a beauty therapist. That is such a boring job that no one ever asks me any more about it," she says.
Kylie says if sex work did not have a stigma she would tell people because she enjoys her job and the money is good.
Bur she does not accept that money is the sole reason she, and other women, work as prostitutes.
"I have a university degree and I could be making the same money in that career but this job is just too cruisy, it's too relaxed," she says.
And she says the job allows her to act in a way she never could in her own bedroom.
"There is no judgment here. I'll do stuff in the room that I would never do in my personal life," she says.
"If I'm feeling a little fat I'll still strut around but if I was at home I'd be trying to cover myself up." 
As part of her job she must perform health checks on each of the clients to ensure they are showing no signs of sexually transmitted infections or general ill health.
She says she doesn't fall for excuses like "I was born with it" or "It's a birthmark" when doing the health check and has never caught any infections from her work.
In fact, she says the Golden Apple staff have the distinction of turning away an international celebrity who was known to them to be carrying a sexually transmitted disease.
"He came in here with his entourage and we refused him service," Kylie says.
"He was carrying on saying 'Do you know who I am?' And we said: "Yes we know exactly who you are and that's why we're not going to let you in here."
For those who make it through to the health inspection she generally asks them what they do for a living to relieve what is an awkward situation for all involved.
"If you have a question about investments, if you have a question about tax – it is only a matter of time before someone who can answer that question comes in here so can get free information on whatever you want," she says.
Importance of sex
Kylie says many of her clients are in high-powered jobs and 85 per cent of them are married.
"Working here makes you realise how important sex is for guys," she says.
"Women will spend five hours of their day running around after their man, doing the washing, cooking them dinner, getting the groceries but when the man gets home they won't spend 10 minutes having sex with him.
"But if they do they'll find he is a lot happier and he'll start doing more things for you."
She would make prostitution illegal
But while Kylie is working to fund a comfortable lifestyle and pay off a mortgage she says there are many prostitutes working to support drug habits.
"There is a bit of a party atmosphere here that they like but five to 10 years go by and they haven't got any qualifications so they end up a bit lost," she says.
"If I were in charge of the law I would make this illegal. We see a lot of really talented girls come in here who could do a lot more with their lives."