Tornadoes touch down in Marion, Plainview

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support


      ROCHESTER, Minn. (AP) — Rochester's first and only licensed
professional escort is a 6-foot-5, bearded, 37-year-old man with a
wife of 10 years and two elementary school-age children.


      Not the image that leaps to mind when you think "professional
escort"? That's just fine with Bryan Bachman, who counts himself
foremost among those who find it amusing he's Rochester's Escort
No. 1.


      The city started its escort licensing program 20 years ago, but
it has never had an applicant before Bachman.


      "It actually started out as a joke between my wife and I,"
Bachman said of his decision to apply for the license earlier this
year.


      He'd read about the licensing program in the Post-Bulletin's
"Answer Man" column. Professional escorting sounded like a
natural companion to Bachman's catering business, Catering For All
It's Worth.


      "I found out nobody had ever applied for it, and so I went in
(to City Hall)," he said.


      At first, his application seemed to catch city officials
off-guard. But Bachman carried it through, paying a $75
registration fee, submitting to a criminal background check and
giving fingerprints, and finally, appearing before the city council
to explain himself and what he wanted to do.


      "That was a little intimidating," he said.


      Since receiving his license in May, Bachman has had two
customers.


      One, a recently divorced woman, "doesn't want a relationship
with anybody; she just wants to go out," he said. "We can go to
dinner, we can go to a movie, or just go out for a walk."


      His other customer, also recently divorced, is a man. Bachman is
"just kind of a wingman" for him as they go bar-hopping.


      Bachman doesn't drink - and hasn't since 1998, when he moved to
Rochester for treatment for alcoholism.


      There's no sex involved in his business, either. It's prohibited
under the city ordinance, and a service agreement Bachman has his
customers sign before a date specifically states that "I'm not a
sexual service provider, period," he said. "At the end of the
night, we say good night, shake hands and we're done."


      His target market is the new city resident, the recently
divorced person, the visitor, or the individual or group who want a
sober driver who knows the ins and outs of the city.


      He charges $100 an hour, with a three-hour minimum purchase.
Expenses, such as dinner or movie tickets, are paid from Bachman's
pocket.


      "Some of my good friends are like, `You should have done this
earlier, out of college,"' he said. "I'm social. I know a lot of
people in Rochester."


      His license is good through Dec. 31. Depending how the business
is going and how he feels about it, he'll either continue it or
just say, "It was fun for a year," he said. "I'll just melt into
the background."

Gallery

Rochester's first and only licensed
professional escort is a 6-foot-5, bearded, 37-year-old man with a
wife of 10 years and two elementary school-age children.

Meet Rochester's only professional escort

Go Deeper.

Like this?

News you can use in your inbox