Who at Brandis works downstairs at Swedish Touch?

[vanboy0]

I get a kick out of the sandwich board at the entrance to Swedish Touch. On one side they advertise Brandis with all the pretty new girls (current pics).

On the other side of the board the Touch shows girls that haven't been there in 10 years, like Danielle which you see in the Hard Copy video.

Since it's too much trouble for The Touch to post current pics, which girls from Brandis upstairs also work downstairs at the Touch?

I'm sure there must be some that work at both since they're only one floor apart.

So if you know any names, much appreciated. Unlike most of you, I'm looking to spend top dollar for a Brandis girl

 

[DB7]

I'd be curious to know that also. Probably not headliners, but maybe some of the VIP girls. On another note... how is Brandi's these days?

 

[vanboy0]

I was there at 9 last night and there was no lineup but Mondays must be slow. I know they were in a battle with the City and the Liquor Board about them losing their liquor license.
I guess Brandis is still in business? Brandy owns both places. I heard Madame Cleos wants to move into the 3rd Floor which is currently the Hornby Conference Center.

Vancouver Dungeon had a BDSM Kink Party on that floor.

 

[Aeiyah]

Enjoy Brandi's and Swedish Touch while you can. The city has been trying to shut it down for ages. Swedish Touch is one of the last remaining legal brothels in the country. The license to operate was granted to Brandi a long-time ago. Because it's grand-fathered, as long as Brandi remains the owner, the city and police can't do anything to shut down the operation. The police do like to frighten potential customers by being conveniently present on Hornby Street every Saturday night.

 

[DB7]

People have been saying that the Swedish Touch is going to be chut down for years and nothing has come... so really, it could be next week, it could be 10 years from now. Back to the question... who works at both?

 

[vanboy0]

Swedish Touch pays $ 8,500 a year in License fees to the City cause they have the only Bodyrub license in Vancouver.

Why wouldn't the City want to keep collecting that $ 8,500 every year? That's extra money for the city. Extra money for street maintenance, the schools, etc.

A standard business license like at Madame Cleos or Spa S or Platinum Club is only $ 170 a year and those 3 have "Health Enhancement" licenses which forbids them from being able to offer what Swedish Touch can do.

Enforcement of the difference between BodyRub and Health Enhancement has always been weak in Vancouver but has been a vice issue in Toronto.

In Toronto the vice was going around to all the "Health Enhancement" centers and checking that they weren't offering the same services as the 25 Bodyrubbers. Vancouver is a different pot of soup.

Will Madame Cleos have to reapply to the City for a new license or did they manage to keep their license without the City cancelling it?

Cause it may be hard for them to start up again if they lost their license cause the City has a Moritorium on new "Health Enhancement" and Bodyrub licenses.

One reason why Carmen Fox had to settle in Burnaby.

Interesting to note that in 1973 when Swedish Touch first opened there were only 3 Bodyrub licenses in Vancouver: Swedish Touch, Club Eden (which used to be on Denman and is now a pet store), and Admirals Upper Deck (now Spa S).

Now we're down to only one Bodyrubber left: Swedish Touch. They're the only legal one left regardless of what Platinum Club is claiming.

In contrast Toronto has 25 Bodyrubbers, but none downtown. The closest to downtown Toronto would probably be Blue Pearl near the Yorkville TTC.

http://www.bluepearlspa.com

 

[JamieA]

They can't work at both

I get a kick out of the sandwich board at the entrance to Swedish Touch. On one side they advertise Brandis with all the pretty new girls (current pics).

On the other side of the board the Touch shows girls that haven't been there in 10 years, like Danielle which you see in the Hard Copy video.

Since it's too much trouble for The Touch to post current pics, which girls from Brandis upstairs also work downstairs at the Touch?

I'm sure there must be some that work at both since they're only one floor apart.

So if you know any names, much appreciated. Unlike most of you, I'm looking to spend top dollar for a Brandis girl

I asked this question to a gal at The Touch a few years ago and was told that girls working at Brandis or The Touch cannot work at both at the same time.

Haven't been to Brandis for a few years and I've only been to The Touch twice in the past two years, so I don't know for sure if this rule is still in effect.

 

[vanboy0]

"at the same time" yes. But a girl could quit Brandis and then work at the Touch

 

[westcoast555]

OK... but I don't get it? What's the difference?

Swedish Touch pays $ 8,500 a year in License fees to the City cause they have the only Bodyrub license in Vancouver.

Why wouldn't the City want to keep collecting that $ 8,500 every year? That's extra money for the city. Extra money for street maintenance, the schools, etc.

A standard business license like at Madame Cleos or Spa S or Platinum Club is only $ 170 a year and those 3 have "Health Enhancement" licenses which forbids them from being able to offer what Swedish Touch can do.

Enforcement of the difference between BodyRub and Health Enhancement has always been weak in Vancouver but has been a vice issue in Toronto.

In Toronto the vice was going around to all the "Health Enhancement" centers and checking that they weren't offering the same services as the 25 Bodyrubbers. Vancouver is a different pot of soup.

Will Madame Cleos have to reapply to the City for a new license or did they manage to keep their license without the City cancelling it?

Cause it may be hard for them to start up again if they lost their license cause the City has a Moritorium on new "Health Enhancement" and Bodyrub licenses.

One reason why Carmen Fox had to settle in Burnaby.

Interesting to note that in 1973 when Swedish Touch first opened there were only 3 Bodyrub licenses in Vancouver: Swedish Touch, Club Eden (which used to be on Denman and is now a pet store), and Admirals Upper Deck (now Spa S).

Now we're down to only one Bodyrubber left: Swedish Touch. They're the only legal one left regardless of what Platinum Club is claiming.

In contrast Toronto has 25 Bodyrubbers, but none downtown. The closest to downtown Toronto would probably be Blue Pearl near the Yorkville TTC.

http://www.bluepearlspa.com

I've been to the Touch, I've been to Platinum Club, etc. etc. and lots of Asian massage parlours. They all do the same thing what difference does the license make? You go into a room with a girl for a massage... you're behind closed doors and she gives you a handjob or a blowjob or you fuck her.

I thought the idea was that it's a private place and you're paying for a massage and they don't have to be liable for any 'solicitation' that might be happening in the room.

Or are you just saying that the girls at the Swedish Touch are legally allowed to fuck you whereas when it happens somewhere else it's technically an infraction?

 

[vanboy0]

All these girls are contractors. In Canada what goes on behind closed doors is between the guy and girl (her word against his). In this country, unlike the U.S., the Government doesn't tell you what to do with your body.

However I know The Touch has a Privacy clause in their license where the cops are not allowed to go into the room while the door is closed, and if they do and see something going on inside, the case will get thrown out of court.

It's the only license of its kind in Canada. One reason why it's a grandfathered license assigned to Brandy and she can't sell the Swedish Touch business to anyone outside the family.

So either Brandy owns Swedish Touch, or it closes. It can't be sold or transferred.

The other parlours don't have that Privacy clause so you take your chances in those places.

It's amazing to me that in 19 years of operation Madame Cleos never got busted once.

 

[booblover]

Brandi doesn't own squat. There are other's who actually own both places. She is just there for the license.

 

[vanboy0]

Yes that's what I figured cause ST is a Grandfathered license (business cannot be sold to anyone outside the immediate family) and the original owners were from Sweden.

Brandi actually used to work the rooms. I think Brandy is just the Head Manager of The Touch. But you're right she doesn't own it.

However Brandy Sarionder definitely owns Brandis. She opened up another gentleman's club in Las Vegas.

Remember Brandi's used to be called Level 5 and before that the Millenium Club (where that shooting happened years ago).

I had heard that Madame Cleos wanted to move downstairs into the 3rd Floor where the Hornby Conference Center is.

I understand the Odyssey Gay Club on Davie had it's license cancelled by the City due to rezoning and development.

Is that essentially what happened to Madame Cleos? Does the Cleos owner still hold a license or did the license get transferred to Spa Sensuous?

Cause I think it's more than coincidence that Spa Sensuous opened on August 21 about the same time Madame Cleos closed.

There's a moritorium on new MP licenses in the City. I think the City realized these "Health Enhancement" licenses that Madame Cleos and Platinum Club and Spa S have are basically just really the same thing that Swedish Touch does with a Bodyrub license, so the City must figure enough is enough and downtown should have no more than 2 Health Enhancement licenses considering these places are essentially doing the same thing The Touch is and really not licensed to do so.

The Touch pays $ 8,500 for their license. Spa S about $ 170 (standard license). Doesn't make sense to me.

 

[MrPeterNorth]

Which doesn't make any sense... you'd think in a free-market as many places would be able to open-up as possible, creating more revenue in licenses to the government. And in turn benefiting us with more options, and possibly lower rates.

So obviously somebody somewhere is getting paid off. And how. Why else do you think a place like Cleo's was never busted? It's not like it's a secret as to what went on there.

 

[vanboy0]

Toronto looks at it this way. Charge each Bodyrub establishment $ 10,000 / year in license fees (which they do currently) and regulate it. Have the girls all get licenses also, like in Edmonton.

An example is Blue Pearl. Another one is Platinum Spa and Alpha Care. I'll be going there again around the Grey Cup.

Toronto has 25 Bodyrub licenses. At $ 10,000 / year each that's $ 250,000 in revenue for Toronto City Council to use for street maintenance, the schools, general city upkeep, etc...

If The Touch has to shell out $ 8,500 a year in license fees to keep on good terms with the City, why not charge Spa Sensuous and Platinum Club and Broadway Bodycare and Great Phoraoh $ 8,500 each a year in license fees also if the girls there are doing the same things in the rooms as at the Touch (which they clearly are)?

I find it unfathonable that a place like Spa Sensuous and Broadway Bodycare have pics of topless girls on their website yet they have a "Health Enhancement" license?

In Toronto a whole bunch of these so-called "Holistic" centers got busted by the cops. Now in Toronto, you're either Bodyrub or Holistic. If you're Holistic you can't be offering the same services as a Bodyrub.

In Edmonton it's much like in Toronto. Each girl is licensed. Montreal is unregulated but the sex culture there is quite different; if you've ever been down St. Catherines and seen all the strip bars you know the culture there is different. Sex is accepted as a good thing.

Heck even in Surrey they have Bodyrub licenses. Serenity has one; it's like $ 5000 a year. At least in Surrey it's done properly.

You telling me a place like Madame Cleos couldn't pay $ 8,500 / year to Vancouver in license fees? They made a ton of money there; heck the lawsuit between them and the landlord claimed she didn't pay rent there for a year and a half.