Townsville brothel Onyxx wins Adult Industry Choice Awards category
Townsville’s only legal brothel has been named the best in the country. With a games room, luxe rooms and special perks, check out our video tour to see what sets it apart.
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Townsville can now lay claim to being the home to the best brothel in Australia.
Onyxx won a national award in an awards ceremony celebrating the sex industry, and its top performers and acts.
Categories in the Adult Industry Choice Awards held in Sydney last weekend were detailed and specific, including best fly-me-to-you escort, specific porn techniques, and even the best dinner date companion.
No specific judge determined the qualities of the winner. It was decided by popular vote.
Even though Onyxx had the support of its clients and workers to get the numbers, North Queensland was against the odds considering that in the previous two awards Canberra won the award.
And according to the Prostitution Licensing Authority there are currently 17 licensed brothels operating in Queensland, with only Onyxx and Harlots, in Mackay, operating outside the south east corner.
Onyxx’s owner Emma Bennett said the award was an “amazing achievement” after being in the industry for 20 years.
She had been a hairdresser who answered a newspaper advertisement to be a brothel receptionist in Brisbane, but realised after several months that she loved the job of keeping the women she worked with as safe as possible.
Then, two and a half years ago, Ms Bennett became the owner of her own brothel in Townsville, flying in sex workers from across the country.
“I’m very much a people person and thrive on helping not only myself but others achieve success,” she said.
“We work as a team at Onyxx and I’m very selective of who I welcome into our circle.”
She allowed the Townsville Bulletin a chance to enter that circle by offering a tour of the facility in Garbutt, before opening hours.
Ms Bennett wanted to be transparent with the community to break a stigma against sex work, while also offering a safe environment for workers, and confidentiality for her clients.
Misconceptions she wanted to speak against was that all sex workers were on drugs, that customers were dirty, and that brothels were not a reputable or real business.
“In fact it’s quite the opposite,” she said.
“Every sex worker within Onyxx holds a clean sexual health certificate and cannot work without one.
“I would like the Townsville community to know that we are the only legal regulated brothel in Townsville and they should know that if they choose to see a sex worker in Townsville, to be aware of this fact.”
Onyxx had a dark but open spaced foyer which included a Space Invaders video game, a pool table and massage chairs, where clients could wait until available workers were ready to see them.
After a conversation deciding what specific services were available, whether it was a girlfriend, role-play or pornstar style, the client would then choose who they wanted to see and were taken to one of the available bedrooms.
“In Onyxx I like to have everything very kind of basic, nice and fresh,” Ms Bennett said.
“I don’t like a lot of clutter or themed rooms per se.”
In most ways Onyxx operated like any other business; it sold a product, currently it was bound to regulation, and provided personal protective equipment (PPE) for its workers.
Onyxx went through about five litres of lubricant and an insurmountable amount of condoms every six weeks.
“I know it’s the sex industry, however, if you go to the mines you’re going to have a hard hat, you’re going to have steel cap toe shoes,” Ms Bennett said.
“For us it’s a different kind of PPE but it’s still PPE and it’s got to be used.”
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Originally published as Townsville brothel Onyxx wins Adult Industry Choice Awards category
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