I have been noticing a lot of "scared first timers" asking a bunch of noobie questions - and all of them honestly have at the heart of them "I am scared because I am going to do this thing I have never done before, and it's illegal in a lot of places, and has scary risks, and I am worried it is scary/bad/dangerous..."

It's made me remember my own first punt, (many) years ago. It was the Amsterdam RLD. I was not really there to punt - I had business in the city, and I had heard so much about it, and I have never seen a pro before, and it was just something I decided to do to be able to have that experience in my life, and where better to do it than Amsterdam. And why go to Amsterdam if you aren't going to do whats to do there, right?

It was cold, winter, and foggy/misty. I remember little of it but being really nervous. It was late at night on a Sunday, and mostly deserted. Some of the aleys were completely empty, except for girls in swimsuits behind the glass windows, knocking at me when I walked by. I was so nervous, I didn't want to even look at them. Every now and then I would walk past another punter, head down, hands in pockets, walking w/o looking at anyone. They were alone. Groups were loud - little gaggles of 3-4 drunk brits yelling obscenities - it was clear they were just tourists,and had no intention of doing anything. The real punters were in singles, quiet, almost unnoticeable.

The girls actually scared me. I was nervous as hell, and couldn't get the courage to knock on any of the doors. They all laughed - they looked like they would eat me alive. The way the shops are built, they are all a couple steps up, so they are looking down on me - and they looked like living mannequins in the dark, their skin weird shades of orange and pink from the neon pink-lights. I kept walking - around and around, unable to go near any of them... I finally found a street with a cute blonde girl behind the window who was sitting on a stool, not standing - and she looked... kinder. I walked up and stopped and looked at her - the first I had stopped in front of, instead of walking by. She smiled. I walked up to the door, and she opened it, and told me the price. She said it like she didn't expect me to be for real, like I was too young or stupid to know how much it cost. I told her "um, I have that much" - she said "great, then come in!"

I stepped in, and wasn't sure what to do. She closed the blinds.
- I said "for that much, we can have sex?"
- "Yeah - what did you think we were gonna do?"
- "Do I pay you now?"
- "What, were you planning on paying me tomorrow?"

She talked to me like I was some dumb kid, but she did it kindly. Like... a big sister. She told me to get undressed. I did. I had, for reasons I will never know, taken off my wedding ring and put it in my jeans pocket. When I took off my jeans, it fell out with a "ting" on the floor, and rooled right to the girls feet. She laughed and handed it back to me. I was completely naked, she was fully dressed. She had high heeled elevator shoos that were clear with little goldfish in them.

She took me to the bed - and started a CBJ. It was great. I tried to take off her tube top - she told me "You just paid for a suck and fuck - you want me undressed, you pay me more. I only had US Dollars left. I offered her some of those. She was like... Yeah, OK. and took off her top, and I started sucking her tits. She climbed up and started to CG - and I was like "oh, wow, I am in Amsterdam  fucking a prostitute!" - it was completely surreal. 5 feet away was the window, with the blinds closed. Through the bottom of the blinds I could see the feet of other people as they walked by. I flipped her to mish, and started pounding her, and she pushed me up, so I wasn't laying on her - said she was hot. I kept fucking. She starts telling me in her terrible Russian accent "you are power man! Big power! Fuck me like big power man!" I am trying to come, but she is so obviously fake and ridiculous, it's making me want to laugh. But her pussy is tight, and her accent is adorable...

I blow my load, and she immediately grabs my cock (still inside her) and grips it with like a Vulcan death grip, and pulls it out, like at any moment the condom is gonna just erupt off my dick and fill her with diseased sperm. She whips it off with a paper towel, gives me a couple more and hops off the bed. By the time I have wiped myself off, she is already mostly dressed, and starting to look like she wants me out of there. I get dressed, and she hurries me out the door. By the time I am back in the cold and she is back in the window, I realize it's been barely 25 minutes. She is waving good bye, and I am off into the mists...

And that was my first time.
Its all been a lot easier since then.

So - what did I learn since then that might help new punters:

1 - The girls are harmless. They are more scared of you being weird and scary than you are. They have a lot more risk than you, and as long as you act normal, smile, and be friendly, they are a generally decent lot. And they respond as well to kindness as anyone else. Some are nice, some not so nice, but none are dangerous or scary. I say again - smile. If you look harmless and friendly, they will relax, and it'll all be better. If you look nervous and weird, they will be scared you're gonna do something weird.

2 - Generally, they are way more frightened of disease than you are. And they have damn good reason to be. They see dozens of dudes a week - some of them 10 or more dudes a day. If they want to do a CBJ instead of a BBBJ, respect that. I would too, if I were them. Always wear a condom for FS, and if you're somewhere pretty skanky, the CBJ is probably not a bad idea either. Be safe.

3 - Just relax, and enjoy. There is really not much to be frightened of. Nobody is gonna see you but WGs and other punters - and they are all there for the same reasons as you. And even if not, WTF do you care. You're not hurting anyone, and you're living by your own moral code, and fuck'em if they don't like it. If you are so ashamed about what you are doing that it really bugs you, then...maybe you shouldn't be doing it.

4 - Man the fuck up, stand proud, and go. Don't wonder if it is gonna be this or that, don't stress about "what if this happens" - just go and do it. A bad punt is still a funny story - and a weird one is neat experience. A missed opportunity because you were worried/scared is... nothing. And fuck that.

Anyway - hope this helps some of the nervous-nellies get out there and get some experience in.

I'd be curious to hear some "first punting" stories from some of the old hands here - if they can remember them!