Professional “cuddlist” offers healing touch to Oakland clients
on October 20, 2016
Cuddling is not recognized by most people as a legitimate profession like law or medicine, or even dog-walking. But it’s starting to turn into a service some people are willing to pay for—$80 an hour in Oakland.
Cuddlist is a new website that connects “professional cuddlers” with clients seeking the human necessity of physical touch, but who can’t get it through their personal relationships. The company—based in New York—started small, but has established providers in major cities across the country.
The service works on an independent contractor model. The cuddlists use the site to book clients. Prior to registering for a session, the clients must agree to a code of conduct, which includes a strict ban on sexual activity and nudity. Both cuddlist and their client must wear at least a tank top and shorts during the cuddling session.
Nikki Huiras, the first certified cuddlist in Oakland, brought the trend to the Bay Area from Chicago, where Huiras received training. Battling depression, Huiras was introduced to a cuddlist about a year ago.
Huiras became certified in Chicago after the cuddling experience seemed to help with depression. “I found it to be a good healing space,” Huiras said.
There aren’t many cuddlists in California; so far only three are listed on the site. But more are being trained in the Bay Area, according to Huiras. Huiras hopes the expanding roster will bring the benefits of cuddling to more people.
Huiras stated that physical touch can be a form of therapy: “This is getting physical touch, which we know eases stress.”
Correction: Location of company is in New York, but training is overseen in Chicago. 10.21.2016
Oakland North welcomes comments from our readers, but we ask users to keep all discussion civil and on-topic. Comments post automatically without review from our staff, but we reserve the right to delete material that is libelous, a personal attack, or spam. We request that commenters consistently use the same login name. Comments from the same user posted under multiple aliases may be deleted. Oakland North assumes no liability for comments posted to the site and no endorsement is implied; commenters are solely responsible for their own content.
Oakland North
Oakland North is an online news service produced by students at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and covering Oakland, California. Our goals are to improve local coverage, innovate with digital media, and listen to you–about the issues that concern you and the reporting you’d like to see in your community. Please send news tips to: oaklandnorthstaff@gmail.com.
