It's been nearly one year since we heard from Savannah. She and her partner, Mountain Man Link, joined us for last years Valentine's Day couples episode. This time, she's returning with a new last name and a new outlook on life. Savannah Hart talks to us about her rebranding and the burnout that preceded it. She discusses the tactics that she used to move forward from that burnout moment and find ways to make the work better suited to what she wants out of life.

Savannah Hart's Links:

Website: savannahhart.com

OnlyFans: onlyfans.com/savannahhart

Twitter: @yoursavannahxo

Instagram: @yoursavannahxo

Linktree: @yoursavannahxo

ANSWER Detroit's Links:

Website: answerdetroit.org

GoFundMe: gofundme.com/f/grantmatching-fundraiser

Twitter: @answerdetroit

Instagram: @weareanswerdetroit

Podcast Links:

Patreon: patreon.com/SexyGalaxyPod

Website: parkerwestwood.com/podcast

Merch: sexygalaxypod.bigcartel.com

Twitter: @SexyGalaxyPod

Instagram: @parker.westwood

Music. Welcome to A Sex Worker's Guide to the Galaxy where the answer to life, the universe and everything is sex workers. I'm your host, Parker Westwood, and I am bringing to you today someone we already know and love. They were featured, wow, almost exactly a year ago for My Valentine's Day episode with their lovely partner, but this time, we get a solo Savannah Hart, who you might remember as Savannah Grace, but they have since gone through a rebranding, which we're going to be talking about. That's one of the main topics in the show, along with burnout, content creation, starting a new business. And as always, Savannah is just a joy to talk to. So this is a great interview, I think, very timely as there are a lot of people I know, of myself included, who are experiencing some burnout, and not just in the sex work arena. Kind of all around this world we live in is a tough one at this moment in particular. So I think talking about burnout and rebranding and like shifting, what we're doing with our lives is a timely, timely thing to be talking about. So I'm really excited for this one. **Cat meows** My cat is yet again in my recording fort. So hello Felix. I guess let's get some of the podcasty things out of the way. This podcast is supported by the lovely Patreon members we've acquired over the last year. If you would also like to become a patron of the show, head on over to patreon.com/sexyGalaxypod, where you can join the other fabulous, fabulous patrons. And, yeah, it's a good time. 50% of the proceeds from Patreon members goes towards the work of ANSWER Detroit, A Network of Sex Workers to Excite Revolution. It's a collective of sex workers working towards the decriminalization and destigmatization of sex workers, and we believe that it is the right of all sex workers to be doing this work for whatever reason they see fit. We are just out here trying to survive capitalism, and there's no judgment needed, really and ANSWER Detroit is working on some really cool stuff. I can say that because I have insider information. So if you want to support that work. You can also donate directly. I will provide a link to a fundraiser we've got going on, and ANSWER's website, as always, will be in the show notes. You can also support the show by following us on Twitter @sexyGalaxypod. I have an Instagram at Parker dot Westwood that I post podcast updates on and we have a website, which I'll link in the show notes. You can also support the show by purchasing a t shirt if you feel so inclined. There will also be stickers for sale in the near future, so you can stick your love on the subway or underneath a table somewhere. I don't really care. Do whatever you want with the stickers. They're yours once you purchase them, and I hope that they just end up everywhere. This podcast is brought to you by companion tax.com that's right, it's that time of the year tax season. If you are a companion sex worker, provider, whatever you want to call yourself and you need help with your taxes, or honestly, if you just don't want to do your taxes and you'd like to have someone else do them, it's lovely. Go check out companion tax.com they have been doing my taxes for the last three years, and it has been dreamy. So again, that's companion tax.com. I think that's, I think that's the stuff. I think that's all the things that I need to talk at you about. Yeah, so now let's shift and hear from Savannah Hart and just enjoy the conversation. It was a really fun one. So here we go. All right, everyone, I am here with someone who you all know and love already, but now it is is just them this time. Um.

I'm the artist formerly known as Savannah Grace, but now known as Savannah Hart.

Welcome.

Hey, love.

It's really good to see you.

Yeah, I'm happy to be here.

Yeah. Do you want to... You've been on the show before, but do you want to do the name, pronoun, location and kind of sex work you do, just for people who have who haven't listened to that?

Absolutely. My name is Savannah Hart. My pronouns are she/her. I'm based in Denver, Colorado, and I'm a full service sex worker and content creator.

Yay. And just as a refresher, how did you get started in sex work?

This is a fun story. So from the last podcast, we all know my first night stripping was to Prodigy "Smack My Bitch Up". I was so nervous I threw up all over myself, because despite being very outgoing, I'm very introverted, which a lot of people don't realize. I'm like, No, I'm just a good talker, but I really don't like large groups of people. So I started as a stripper, came back and stayed in the clubs for a couple of years after my Prodigy incident, and transitioned into full service, and that's now been a collective seven years.

So that's so great. And how long have you been doing content creation? Because I know that's a little less right?

On and off. I feel like content has been really an experiment. I haven't done it full time, so I've been trying. I've been playing around with content for the past three years, just kind of on and off, but I've never fully committed. It's been more like, Oh, here's a nude here. Oh, let's film something fun here. But yeah, I love the I love the freedom of content. And there's just so much you can do. It's, there's just a lot of flexibility.

Absolutely. Oh, that's so cool. And I already alluded to this, because I knew we were going to talk about it, but you recently did a rebrand, keeping the First Name, which I love, because Savannah is a wonderful name. But what prompted you to rebrand, and what has that experience been like for you?

Yes, rebranding. So when I started this, I was 18, and that was, I'm 33 now, so I'm like, gosh, I don't even know what, like, what year was I 18? Like, oh, seven, maybe. So thinking about 2007 and then coming back again, when I think I stripped again, I was 20 to 21 so that was a whole other chunk of time, going to college, coming back, right? So I've had these different intervals of sex work, and each time I just come back a different version of me. And so when I came back after college, I remember choosing the name Savannah, and it's a great story. I was at a strip club, and I had gone through the list of all the names, and I was like, damn. Like, every single name I'm suggesting, y'all already have somebody. So I looked at the calendar, and I was like, oh, there's a cocktail waitress named Savannah. I'll be Savannah. Like, yeah, we don't have a we don't have a savannah dancer. And I was like, Oh, thank goodness. Finally, wasn't really a lot of thought that went into it. And then when I went into full service and gave myself a surname, I wasn't thinking about it. I was just in a completely different headspace. I was just like, what's what goes with Savannah? Savannah... Grace. Cool. Call it good. There was no heart. And when I say heart, like, I mean, like my soul, there was no Ooh. I really want this to embody this, or I'm really feeling like this. I just chose a name, and over the years, I really just felt like I really want something that represents who I am. And every time I heard Savannah Grace, I was like, This is not me. And ironically, I found a cheese snack at Whole Foods named Savannah Grace crackers, which I thought was hilarious. And I'm like, Okay, now I'm a freaking cheese snack. I love cheese. No problem with cheese. Link actually hides the cheese from me in the fridge.

Oh my gosh.

I can't have cheese in the house because you'll eat it all. But I realized, like, I need to just have something that I feel connected to. So I adopted Hart because Carhartt. I ride horses, so that just felt like, oh my gosh, Savannah Hart. And as far as my rebrand goes, I think it was more just making everything cohesive and really making sure that my brand represented who I was, making sure that my photos, my tweets, my website, my copy. I really wanted people to know what they were getting. And I think that takes a couple of years to develop. I don't think most people just have a brand and they're like, Yep, this is just who I'm going to be the rest of my career. And if you are good for you, that's amazing. If you're able to maintain that, but we're able to maintain the same cohesive brand for your entire career, assuming you do this for a long period of time, that's impressive, because I have evolved so much, and I'm going to continue growing and evolving, so who knows what other changes will happen. But I really just wanted to feel like, okay, I feel good in my own skin, and I want my brand to represent how confident I feel, and people knowing, okay, this is Savannah. She's a total hippie cowgirl. She's a free spirit. She's always traveling, she's always reading. She's always, you know, talking about mindfulness and psychedelics and what I'm gonna get. And so, yeah, that's the long-winded answer. I love that, and I do. I think you're right. It's, it's, I'm, I'm like, due for a rebrand. Every time I read the copy on my website, I'm just like, Oh, this isn't quite it anymore. Like, it was a great, a great first go, but like, it's, it's time to upgrade, because we do grow and change, and our brand needs to be able to like shift with that. Mhmm.

So you did, like, a whole new website drop and everything like that, correct? How, how was that? And like, how long from the moment you decided you needed to change your name and do a rebrand, Like how long was that process?

Mhmm. Before the website drop and the announcement, I think it was like a two year process, because I was really still figuring out, how can I convey who I am, but in a way, that's marketable, right? Because I do think everybody has a persona, but for me, my whole brand is being authentic, and I wanted who I am in my personal life to translate into my professional life, because then I just felt like there was no gap. I didn't have to be like, Oh, I'm Savannah, you know, maybe I'm a little bit more poised, maybe. I'm not wearing a hoodie in bed like I am right now, recovering from my booster. But I still wanted the personal to professional be the same, so it took me a while to really figure out, how can I just create a parallel and it was a lot of trial and error, a lot of photo shoots, a lot of, I hate to say this, but it's true. A lot of just throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what stock, yeah, and I want to make a shout out to one of my closest friends. Iam Erota photo, because she from the moment I met her, just really was like, you should try this. You should do this. And she really helped me take these bits of my personality and create this cohesive brand. So that's a huge point for rebranding is find a photographer that you vibe with, because if the right photographers will, if you're a little lost of how to make yourself marketable, the right photographers are going to help you do it in a way that's still authentic to you. So over to, I think, like over a two year period, and then when I figured out the name, I was like, Oh my gosh, that is so great. It was so me and so, yeah, it just, it came together. And the website was easy link. My partner designed it for me because he has a tech background.

Oh, that's awesome.

Oh, yeah, so nice. Highly recommend having people in your life that have skill sets that you don't. He has no interest in learning how to ride horses, bless him, but I have, I do bake and cook for him. Um, he was able to help me with the website. And, yeah, I'm actually about to rewrite my copy again, but it's again, it's I just grow, and it's not a big overhaul, as much as it's just, I want to add a little bit more. Maybe I want to talk a little bit more about this, or I like that, but I want to include this so it's an ever growing, ever evolving process you never stop.

Yeah, there's always room to just, like, tweak it and make adjustments. And you're right, the photos thing is huge. Like, a lot of our clients are very visual, and like, if you look at the analytics for your website, at least like mine, reflects that a lot of people go straight to photos. Like, they might take some time to read the intro page, but then they go straight to photos. And the photos really do matter, and yours have been fantastic. I'm really glad I'll link that photographer you mentioned in the show notes, because I think I follow them on Twitter as well, and they're fantastic. But it really does matter, because there's so much... they say a picture's worth 1000 words, right? And I think that that's entirely true in this case, where it's like you get to show who you are in your photos.

Mhmm.

That's so exciting. And more power to the people who can take their own photos. I'm always astounded, like Koi Erotica takes her own photos, and I'm always just floored because they're so good.

She is a gem. Highly recommend anybody who has opportunity to go to Seattle meet Koi. She is such a cool human and yeah, her photos. I'm like, Are you serious?

Fucking A. Yeah.

It's something I'm really challenged myself to learn this year. I'm still researching the right cameras to buy. But my family are all photographers. That's what I grew up.

Oh, no, shit!

Yeah, so my dad was a photographer, my older brother photographer, and my little brother's a photographer. I'm like, Okay, I gotta get in on this. And they all know what I do for work, but I've I talked to them a lot about finding the right camera, because I love taking photos. It's so fun, and I love being able to express who I am through photos. But yeah, teaching yourself photography is no easy feat. You just have to have a lot of patience and watch tutorials, find the right camera be okay with trial and error, but once you nail taking your own photos and finding a photography you like, it just makes branding and marketing just so much more smooth, because you just know what to deliver. You just want to make sure that it's staying on brand. But I also tell people like, make sure that you're implying the dates you want, and make sure you're marketing towards the client you want, right? So I'm obviously, we all know that Savannah is a granola girl. I love hiking. I love any outdoor dates, and I'm always trying to incentivize people to do outdoorsy things with me. So I always make sure my photos portray that, because I love hiking dates. I love camping dates. So make sure your photos really show what kind of dates you want to call in, because that's what you're going to do with those photos.

Yeah. Oh, that's so great. I love that you and I had talked about we, because we, we pre talked about this episode, and we talked about wanting to cover burnout and and the experience of like reaching a point of burnout, and how how to cope in that and burnout looks different for different people. Some people get like a little more... They have to swamp themselves in order to like cope, which like leads to further burnout. And other people just like, they pull away entirely, but you you had a moment of burnout that you wanted to talk about, and I'd love to hear like, how you recognized it, and then like, what steps you took.

Totally, yeah, it really ties in with my rebrand, because I think that trying to stay attached to this person I used to be and like, let's just be frank: When I started Savannah, I was staying up all night, drinking, doing poll tricks, you know, like, strip club life is very different than companion, and one's not better than the other. I love strip clubs. And as I evolved, I realized I was like, I'm changing. My mental health is changing. My coping mechanisms are changing, and I need to shift, because I can't be I can't be attached to who I used to be. I have to grow. And I think that was a big reason I wanted to tie rebranding with burnout, because to me, they went, they went hand in hand because I explained to somebody they're like, What? What is Savannah Hart? I was like Savannah Hart is all the lessons I learned in my younger self, and all the coping mechanisms I've learned, and all the stress management and learning how to be mindful, and learning how to attract clients I want to spend time with, not just seeing every client that comes in my inbox, right? So the rebrand wasn't just an aesthetic, it was a mental health choice. Was like, I have to clear out that energy, because seven years of this industry, especially in different facets, you're going to have different experiences. And when you're new and you're young, you don't necessarily have the best boundaries, you don't have the best coping mechanisms for the unique things that happen in this job. And so I recognized that I was evolving and growing, and I needed my brand to reflect that. And how I knew I was burned out is I was really just not looking forward to work as much. And I felt like I love this job. I love connecting with people. I love asking people what they're desiring and co-creating an experience. And I realized like when I was just feeling more fatigued and I wasn't fully present, and I could feel that I knew something had to shift, because I was like, I'm not fully here, and I had to really go inward and be like, what is what am I experiencing? And why? And a big reason was, I don't think I learned good boundaries when I was new as Savannah, and that just. Time in the industry, yeah, and I was really abandoning myself as far as, like, what I was comfortable with, um, made, like, you know, a big boundary for me. It's like, I don't like clients who talk to me about other companions and like, like their business, you know, because it's it companion shares something in confidence to a client that they're trusting as their friend that is not my business to hear about, you know. So that's a really firm boundary I have now, but just That's an example of situations I was consistently in, you know, or boundaries I didn't know I needed to have at the time that now, in hindsight, I'm like, Oh my gosh, no wonder I was so drained, because I was taking all all this energy that wasn't mine. And so I think that was the biggest thing, is this just heaviness and this fatigue and this irritability. And I once I realized I was like, I've got to create some new boundaries, and I have to renegotiate what feels good to me and where I thrive, and that meant I had to change my playmates and my clientele and the way I marketed myself, because I just seven years in this industry, you grow, yeah. So that's the answer, really.

I love that, and I resonate too. There's in the beginning, like, starting out as a sex worker, I didn't know the importance of having certain boundaries, even the most simple boundaries, and then some of these boundaries are ones that are like, it's a privilege to be able to enforce them, right? To be able to have them, enforce them, and all of that. Like, I recognize that, like, I'm privileged enough to decline a client, and that can be hard, because I can go into scarcity mode, but I still, like, am able to do it. But, yeah, I think the boundaries piece is a really difficult one to learn. We're not exactly taught how to how to do boundaries, and it's key. It is so key to mental health. And even simple ones, like, I feel like being like, Oh, I'm not going to talk about other companions with you. Is one that, like, sounds super simple, but can save you so much mental anguish and energy down the line. Because, yeah, that's that's a huge one. When you were experiencing burnout, because we talked about it in your work, but how did, how did it show up in your personal life? Because I know that, like, for me, when I am experiencing burnout, I just shared, like, I just dropped the one year anniversary episode. And I'm a person I'm experiencing burnout and like, like, in deep in some like, mental health work that's necessary right now. And so I know that it doesn't just just because, like, the burnout is happening in our line of work doesn't mean it doesn't bleed into other areas of our life. So I'm curious, like, how did it show up in your personal life? If you're willing to share?

Oh, of course, it's really interesting. I noticed that, and this is really honest, but I noticed my libido was only happening at work, like I had trained my body to be a Sex Robot, for lack of better words, and I would show up. I knew what I needed to do. I knew how to get myself off in a session, right? Because sometimes I do right, like it. And I just want to preface that by like, having an orgasm does not necessarily mean it's good or bad sex, right? Because I've had plenty of amazing sex, right, and not climax, and I've had times where I've, oh, okay, I guess I had an orgasm, but I wasn't even connected to the person, right? So I just want to preface that you do not have to have an orgasm to have good sex, because I know some people get really hung up on that. I wanted to just make that side note, but I noticed that I was just becoming like mechanical. I could just go in, be there, be what they wanted me to be, and then I would come home and did not want to be touched, interacted with, and I lost my love for intimacy in this chunk of time. I just noticed that it just changed my... I was so used to holding space for my clients and asking what they wanted, that I started negating my own needs, and I didn't know how to also voice, hey, that doesn't feel good. Like, do you mind doing this? Like, I was scared to hurt clients feelings, if they were like, you know, hurting me, or it didn't feel good, or maybe they could go a little more gentle, because I didn't want to ruin the mood. So there are this be these times where I didn't know how to be honest about like, I could say it in a sexy way, be like, "Hey, babe, like, why don't we try this instead?" You know, because I was, I was such a people pleaser, and I didn't realize how that disconnect from me just advocating for myself, how that was really hurting my libido in my personal life, because it made me resent sex. Yeah, and a huge burnout strategy for me has been being able to say, hey, like, can you do this or like, do you mind trying this or like? And it's always in like, a communicative way. And I always encourage my clients, too, if something isn't feeling good, please tell me this is a co-collaborative experience. Don't feel like if I'm hurting you or doesn't feel good, or you prefer to be touched in a different way, please say something, because you're also compensating me for this. I'm here for you. And so I've learned how to communicate in a way that everybody feels respected, and it's made the session so much better. But for a while, I didn't know how to do that, and so my my libido was completely whacked out outside of work, and I just didn't have any energy. I would just go to work, do my thing, and just it was I knew how to be a good companion, but at some point I couldn't fake it anymore. It just stopped. You can only carry that for so long before it starts. You start cracking, and it's like, Oh, wait. Like, I've just been shoving that down, and it's coming out now. Yeah, and, you know, I had some clients who were so amazing, and we just got really vulnerable, and I shared with them where I was at and like, bless them, they know who they are. I'm sure they're gonna listen to this. But I got really authentic with like I am not feeling right, and like I've got to make some changes. And they were like, well, what do you need to change? And I got really honest about like, wasn't feeling good. And of course, I'm only speaking from my experience, because I am extremely privileged, and I'm not saying everybody has the ability to do this. So I would never, I would never prescribe just do these things and you'll recover from burnout like that. Wouldn't be fair. I can only speak for this is how I've navigated it and but this is also what I've had access to change, right, and not and so when you're recovering from burnout, you really have to figure out, what is your unique circumstances, what do you have the ability to do? And, yeah, there's not one size fits all, totally,

Absolutely. Thank you for sharing that. I that's there's a lot of that that rings true for me right now. So it's like, it's interesting to hear, hear you talk about it, because it is. It's stuff I've thought about a lot as far as mental health and every -- but you're right; Everybody's... the way that people need to handle burnout is different. I mean, our brains all work differently and and so it's, it's important to acknowledge it and then find ways that work for you, and that does take trial and error. I was curious too, because we had talked about, in talking about burnout... Okay, wait now I'm like checking my questions. Hold on a second.

All good. All good, friend. You're only human. It's okay.

Yeah, sometimes the flow is hard to maintain.

It's all good. We're not robots.

It's true. Fuck it. Fuck that. Sometimes I wish I could be a robot, but then life would be a whole lot less interesting.

Yeah, life would be not as dynamic. Yeah.

The human experience is a wild one. **Laughter** I'm here for it, even when it's painful.

As I recover in bed from the damn booster.

Yeah, we're both... When you were like, "I'm in a hoodie in bed right now." I'm like, we're both in hoodies and in our beds right now.

Ugh. Yeah. Booster, Booster: one, Savannah: zero.

It's so real. Um, okay, so I was curious, um, because you, you've made a bit of a shift over the last I feel like couple years that I've known you, you've shifted more into online work and content creation, which makes a lot of sense considering the current climate of the world being still in a pandemic. So how, how has that shift influenced your rebrand, but also like influenced your relationship with work? That's

That's a great question. So, Link and I have been making content on and off for three years, and it's been a wild ride, because at first I was like, Cool, what is porn? What do people like to see? I'm going to do that. And. And we did do that, and there are some really hilarious clips like I'm telling you, we came up with some really silly, hilarious clips I will never forget making the camp counselor clip where we were counselors who were sick of arts and crafts and went and snuck out. And those were fun. But what I really know it was pretty hilarious. I look at that, I'm like, Damn, that was a good idea. What I realized is I was like, I wasn't being authentic in the sense of doing what I really wanted to do. I was just going with what I thought I had to do, and with this rebrand, I've really started to shift. I'm like, you know, I don't really know if I want to make conventional porn. It doesn't. There's nothing wrong with it. I love porn. I, in fact, I there's a content creator that I watch probably weekly, named no face girl. She is amazing. Highly recommend subscribing to her of if you like homegrown porn, and so I love, I obviously love content creators, and I love supporting content creators, but I realized, like, I have to find my own flavor, just like Savannah Grace had become Savannah Hart, now I'm evolving like, what does my content look like? And through my burnout recovery, I came up with this term called Conscious companionship and content creation. And conscious to me really just it means multiple things. It means being authentic to myself. It means being mindful. It means I'm only going to come if I can be the best version of myself, and if I'm just not feeling it that day, I don't make myself go now again, that is privilege, right? I'm not saying everybody can. They're having a shitty mental health they can just cancel their client. That's a complete privilege, right? But I'm only speaking from my experience.

Yeah.

So it just really started to think about all these different layers of this job, and really tuning into my body and really tuning into my intuition, and when something didn't feel right, not shoving it down and tuning into like, well, what does it feel right? Why am I not feeling okay here? And when I started realizing, you know, I'm really not enjoying making conventional porn, it's not me. I need to be able to do my own thing. And like, quite frankly, I'm still figuring that out. I've come up with this whole new content theme. Unfortunately, haven't been able to make much content lately because I had COVID. I'm back, and then I got the booster, and I have just been down for the count. But I'm excited because I feel like I figured out what is my unique style, and I think that's it was content. There's no wrong way to make content. You want to get gang bang and cream pie, hell yeah. You want to do sacred sexuality, hell yeah, you there's no bad content, as long as it's consensual and you're okay with it, right? So I really am grateful that I've given myself permission to let go of what isn't serving me and isn't serving my clients, because I don't want clients to go to my of and be like, Wow, she doesn't really look into that. I don't want to hire her. I want people to go to my of and be like, I want to experience that with her. So I think that's been my mentality with content. Is, yes, there are people who just buy my content and that's awesome, but I want those people to want to be with me in person too, and the people who are seeing me in person, I want them to go to my content and think, Oh, well, I can experience that. So that's my unique perspective on it, that doesn't have to be anybody else's, but really just creating that container of what do I want to offer people? What do I feel comfortable? What makes me feel empowered? What makes me feel embodied. Because if I'm embodied and I'm feeling good and I'm feeling sexy, that's going to translate into my content. And I know when I'm in that place, how turned on I feel. I know how good my clients feel, because they can just feel my energy. But when I'm not into it, or I'm doing something because I think I have to, because I think that's the old I don't realize that there's other ways to make content, or there's other ways to companionship. I'm not being authentic to myself. And people can feel that energy, and they're probably not going to come back because they they, you know, it's like, I'm never going to be a Caviar Companion. I don't think I've ever had caviar on my damn life. I'm sure it's precious, um, but if I tried to make myself be that, clients would be like, this is not working, because it doesn't take so I've just really learned how to be true to myself and make sure my brand is reflecting that.

Yeah, Yeah, they can, they can see your metaphorical carhartts underneath the cocktail dress. Yeah. **Laughter**

**Laghter** Don't get me wrong. I love nice meals. I love nice items. I love luxury experiences. But for me, luxury is it's experiences. It's luxury for me is taking time off when I want, yeah, luxury is being able to take a month off and go to Southeast Asia if I want, right? Whereas luxury for somebody else may be a designer purse or a really nice car, and I have a nice truck, right? I'm sure my truck costs as much as like a nice car, right? But it's just, what is your definition of luxury? What is your definition of what makes you feel good? What do you like to spend your money on? So, yeah, everybody's brand is different. There's no right or wrong way to spend your money or brand yourself. So I don't even if I have my car hearts on, I'm not shitting on people who like, you know, to be dressed. No, I do you. Whatever empowers you, it makes you feel sexy and happy. I'm all for it.

Yeah, do do what makes you able and happy to live the life you want to live? That's yeah, absolutely that. Um, okay, so we're going to pivot a little bit here, because I know you've been working on a business outside of sex work, and I'm excited to hear a little bit about how that came to be, what that's been like for you, how you've been able to balance working in sex work and also starting this new business, if you wouldn't mind sharing a little bit about, like, what The business is and like how that has developed.

Oh, I love this question, because I'm so excited about my business. Oh, I've been waiting for this question. Parker, a little background. I worked in nonprofits and activism for 14 years, and so I've started nonprofits. I've done nonprofit consulting, grant writing, direct service, victim advocacy, just a whole giant crock pot of different services, working with people from a place of care, right? Because I wanted to make a difference. But what I realized is, here's my radical my radical thinking, the system is so broken when it comes to supporting people, when it comes to social work, when it comes to Western medicine, mental health services, that I didn't want to go back in there nonprofits, also, the system is not designed to help people. It's designed to maintain right? It's a band aid. And so I left that industry nonprofits. I think it was July 2020, that I was like, I've got to I've got to get out of this. I'll always support activists, causes. I will always donate money. But I felt like I was just up against this. You ever see Fern Gully?

Oh yeah.

Not like I was made. I was doing all this work, but I just felt like the monster in the rain forest, I'm like, This is so big, and systems in place are so they're they're just bigger than me, and I'm burning out trying to figure out how to make a difference.

Before we move on from Fern Gully. Was it just me that like Hexus... because Hexus was that, like, giant gas monster, like the pollution monster. But was Hexus A little hot, just like a little sexy?

okay. I think so, because he looked a little seductive, yeah.

I mean, it was like, definitely domme energy. But I just before we before we move on. I had to see if I wasn't alone.

It's okay. I discovered my libido when, like, I watched like, Disney movies and they were kissing. I remember that's when I learned I was queer. Because I would like, I would like, be like, we should kiss like I was like, six or seven. And like me, my friends would see the people making out on TV, and I'd be like, well, we should kiss like that. It was so playful and fun. And then, and I remember having little queer feelings watching Disney movies with my girlfriends.

Yes!

Yeah. I think kids figure out sexuality at a young age, even if they don't know it sucks. So yeah, it's totally okay that you thought Fern Gully had domme energy. I was kissing my friends in the backyard because I watched Pocahontas kiss John Smith, and I was like, well, we should do that.

Yes.

Um, so yeah, that's my backstory with nonprofits and trying to make an impact on the world, but just feeling like I am spinning my wheels and not getting anywhere. And so I really was trying to get creative with, like, how can I make an impact not take out student loans because I already have a degree, and, let's be honest, like, paying putting more money into school is not always the best option, right?

Yeah. Fuck student loans like all the way around. Mhmm.

Yeah, and I'm very much of a free thinker in the sense of, like, I'm not going to do what you tell me to be successful. I'm going to find my own path. Yes, and I knew I could go back for my master's in social work. Like, nope, I already left social work. I'm like, Nope, I'm not going back to nonprofits, because that's a whole different issue. You could have a whole podcast in the nonprofit industrial complex. Oh, absolutely. So I was like, What can I do that helps people without, you know, taking out 200k in student loans become a therapist and going back to nonprofits. So I found life coaching, it just, I never knew what it was, but I was like, hmm. So a little interesting fact about life coaching, which I love. It is not regulated, so as like a therapist, if you get your license and they find out you're a sex worker, you can get lose your license, same with social work, but coaching, there's no... what's the word? There's there's just no regulation. Now, granted, you can become International Coach Federation. You can get more like levels of certificate, certification, certification.

Yeah.

Work with me. I just had the booster.

Yeah,

That's based off of how many hours you've been coaching. But so there's levels of credit, credit, credit, credential. There we go. There's, I was like, what is the word I'm looking for. So you can, you can scale up in credentials, which just means you're more you have more experience. But there's no, there's no one who's going to say you're a sex worker. You would lose your license. So that was the first thing that was appealing to me, because I was like, great. I can use all my wisdom in this industry. I can also market to sex workers, and I'm not going to worry about all that school going down the drain, because I, you know, got caught up in some moral clause.

Yeah.

That was the first thing I noticed. And then I kind of just did a program for six months, and I had no idea what it was going to turn into, and it just evolved into me creating what I call a holistic business coaching, which is working learning how to create energetic balance between your personal and professional life, ie, what I've had to do with Savannah, and learning how to work and reach your goals in a more sustainable way. So I apply the spiritual principles of my Woo-wooness, manifestation, embodiment, intuition, but then I also pair it with the holistic levels. So mental, emotional, physical, spiritual, and figure out where you are off balance. Get you back in balance. Figure out what do you really want to be experiencing, right? Are you happy at your job? Do you want to switch? What is making you feel unfulfilled, and is it burnout? Where are you at and then saying, fuck capitalism and learning how to work in a way that feels good to you? Because I think anybody with an MBA can teach you how to make money, but I don't want to teach people how to make money. I want to teach people how to make a sustainable living without losing their mind. Uh huh. So that some working in nonprofits for 14 years and then being Savannah, I learned that, and I was like, I need to apply all this wisdom into a coaching niche. So I've been developing that over the past year. I officially launched in March, and I've been coaching some colleagues of mine, which has been really fun. I'm coaching some of my personal friends. I'm coaching some of my clients under more of a just a broad, holistic lens of personal development. But in my city life, I've created the holistic business coaching because I just feel like people don't know how to recover from burnout. They don't know how to achieve their goals without hustle culture, and we see it all the time in sex work. And I was like, we have got to start reclaiming our energy, reclaiming our autonomy, fuck capitalism, and learn how to live and not live, to work and but still being able to make a living. And that's what I've learned through my burnout. So I really wanted to just give that back to people.

I love that so much because I I've been talking or I just, yeah, I'm sure I've said it to a bunch of people in my lifetime that like the hustle... we gotta, we gotta stop glorifying the hustle. It's like, it's capitalism. It's capitalism, and that is not, uh, something I'm trying to perpetuate, because I find capitalism, especially when paired with white supremacy and the hetero patriarchy, to be just like you can look around and see how it's just destroying people, um, and and our communities, so it's I love that you're focusing on really allowing people to ask themselves, like, what is it that I want and what is achievable for me? Like, how can I live my life, actually make some money, but not allow money to be like, the sole focus of what I'm doing. It's so key. So I really, really love that. And as you've been developing this over the course of the year and been doing sex work, have you been able to, like find a balance, how, where have you like found the time to work on starting another business.

So it's interesting. Part of the reason I wanted to update my copy is because I really wanted, I wanted my coaching business and my personal life to almost overlap with what my companionship is. Because, yes, I'm a hippie cow girl in both worlds. But I wanted it to feel like an energetic parallel, like when I'm in coaching mode. I wanted to have a coaching client and then just be able to hop into companion mode and there. It's not like, Oh, I gotta take off a different hat, right? So it was like, I've really focused on trying to create the same container cool and coaching, I feel like some of my clients know I'm coaching them, but I ask powerful questions about like, what do you want to experience? What are you here? How can we co create this beautiful, intimate, satisfying, nurturing experience for you, so you walk out of here knowing you got your needs met. And the same with my coaching clients, I'm like, What are you experiencing? What's stopping you from getting to where you want to go? And like, what steps can we take together? So I've kind of just made it a parallel, which to me, has been essential for not burning the candle at both ends, because it then it just feels like every part of my life is just this streamline, and that's why I've called it conscious companionship, conscious coaching, conscious content. And with my only fans, I don't mind dropping this little nugget, but I'm going to start like, having, like, my naked yoga. Like, yeah, I can just watch me do my yoga, naked or mindful Mondays where I talk about, like, Hey, here's how you can apply mindfulness into your life. And you know, of course, I've got some, like, more, you know, saucy stuff in there. I've got, like, a theme Tuesday. So it's not all holistic wellness. I know not everybody wants that, but I wanted to, I really wanted to start giving people something I know we're hungry for, especially in our hetero patriarchal, white supremacist capital society. I feel like people have lost connection with their humanity, yeah, because we've been so dehumanized by the hustle and survival, especially for more marginalized people. So I wanted to really include that in my companionship, helping people really connect with what do you want? And I've let go of clients who I'm like, you don't want me. You want something way deeper, and it's not me. And I'm so honored when we can come to that, because at the end of the day, I only want people seeing me if it's for the best of them, and if they're searching for something deeper, or seeing me as honestly self sabotage, because it's they are using me to feel better, but it's honestly not serving them that I will suggest. Hey, I think this is, this is what I'm feeling, and I would recommend this, but I can't ethically see you anymore, but I don't feel like I'm serving you. And so really, just making sure that that streamline is across the board has been a big part of my rebrand, and I've gone part time with companionship, which has been nice. I used to just be available whenever, but when I launched this business, I announced, like, Hey, I'm going part time. It's going to be a little bit more difficult to see me, but it's okay, because I wanted that. I wanted to see people that I really vibe with and again, this is privilege, like I 100% own How privileged it is that I can raise my rates, say I'm only seeing this many clients, and then essentially build a business on the side. Like I know that's a privilege, and for me, as long as I'm using that privilege for the betterment of humanity, and I own that privilege, and I'm putting it into how can I give back and serve people and make sure that I'm doing my part to dismantle the hetero patriarchy along, you know, header, heteronormativity, patriarchy, capitalism, white supremacy, and doing that through helping people unlearn the shit from Our world, heal themselves and figure out how they can make a difference, then I know I'm using my privilege in the best way, right? Yeah, I was unconscious of it, and I was just like, do, do, do, do, but I have the privilege, so how can I utilize it to empower other people? And I feel like I can do that through conscious companionship and coaching and content. So

I love that. That's so so good.

It's very woo, woo. But, you know, I did take a lot of psychedelics. I meditate a lot and take psychedelics. woo-woo. I'm here for it. I joke. I my friend Olivia posted, Olivia Arden, She's one of my best friends. I've known her since we were five, she posted this meme the other day where they were throwing this guy back through the window, and he says my kidnappers were turning me after talking about spirituality for two hours, I was like, Yes, that's me. That's I'm like, if you do not want a spiritual experience, I am not the companion for you, because I'm gonna get I'm gonna get in that soul of yours, and we're gonna create a really beautiful experience together.

Hell yes. Yeah, that's so good i honest.... And I'm also like, it's not... whenever you're like, it's my woo woo shit. And I'm just like, I mean, yes, sure. Like, some people would see it as woowoo, but it's also, like, grounded in a socio political analysis of where the world's at. And I think when I think of like, the woo woo stuff that I tend to just like, brush aside, it's the stuff that, like, I don't think is grounded in reality. And like, your your brand of Woo. Woo is certainly grounded in reality, and I'm here for it so. And I just every time you say woo, woo shit, I'm just like, hold the phone for just a second. **Laughter**

Yeah, **Laughter** I also just want to, like, point out that, yes, there are people in this world who are appropriating spiritual practices. They're not honoring where they came from. They are, you know, there's all sorts of examples of people who are just kind of taking bits of spirituality and then calling it their own and then claiming it. And I think a really big thing for me is like, for instance, I teach yoga. I know that I am not Indian, and I know that this is an ancient practice that is not a white woman's practice, right? But I try and make sure that I'm doing my part to decolonize it and own like, Hey, this is where this came from, and this is how I honor this ancient practice, and this is how I stay in integrity with teaching yoga, right? So being Woo, woo, yes, is great, but you have to just be so conscious of where you are getting your modalities from, and being aware of, like, how can I how can I practice this that is not inherent to my culture, but in a way that's still honoring, and that's definitely trial and error, and I think that's why a lot of people don't like woo, woo stuff, because they're like, oh God, another white girl teaching yoga, right? Which I I'm like, Yes, I am another white woman teaching yoga. But for me, teaching yoga and practicing yoga is being embodied. Stress, regulation, resetting your nervous system. It's, you know, I'm not sitting here trying to talk about, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not going to, I'm not going to claim to be a guru of yoga when that's not who I am. I'm teaching it from a place of helping people recenter their nervous systems and find mental health and grounded and I feel like I can teach that with integrity. So I understand why people don't like woo. Woo people.

Yeah, I hear you.

It's all about your motives and how you're presenting it into the world.

Yeah, yeah. Well, I'm so proud of you for getting this thing off the ground, and I love seeing it. It's it's really cool to see you just kind of blossom into yourself. I've only gotten to know you over the last, like, three, three years? three years. And so seeing this like Come come to fruition is really exciting.

And it happened because of burnout. Like, I'm so grateful for my burnout, because if I hadn't burned out, I wouldn't have learned, oh, my God, this is something so many other people are experiencing. How can I take my pain and discomfort and turn it into a resource for people. And it's amazing watching the light bulb go off and teaching people how to meditate and teaching people how to regulate and teaching people how to sit with their emotions and deal with what's actually coming up. And it's just because it's I've had to do it myself,

Yeah.

And it's made me a better companion, because I'm now, I'm like, Oh, I don't have to just swallow this. I can move through it. I can create healthy boundaries, and now I can teach other people. Hey, here's how to do this for yourself, right? But we learn, and then we share our wisdom with other people.

Absolutely, oh, that's so great. Um, I always ask before the rapid fire questions, is there anything you want the greater, the greater public to understand about sex work, or sex workers as a as a whole? Yup.

wWe're human, and we have off days, and I really want people to be mindful of, yeah, y'all are coming... Y'all. My Texas is coming out. People are coming to sex workers because they want to forget the world. But we're also living in the pandemic too, you know? So it's we, I think we just have to really be compassionate and mindful of that we are collectively going through a really hard time on Earth between racism, which has always been around, but I feel like it's, you know, at least in my time, in my 33 years, I feel like the white supremacy is the worst I've ever seen it in my lifetime, where it's so out there. Our healthcare system is crashing, poverty, I mean, climate change, the world is a dark place right now, and we just need to call it what it is. And I think when people are coming to see companions, and they are seeing what we post, or they see like, oh, they haven't messaged me back, you know, in three days, like, just be aware that people are doing the best they can. And I really encourage somebody, if they didn't have a good experience with the companion, or they felt like something is off, really just reflects like they're doing the best they can. And of course, if you really don't enjoy yourself, don't come back, right? But I think people really need to just remember like everybody, client and companion is doing the best they can right now, and this is a hard time, and I really just hope that people can practice compassion and kindness and understanding, and think it'll make this a lot easier to get through. And yeah, we're not robots. We all have off days, and people go through burnout, and it doesn't mean that we're not going to come back, right? Doesn't mean like, oh, Savannah is burned out. Like, I can't see her anymore. It's like, no, Savannah is burned out because she went through a global pandemic and on top of other shit. But sex workers burn out and then they come back. Sex workers have bad days, and they come back just like clients do. And I just want there to just be this authenticity where we're allowed to be human and not dehumanized. As long as we, I think, as long as we're doing what we need to do to make sure we're taking care of our clients, but at the same time, that really means we take care of ourselves first. Because I've took care of myself and I've recovered from my burnout. I can now take care of my clients again, which feels amazing. I feel so good to be able to be the caliber of companion I hold myself to.

Yeah. Oh, that's so fantastic. Thank you for that. Okay, are you ready for rapid fire questions?

I was born ready, Parker.

I'm curious to see if, if I can go back and listen and see if your answers are the same or how they've changed now that you're Savannah Hart. Um, okay, pancakes or waffles?

Pancakes.

Vanilla or chocolate?

Chocolate.

Skiing or horseback riding?

Oh, I see what you did there. Horseback riding.

Favorite place you've ever been?

Budapest.

a A book from your mandatory reading list?

Love in the Age of Cholera.

Oh, shit. That sounds appropriate for right now.

It's so good Gabriel Garcia Marquez. In another life. If I could have made money writing poetry and studying literature, I would have. maybe that's the Queerness in me. But I'm like, I just want to write poems and read classic literature and coffee shops. Can I do that for a living?

Someone pay us to do that because I'm right there with you. Yeah.

Date idea.

Yes. Go to open mic nights. Yes. A song album or musical artist that you're currently obsessed with?

Oh my gosh. Kate Renata. Is this hip hop DJ in Canada, and he has been getting me through this pandemic. Please, if you just need to shake off some stress, put on caternata. Because I swear I've had more dance parties by myself. Just energy. And I'm like, I'm gonna I'm at his concert. I'm not at home. I'm at his concert. So atranata has been essential through this pandemic.

Oh, that sounds like exactly what we need right now.

It's like, electronic and hip hop, and they're so creative. And I'm just like, Yeah, I'm just vibing so hard. My pets are like, Mom, are you okay?

Yeah, Your hidden talent?

59:21

Oh,

Oh my God, my hidden talent. Shit. I don't know. I don't know if I have a hidden talent. I love baking. I don't know if that's hidden. I think I'm pretty out there about it. I love baking. I know. I think I'm so out there with who I am that there's really nothing I wish I was more, like, mysterious, but I'm just so like, who, here's who I am. There's nothing but, like, talent. If I was to just say a talent, I'd say I'm really just creative. I think I just get these downloads, and I'm like, oh my god, it's, it's a blessing and a curse, because it's my stream of consciousness is constantly going, Yeah, my creativity is just and the way my world, my brain works, and how I receive inspiration, I'm so grateful for it, so talent, as much as it's a gift, which I'd say, so and Baking, baking is a talent.

And baking.

I can bake some serious stuff. My cooking out of this world. I am so excited for that, because I know, I know we're gonna bake together one day. Oh yeah. I mean, yeah, when I had COVID at Christmas, I was like, Well, I can't leave the house, but I'll just bake a ton. And so that's what I did.

It's perfect. Yes, baking is one of the things I do when I feel really sad, because it always, just for whatever reason, makes me feel uplifted. I really love it. Uhh, Finish this sentence. Good sex is...

communication. Fuck yes. And presence, because I really... trust me. I love substances, but I want to be fully present with you. I like substances to elevate the mood, not check out. So for me, being fully present with you. And yeah, maybe we take a little bit of mushrooms or we have a little bit of wine to elevate but communication and presence are essential to me. The best orgasms, the best sex, the deepest connections I've ever had. Have to spend when we're fully there together.

Yes, I love that. If you had one superpower, what would it be?

Definitely

Definitely reading people's minds. I feel like I could. I feel like I'm super intuitive, and I can pick up on energetic shifts without someone saying something. But if I could read someone's mind, granted only if I want to, because I don't want to read everyone's mind, but if I could just pick up on like, Oh, they're feeling this, then I could respond appropriately. But I hate when there's a mixed communication or a mixed message, when I just want to be like, I wish I knew how to respond or what they need, because sometimes people don't communicate it well. So be able to just when it's appropriate, and it's for the best of the situation, being able to read someone's mind.

Oh, that's great. And then something simple that brings you joy?

Hiking. Hiking brings me so much joy just hiking in winter, fall, spring, summer. I love feeling my muscles burn from going like the high elevation. I love like having to catch my breath and then just getting to this epic view and being completely surrounded in nature. I come back from those experiences, and I'm just a different person. It just grounds me so much. And it's free, you know?

And it's free!

Yes, free! Capitalism, you will not commodify nature. I mean, I guess they have national parks, but I would like you are not charging me to go hike. And luckily, I live in Colorado, so I can hike all the time.

Fuck yeah, oh, that's great. Well, that brings us to the end of our rapid fire questions, the end of our interview. Thank you for coming back on the show. This has been so wonderful.

Oh my gosh. I loved that. I'm super excited to listen back. It feels like a completely different experience than our last one, but the last one, I felt so... I was still in the pandemic. I was just like, Whoa!

Oh yeah, early pandemic crazies, I was right there with you,

Literally losing my mind. And now I'm like, Oh, we're going into year three. Okay. Like, I'm a little bit more Zen, but the first year, I was just like, crawling out of my skin.

Yeah. Yeah, we've got to get our sea legs with this pandemic.

I know. I'm like, Okay, now I'm a veteran too, and I feel like I can a little bit more relaxed and have a have a system of how to maintain and stay sane during this crazy time.

Absolutely. Well, I love you. It's so good to talk to you. Let's say goodbye to the listeners.

Goodbye everybody.

Thank you so much, And that, my friends, is Savannah Hart, I am so thrilled with that interview. It couldn't have come at a better time for me. Personally, I know in my one year anniversary episode, I talked about the fact that I'm having a mental health hard time right now, and I'm definitely starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak. And I'm working with with some really fantastic folks to do the much needed healing work and just like reframing, you know the things we have to do, I think one of the biggest struggles I'll mention here, just because why not? Maybe y'all will relate. Or for those of you who do relate, just know you're not alone. One of the hardest parts about like being In a depression that's like functionally debilitating, is that or just in general? Maybe not... Maybe it's not even really affect... whatever. Maybe it's not affecting you in certain ways. But the judgment, like the internal judgment about feeling down, it's like feeling bad about feeling bad is this terrible cycle, and that's one of the biggest narratives that I'm currently reframing. One of the things that I continue to ask myself is, who benefits by me feeling this way? A lot of times it's like the cis-heteropatriarchy or white supremacy or capitalism or all of the above. And that can trigger something in me to feel like rebellious and be like, "fuck that feeling!" But it is still hard to like not feel it, you know. But it does light a fire under my ass to find a way to rewrite it, because I do not want to be perpetuating those systems, the systems that I am actively, actively working against. So this, as within, so without, is a is a thing like, if you can heal from those systems inside your own self, it makes you more able and ready to fight those things outside of yourself. Those are, those are things I'm thinking about. And for those of you who've been reaching out and checking in. I really, really appreciate that and I have felt so loved by people who I have never met in my entire life. And it's really touching. So thank you. Space Fact: it's a space fact time, so I looked up some stuff just to see, like feed, like fodder for creativity. And I just thought this one was super cool. So I'm not even gonna, like spin off of it in a weird way.There's, there's a state of water that apparently was, like, experimented with to to get to, called super critical water. And how, how you achieve super critical water is you compress it and heat it to 373 degrees Celsius, and you have to compress it to a pressure of 217 atmospheres. And once you get it to that state, when it is mixed with organic material, it creates this, like liquid gas situation that burns stuff. There's no flame, but it it like it burns. It is a liquid gas that burns organic material. So why would we create this stuff? Apparently, in space, it's used to get rid of organic material, like dispose of things. But I just thought that was really cool. We all learned, you know, there's gas, liquid, solid, evaporation, all that stuff. We never, we never learned about super critical water in the water cycle. I wonder where that would fit. Itwouldn't. It would just be on a spaceship. But anyway, don't forget, water is super Critical. Drink that shit. Nanu Nanu, motherfuckers.