The crazy things going on in Nairobi spas revealed

Unconventional moves are defining the popular new genre of massage in Nairobi.

It's a Friday evening and Geoffrey Otieno [not his real name], an accountant at a leading audit firm in Nairobi, has completed his hard day's work and is setting off to unwind at a popular spa.

Otieno has been a regular client at the spa located in Nairobi's posh Kilimani area.

He has been visiting a massage therapist twice a month for the last year, mostly after work.

"This makes me re-energised and relaxed," Otieno tells the Star of his massage experience at the high-end spa.

Aged 33, Otieno is one of the many young people who are frequenting spas every day in Nairobi in search of relaxation and rejuvenation of bodies and souls.

While some spas have hired professionals to give clients that perfect touch and feel, some have crossed the red line and morphed into theatres of raw prostitution.

Here, it is a willing client and a readily available 'masseuse' more than willing to juggle between being a spa expert and quenching the inner thirst of randy customers.

Otieno says while he has been attending his bi-monthly sessions, he has encountered options being fronted by the skimpily dressed girls running the facility.

"Once you get into the spa, the environment itself leaves a lot to be desired from the lighting to the finishing touch of the rooms; it is a devil's boxing ring," he says.

According to him, while a massage ideally should be very professional without disturbing the erogenous zones, some masseuses take advantage of the environment to pursue more money.

He says that some of the masseuses focus on libidinal gratification to trap men for what they call a 'happy ending'.

"... And that is how men find themselves parting with more than they bargained for including the extras," Otieno says, adding that women take advantage to bill men crazily afterwards.

A happy ending massage is a massage that starts with the usual full-body rubdown but ends with a sex act.

Such an erotic massage can cost a man to the tune of Sh 4,000 ton Sh7,000 for an hour at an average facility, he said.

But why are men paying for extras?

Jane Gatwiri [not her real name] has been working at a spa within the Westlands area and admits that while some masseuses drive men towards table showers, some men also just like it that way.

Gatwiri says men are getting obsessed with such sexual acts as a strategy to avoid maintaining women.

She admits that some of the professionals use happy endings to discreetly offer their sexual services but insists usually clients are asked if the extras can be offered at a cost.

"I won't deny that there are happy endings, these are things that are done every hour with a variety of clients who prefer this extra service after the professional bit is completed," Gatwiri says.

While some clients may come with a mindset to pursue happy endings, Gatwiri says, some are carried away by the erotic touches.

"And when they cannot endure any more, cry out for a table shower."

The demand for discrete happy endings, coupled with the demand for money has triggered an exponential growth of spas in Nairobi estates.

Brand positioning

From billboards to posters across avenues, streets and main roads across the capital city, Nairobi is replete with erotic posters that are promising heaven on earth.

Gatwiri says some spas have a combination of professional massage and a bit of 'sex-for-money' where masseuses have built a network of clientele that look for both services.

"Some clients would have a personalised relationship with the women at the spas such that they would call and book for services with specific masseuses that they are used to because they have agreed to climax with happy endings," she said.

Cat-walking and meticulous selection

She noted that others would just walk in and get served by any of the masseuses around after a meticulous parade where the girls catwalk around.

"This category is usually of starters who are adventuring and exploring what happens there," Gatwiri says, adding that the dressing is designed to reveal as most as it cannot hide.

On her part, Grace Onyango [not her real name], a masseuse at a spa in Ruaka estate, experienced men who do not want attachment walk in and select those to serve them from a pool of girls.

Grace, 27, says this category usually likes services far-too-late-night because they are after happy endings and sometimes consensual sex.

"In our spa, more men like walking in from 7 pm and can stay for as long as 10 pm because they like privacy and want the services after work," she explained.

"They are mostly clients who do not like booking but would want to come in the cover of darkness because some are senior members of the society or public figures."

The demand for spas has forced a number of sex workers to morph into 'professionals' at a number of facilities where they camouflage as masseuses while in the real sense, they are practising prostitution.

Demand for masseuse jobs

James Arandi, 47, a spa owner in Nairobi says, the demand by young girls for such jobs has increased drastically, including university students who prefer working late nights and weekends.

"In a day, my manager tells me she receives more than 10 applications and visits by girls who are looking for jobs of this kind... The reality is that men want to spend more on these things in this town," he told the Star in an interview.

He says the common practice is that they leave the girls to negotiate with the clients while in the massage rooms if they can pay more for extras.

"For us, we have a rate card that clients get when they walk in but what happens in the private rooms, as a business, we may not know, as much as a client has not complained," he said.

The business owner says that girls can walk home with as much as Sh7,000 daily over and above their commissions.

"The commissions are based on the number of clients and the amount we charge through formal channels, but I know happy endings have additional charges depending on the discretion of the masseuse serving them," he said.

Late-night parties

The facilities have also been turned into sex orgies where clients walk in with alcohol and drugs for long hours of excitement with their 'girls', especially after work.

"I prefer to have my man visit me here after work because he is always busy during the day... We drink, smoke and have sex here before he drops me home at midnight," says Agnes Karimi, spa attendant in Nairobi's Kilimani area.

She admits that most women prefer such an arrangement because of the convenience for both of them who love unwinding as they party.

They are able to make money through commissions as well as 'serve' their men.

"Look here, we are dealing married men, they must get home at some point and have tight family and work engagements," Karimi says.

She explains that some facilities may offer some champagne before one is allowed on a massage table.

The masseuse then applies the massage oil seductively into erogenous zones with the massage, in some cases, ending up in a bubble bath together.

Jared Ndichu, an expert massage therapist, says clients must be careful when making selections on facilities.

"Some spas offer a more private experience, it is good to make the right choices and stick to experts," he says.

While spas were once considered an extravagance by many Kenyans because they were mostly available in luxury hotels, the demand for body treatment solutions is driving the mushrooming of the facilities.