Eric Amaranth watches the couple in front of him making love, ready to tell them where they are going wrong.
He is a man who claims to know all there is to know about sex. He has read virtually every self-help book and begged a veteran sex guru to teach him all she knew.
Now Eric, 35, is a sex-life coach.
He earns £108 an hour encouraging people to talk dirty, watching couples make love and explaining the finer points of the human body.
Demand for his services has soared following the recent success of “mummy porn” novels.
He said: “Since Fifty Shades Of Grey came out, business really has been booming — and they are people from around the world.
“I have had requests from people in the UK. I’m based in New York and I can watch in via Skype — I can give them advice in just the same way.
“Women are wanting more than just a spanking now. But men aren’t sure they want to do those sort of things with the woman they love. They don’t know how to be kinky.”
Eric will only treat people who want to improve their love lives and insists that people with sexual hang-ups or those who have been abused should see a psychiatrist.
He has 35 regular clients, mainly in the US, and no subject is taboo.
Most just want to talk but a few enjoy “guided” sessions where he watches them make love and issues instructions.
Eric said: “I won’t touch their bodies, that would be prostitution. If someone asks me to join in, then I’m out of there. I’m the instructor.
“I don’t deal with sex addicts because I don’t need to hand them a stick of dynamite.”
Most of his clients are ordinary people who want to improve their performance in bed, or couples who want to put the spark back into their sex life.
Eric lost his virginity at 19, saying he was an ugly duckling who could not get a girlfriend.
He started reading books to improve his techniques then struck up an email correspondence with Betty Dodson, a long-term advocate of sexual rights for women and a pioneer in erotic art.
She has a formidable reputation as a sex expert and Eric’s life took a very odd twist. Betty invited him to visit her and they spent the weekend in bed. She was 69, he was 22.
He begged to become her disciple and they ended up living together for ten years.
They split when he met his new girlfriend, who is 28.
Betty, now 84, told us: “I wanted to train an apprentice and he was wonderful. He can be a little too conservative sometimes — there are lines he won’t cross. But he was like a gorgeous gift.
“He ran errands, he was like a butler who also provided sex. I knew it would end and I think he knew it too. I’m in my eighties now, that’s too old for steady partner sex. I missed him when he left but now we are friends.”
Eric said: “Betty is very young for her age. But I know people were surprised. Her friends thought I was taking advantage of her and my friends thought she was taking advantage of me.”
Now Eric is happily settled with his girlfriend — whom he met through his work.
He said: “We were doing a session and the vibes were just there. I was very attracted to her.” She has no qualms about him hosting saucy hen parties, where brides-to-be and their friends all meet up for wine and sex talk.
Nor does she mind the collection of sex toys he keeps in their tiny apartment that he lends to clients to perfect their skills.
He said: “I always fit condoms on them and wash them afterwards. People like to test drive different toys. They’re like paint brushes — you use different brushes for different strokes.”
Eric credits his own sexual prowess with being able to do numerous things at the same time. He said: “It’s all in the co-ordination. For a woman it’s like having a threesome or foursome with just one guy.
“I keep on practising. It is like inventor Thomas Edison — he worked and worked until he perfected the light bulb.
“One lover said I was intimidating. She feared she’d be no good in bed. Other women have told me their friends say the same thing.
“I’ve had about 65 lovers, though I don’t keep track exactly. It’s not that many over 16 years. I’m not the type to do a drunken hook-up. I’ve never had a one-night stand. Every lover has been special."
Eric spends up to 20 hours a week coaching clients and for guided classes he will go to a customer’s home or hotel suite.
He said: “I’m like a tennis coach, I show people how to improve their game. It’s not just about sex, it’s about communication.
“People need to know how to ask for what they want. Women often feel short changed. They either don’t get an orgasm or it isn’t as good as it could be. I teach both men and women how to get better. It’s the same information whether you are straight or gay.
“If couples start off shy they soon learn to relax.
“They are not bare naked and I don’t just sit there watching them have sex — I give feedback. Quite often they will forget that I am there because the sex is so good.”
Eric says his parents are not embarrassed by his career choice. They were just concerned he would not be able to make enough money from it.
But he said: “I’m doing fine. I just wish more people in their early twenties would do this — that’s when you really want to know everything there is to know about good sex.
“Fifty Shades has certainly helped — it’s got people thinking about what they are missing out on.” # Source: The Sun
