“The hipster rent boy would be someone who's smart and has a lot of other things going on, lots of ambitions, but who realizes upon coming here that living the whole New York lifestyle is going to be hugely expensive. He's relatively new to New York and has a taste for clothing; wants a better apartment, maybe even a car. He realizes it's gonna take awhile to get ahead in whatever career he wants to get ahead in, especially if it's acting or fashion or art. And he figures out that he can supplement his lifestyle based on his looks alone.”
— Sean van Sant, CEO of Rentboy.com, to the New York Observer on the world's oldest profession, the recession and the Big Apple.