A man spends £75-an-hour cuddling a stranger as a form of therapy and says it helps him "be more honest" with his problems. Mark Lee, 24, has had two sessions with Trevor Hooton, a professional cuddler.
Trevor - who goes by 'Treasure' - runs their business, 'Embrace Connections', and charges up to £75 a pop for an hour-long hugging session. Treasure also offers 'cuddle parties' for £30 a session - where people can come together "to explore and enjoy non-sexual physical connection in a safe, structured environment".
Treasure has seen an increase in new clients and more enquiries, which they believe is from putting themselves out there and becoming more "established". They believe there are three reasons as to why people want cuddle therapy.
The first being people who are not getting the touch that they want in their lives and want to change that. The opposite of that, are people like "carers and providers" where most their touch is directed away from them, which Treasure says can be "draining" and "it's a way for them to receive that touch in their lives."
Lastly, it's for people who are "interested in changing their relationship with touch", says Treasure, such as people who might be quite nervous and those who want to reclaim touch after a bad experience. Mark found Treasure by chance after searching for unconventional forms of therapy.
Despite initially feeling nervous, he spent two hours with Treasure and says the cuddling helped with his trust and made him feel more comfortable talking about his issues. Mark, a finance student, said: "In the beginning I was a bit nervous and it was difficult to get into the flow straight away, but Treasure was really good at helping me feel safe and respecting my boundaries.
"I just think when Treasure made me feel a bit more intimate through cuddling it was easier to be honest with my feelings. After the ice breakers it becomes easier to talk about all kinds of things.
"Treasure was really good at sympathising and respecting my confidentiality and that's my key point I took from it. I think it should be made available more widely."
Mark says he was dealing with "a lot of stress" in his life before discovering cuddle therapy - due to family and study issues. He said: "Stress can be hard to deal with without the support of another human being - so I wanted to try something a bit more intimate.
"It was personal issues, family issues and stress from study. Having someone to listen to you is nice. It's hard to be open about my problems unless I have that trust with a person but cuddle therapy really helped to build that trust and made me feel more comfortable to talk about my issues.
"I think it's good to try new experiences and also because cuddling helps improve your mood afterwards and helps with fatigue. Overall, I just enjoyed the experience."
Treasure explained what they offer is "more than just a hug" - it's about "pouring care, affection and goodwill into someone through touch".
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They admitted not everyone understands exactly what their business offers - with some even mistaking it for sex work. But Treasure insists professional cuddling is "not as novel a concept as it seems" and thinks everyone should give it a go.
Treasure, who is originally from Montreal, Canada, but now lives in Bristol, said: "I built a business based on my passions for building human connections. Many people struggle to make those and that's where I step in.
"It's more than just cuddling - it's giving people the things they need, whatever that might be. I want to be able to build a reputation of quality work and value so people seek me out and want to work with me and that's starting happen.
"My goal is really to share my passions for connections and helping people connect."
Treasure had to learn the theory behind cuddling and said: "It's about communication and building trust - when you hire a cuddle therapist, you are hiring their time, attention and care. When I am giving a hug to someone, I'm pouring in care, affection and goodwill through that touch.
"Hugging a stranger doesn't do much, it has to be someone who cares about you."
Speaking about this client, Treasure said: "He is actually pretty able to exist in this environment but he doesn't have access to these connections without expectations.
"Everything in real life feels complicated and this feels simple and he can talk openly about what he's experiencing."
