For Melanie Smith*, knowing her boyfriend Logan Campbell spends most of his time with prostitutes doesn’t make her angry. In fact, she not only supports Logan in his decision to run a brothel, she even helps out – because she knows it’s his best chance of getting to the 2012 olympics in London.
Melanie (23) put her own beauty therapy business on hold after Logan (23) asked her to help manage the Auckland massage parlour he bought with a mate in July. She and Logan are both top taekwando competitors, and fell in love while they were representing New Zealand at the World Taekwondo Championships.
Logan came 16th at last year’s Beijing Games but his olympic participation cost $150,000, most of which came from his parents. He was looking for ideas to raise funds for his next olympic campaign when he came across the massage parlour business opportunity. He says running the brothel is his best chance of raising enough money to get to the olympics again, and Melanie supports his decision wholeheartedly.
She often acts as a receptionist, answering the phones and greeting the clients as they arrive at the premises. “I wanted to be part of what Logan is doing,” she says. “A job like this requires long hours, so if I wasn’t there I would never see him.”
And Logan says he couldn’t do it without Melanie’s support. “Without oel, there would be no business,” he says. “Guys don’t want to be greeted by a man when they walk into a place like this.” Melanie, who also helps with the paperwork, says that she didn’t mind stepping in when she saw that Logan was struggling. “Gradually the workload increased,” she explains.”I ended up becoming a manager and part-owner.”
But her love for Logan was tested even further when the New Zealand olympic Committee sent the athlete a letter, warning him that selling sex is a violation of the olympic movement’s values. The controversy made national headlines.
“olympic values are of excellence, friendship and respect
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