BRU Zine shared information directly related to outdoor hustles, like tips for safer sex and drug use, what to do when stopped by the cops, and where to find non-judgmental medical clinics. Many of us had only ever told our stories under crisis-related circumstances, speaking to audiences of medical professionals, social workers, police officers, and lawyers. The publication launched in 2013 after a group of New York City-based sex workers gathered together weekly for peer-driven memoir writing workshops. Co-editor Vanessa Carlisle runs Hookers Army Los Angeles, a peer support and self-defense collective, and co-hosts and produces On the Dresser, a podcast about sex and politics run by queer sex workers.
