A year after coming out as queer on The Real World, Christopher Ammon has ditched the spotlight to become a professional cuddler.

“A year ago I both came out of the closet and left the Mormon Church while appearing on MTV’s The Real World,” Ammon told The Huffington Post. “I lost my family, my community... everything. It was devastating.”

A friend then introduced him to Cuddlist, a cuddling service that matches professionally trained cuddlers with clients in need of connection. Ammon went through the training and said his life began to change for the better.

“I now consider my clients to be some of my dearest friends,” he said. “Learning about their lives, their heartaches, their dreams... it helps me to better understand my own.”

Ammon talked about his new job in a recent video for the cuddling service, calling it "the most accessible, reliable source of connection."

Though the notion of paying $80 for a session of cuddling might seem strange at first, the service boasts some serious benefits as cuddling has been shown to help with both depression and social isolation. Ammon believes the practice is especially helpful for those in the LGBT community.

“I want to be a part of the fight against LGBTQIA suicide,” he said. “What this does is that it actively fights against loneliness. It creates a space where we can come together and experience intimacy in a safe, non-sexualized way."