TakeItOff

by Taylor Cole

  Emotional Guy: Girlfriend problems make his tear ducts fill up. Or maybe he is upset by some rude remark a girl made. Maybe it’s just that time of month for him. You know, time to cleanse the system and have a good cry. Some guys really do have frequent breakdowns in the dressing room, and they will bawl like a five-year-old, even threatening suicide. It’s always an attention ploy because out of all the deaths we saw, none was a suicide. It becomes very annoying listening to his problems and whining. However, he is usually able to use this as a money maker. “Oh I love him because he’s so sensitive!” is what the girls will say.

  Druggies: They come and go often, live a gypsy lifestyle and are usually about five to ten years past their prime, with a past that is longer than their future. These guys are often the ones who were naturally gifted with beauty and used that fact to skate through life.

  Smart Ones: These guys have college degrees and ways of making money other than dancing. They know that dancing for extra cash and not for their careers is the best way to stay ahead. These guys have various businesses now and have become successful, often earning six-figure incomes and being their own boss.

  I’m-Too-Sexy-to-Work-Out Guy: This guy usually is too full of himself. Probably started dancing at a young age and his career took off with a bang. He didn’t have to work out to look good or work too hard to get attention, so he never developed good habits. Now that he is in his early thirties, he is out of shape but thinks he can still do it without working out. He can’t figure out why he doesn’t make as much money as he used to.

  The Nice and Innocent Guy: Yes, he does exist. Everyone likes him and he is always in a relationship.

  Overly Confident, Cheesy Pick-up Line Guy: For some reason, it actually works, though. Why do women fall for his cheesy crap?

  Mr. Money Balls: Some guys actually will bring dollar bills to work and put them in their money roll to make it seem as if they are making a killing. One guy had us fooled for years into thinking he was making a lot. After a night he went onstage and there wasn’t one girl in the club, we realized it was an illusion, as he walked offstage with a huge wad of dollar bills in his underwear. The other dancers quickly called him out about it.

  Hustler: He’s a smooth talker and he doesn’t take no for an answer. He can talk an Eskimo into buying ice cubes. The hustler is a cutthroat dancer and he would sell his own mother to make a quick buck. He may seem cool at first, but his true colors always shine through and then he is shunned by the dancers and eventually run off. We’ve seen many of these guys come and go. It takes awhile to spot them at first. They made it through their whole lives scamming people and/or making them feel sorry for them to get what they want. These guys are a cancer in the club and cause more drama than they are worth. They will do for a dollar what you wouldn’t do for a thousand, and that makes it hard for the quality dancers to compete. They also tell the other dancers’ business to customers, pretending to be a friend, and sometimes lying to steal them away. Then they will have sex with them to seal the deal. They get paid a fraction of what the other guy got and do all the things the other guy wouldn’t.

  Visitors: These are guys who travel from club to club across the United States. If one club is doing better, they visit that club. They bring new excitement with them, but the guys who call the club home might not be happy to have the competition. Most are really cool and respectful, they get along with the guys, and the locals appreciate their shows. It’s almost like a family reunion when they come. Usually, dancers throw after-parties while they are in town to show them a good time.

  Every once in a while, however, a hustler will blow through, and we hate that. One of the worst was a cocky guy from the East Coast who thought he was a real stud. We thought he sucked, but the owner gave him special treatment because he was from out of town. The local guys hated him but the owner shrugged off their attempts to get him to scold the guy. It wasn’t until we caught him on camera stealing money out of all the other dancers’ lockers that the boss said he should go home. He was even stealing from the guys who were sticking up for him.

  Wanna-be Famous Guy: Every other dancer is trying to be a model or actor. Some have been in print commercials and film, though usually just as extras on the set. These guys tend to float from club to club and perform roadshows a lot.

  The Hung One: This guy is famous for his big cock. This is the only guy who doesn’t have to worry about the other guys trying to screw any of his exes.

  Whipping Boy: This guy always gets into a relationship with the wrong girl, usually a stripper who totally dominates the relationship. She sleeps around and he convinces himself that she is really a good girl. Guys at a club are known to sleep with each other’s girlfriends. It’s an alpha male thing. Fights will break out over this. Fights about this are not common, but we’ve seen it happen more than once. A dancer was caught in the parking lot fucking a rookie’s fiancée in a car. The rookie knocked on the window and the dancer said, “Dude, get the fuck out of here! I’m not done!” The dancer was huge and definitely the alpha male over the rookie! The girl didn’t stop either.

  Guy Who Sucks and Doesn’t Know It: We all try to give some advice to him, but he thinks he knows better, even though he bombs onstage every time he goes up. This guy usually has an outdated look or outdated act and costumes.

  Power Trip Guy:He has some type of gig (roadshow, modeling gig, tour) where he is the boss and picks out dancers to go on the shows. He yells and screams, and the guys put up with him because they need and want the extra work.

  Guy Who Girls Think is Gay but Who is Really Straight: The way he talks is a little bit feminine, and the girls think might be gay, but in reality he has a hot girlfriend or he gets a lot of girls.

  Too Damn Old to be Stripping Guy: There is a type of man who will dance until he can dance no more. In his mid-fifties or older, he has evolved into a swap meet on stage. In order to get the girls up to the stage, he gives out posters, key chains, thongs, feathers, pictures, plastic flags and cowboy hats—pretty much anything you can find at a dollar store. One of these guys was once our boss and he ruled with an iron fist. Seriously, the dude was whack, but the money was so good that the guys put up with his shit.

  Even though he totally bombs onstage every night and is laughed at, he still tries to convince everyone he is the best. He even gives girls his own money and tells them to give it back to him onstage so it looks as if the crowd likes him. Karma has definitely gotten the best of this guy. He used to date hot, hot girls but now is a mere joke. He is the perfect example of why you have to have a Plan B. Looks fade.

  There was a man who was more than eighty years old, went by the name Disco Frankie. He was on a talk show about being the oldest male stripper. Even this old dude, who was clearly a comedy routine at the start of the show, thought he was gonna get laid. He really worked the floor and was working his angle. You go, Frankie! R.I.P.

  Twice-Retired Old Guy Who Keeps Coming Back: Similar to the Too Damn Old Guy, he uses the same acts, music and dance moves from a decade or two ago, has the same old-school costumes, same knee-high, white leather boots, and can’t figure out why he is not as successful as he once was.

  Balding Dancer: There was a dancer who had a toupee. Before that, when he was thinning on top, he used the head paint stuff. Literally, you cover your scalp with special paint. It’s supposed to make your hair look thicker. In Texas, in the dead of summer, he had a strip-o-gram at an outdoor pool area. When he got back to the club, his forehead was covered with this black paint mixed with sweat! He didn’t even realize it until we told him.

  Justin and Taylor with EC author Koko Brown

  Chapter Four: Earning a Living

  When you first get into the biz, money is hard to make. There is a weeding-out process that only the strong survive. Some guys start out as waiters first. This helps because it enables them to build a client base. If you have that, the first few months are much, much easier.

  As the movie Magic Mike s
ays, we do it for money, chicks and a good time! However, the beginning is not anything like that. When you start, it’s so hard to make money that most guys have to supplement their income with other work. Some are lucky and are able to do some modeling or film work. Some are in magazines as well. Until you’re famous, none of these things make you much money. Some guys have to resort to working at a gay bar to make extra cash because gay bars pay a shift fee of usually sixty to a hundred dollars, in addition to tips for a three-hour shift, where pretty much all you do is stand on a box. No table dancing allowed.

  On a slow night at a ladies’ club, you might actually lose money working that night after tipping out. Tipping out means paying the stage coordinator a tip of at least ten dollars and the DJ a tip of twelve to twenty-five dollars. So financially, you might have to work at a gay bar for a time to make ends meet until you get regulars at another club and can quit.

  Most guys have stripper girlfriends. For one thing, it’s easier to date someone in the same business who has the same hours. Plus, they make a lot of money! The average male stripper makes less than fifty thousand dollars a year. The average female stripper makes seventy-five thousand easily, and the hottest ones make well into six figures. Sometimes, when a guy’s chick makes so much, he will float in and out of the club because he has less incentive to make money.

  The club is the main source of income. Open four to five days per week, this is where the guys really hone their skills. Main stage, side stage, stage act, table dances and selling merchandise—these are the ways we make our money in the club. We used to refer to the side stages as the meat rack. It was funny. Sometimes we watched the girls point to each guy to figure out which one they wanted to get a lap dance from.

  The stripper/customer relationship is formed at the club. Some guys will go out to dinner and lunches with customers for free, building a relationship so they will be tipped in the bar. Others will get paid to go out with a customer. The club has nothing to do with this, but it is not looked down upon. It’s actually encouraged because it will help the club in the long run by bringing in more regulars spending money.

  How do you get a customer? It usually starts with a tip of a one-dollar or five-dollar bill at the stage. Then a lap dance. Then, before you know it, you are her best friend and man-toy, and she only has eyes for you! Even if she knows it’s all just a fantasy. The truth is, we actually do help some women through rough patches in their lives. We listen to our customers in much the same way a bartender does.

  In this business, you’re a star one day, nobody the next. One day the show could be rocking. Money flowing, hot girls, after-party! Next day, twenty to thirty total girls at the show. No money flowing and no possible hook-ups.

  Strip-o-grams are the most common way for a rookie to earn a living at stripping. The club will book these for the girls who are holding their birthday/bachelorette parties at home. The rookies love the guaranteed money. They usually only last about thirty minutes and pay anywhere from fifty to two hundred bucks, plus tips. The price depends on how much demand the dancer has.

  Tricks…Yes, That Kind

  Do male strippers do tricks? Depends on the guy. Most of the guys we’ve worked with make their money at the club. The best guys will make their money without doing anything extra. A few guys will make extra on the side, but it’s not commonplace, and the other dancers will get mad if they find out. It’s all about conditioning the girls to not expect too much other than a lap dance and a fun time.

  For example, Dancer One has a tipper for a few months, and she is getting antsy to go on a date. He spends time on the phone with her, but that is all, outside the club. She now turns her attention to Dancer Two. She tips both, but Dancer Two starts to tell her that they will go out. After they do, she tips Dancer Two almost exclusively now. Dancer One lost his customer because Dancer Two spent more outside time with her. Still no sex, just dinner and a movie, but Dancer Two is her main guy now and Dancer One has lost a tipper. Sometimes this will cause a fight, depending on how the second dancer snaked the tipper.

  Other guys know to steer clear of the tipper out of respect. However, if she comes and tips you on main stage on her own accord, she can be transitioned as your exclusive tipper eventually and without any incidents. “You fuck your customer, you fuck your money!” We say that for a reason. The best tippers are looked upon that way. If a guy is gonna have sex with the tipper, she will be cute.

  We’ve known two dancers who turned to a life of prostitution. Soliciting men. The reason everyone knew is that they were advertising for men, using their own picture. At that point, the two guys had stopped working at the club, and once we all knew, they would never be welcome back! If you allow that, the club will get hurt in the long run. It’s important to maintain a certain level of cleanliness, and prostitution makes the business dirty.

  For the most part, male dancers aren’t selling their bodies. They tend to give it away because they’re guys, and that’s what guys do. We are programmed to want to spread our seed, even if we don’t want babies. Sex is much less complicated for a man than for a woman. We can hit it and quit it easily. Women have more of an emotional bond. Even if it’s a one-moment stand, chances are she will want to hook up again.

  The other form of prostitution we’ve seen happen a few times is with swingers. Sometimes a swinger couple comes in where the guy is twice the girl’s age. He pays the dancer to pleasure his girl while he watches. Not at the club, mind you; this takes place after work. The club has a strict policy on “no sex” in the club. That doesn’t mean that it never happens though!

  Taylor: On the Road

  In addition to the exotic clubs, we make money on tours and roadshows. Roadshows are done on a more local basis, within a five- to six-hour drive. Sometimes we get lucky enough to have tours. Tours are roadshows that are done in consecutive order and out of state, possibly to Europe or even more exotic locations.

  Roadshows are the most fun aspect of dancing. That’s because the girls treat you as if you’re famous. The busy shows are like that anyway. Having hundreds of girls chanting over and over, “Take it off! Take it off!” makes you feel pretty darn good about yourself!

  The other great thing about roadshows is that you get to travel, and you get a base pay too. So it’s like a paid vacation. It’s usually someplace where the women don’t often get to see male strippers, so it’s more of an event to them. The club will promote more because they want to capitalize on the unique venue.

  When we enter the club, you can feel the excitement in the air; it’s electrifying. The crowd roars as soon as the first guy walks in. It’s almost chaotic. As you walk through the crowd to the dressing room, girls are touching you all over. Hands are groping and pulling on you. They grab your ass and caress your cock, seeing what they can get away with. This is a roadshow, so pretty much anything goes. If you see someone you’re attracted to, you stop and straddle her as you introduce yourself to her party, hoping she will grab you and get turned on. You make your way to the back with your costumes. All the guys are so excited because they know what’s in store for the night. Tonight we are rock stars!

  We sell raffle tickets at the roadshows in the first ten to fifteen minutes of the show. One of our prizes is a backstage pass. Each show is different. It depends on who the guys are. If they are mostly single, the raffle is always fixed! We give the winning ticket to a hot chick, preferably a whole group of hotties. At the end of the roadshow, the winning tickets are announced and the girls come backstage. Rock stars have roadies to pass out the backstage passes; we have to do it ourselves with raffle tickets, but the end result is the same.

  Backstage, everyone is in such a rush to get started. Laying out costumes. Getting music ready. We draw numbers to see the order we will dance. We write the numbers on tiny pieces of paper and throw them in the air. Each guy quickly grabs a piece and slowly unfolds it, hoping it’s not first or last. There are usually about five guys dancing on roadshows, so if you�
�re first, the crowd isn’t sure what to do yet. If you’re last, they may be out of money by the time you go up.

  At one particular show, I draw three, the perfect number because the crowd will really be into the show by then and will still have plenty of cash.

  When it’s time to get the show started, one of the guys who’s a good MC goes to the DJ booth. The music and the lights die down a little. You hear a loud and enthusiastic voice. “Are you girls ready to see some naked men?” The girls let out almost deafening screams. The noise dies down and instantly the MC yells, “You girls aren’t loud enough!” And the place goes wild. “Do we have any bad girls in the house tonight?” he asks, and again the crowd goes crazy. “Who wants to get strip-searched out there?” The ladies are jumping up and down, yelling and waving their hands in the air to volunteer.

  The first guy goes on, dressed as a cop. He takes a girl from the audience and frisks her onstage. The crowd is screaming, laughing and cheering him on. He bends her over and puts his flashlight between her legs, moving it back and forth like a dildo. Then his clothes come off, and there is a steady line of girls waiting to tip. The MC still pumps him up at every key point of the dance. “Put your hands together for your first entertainer,” the MC says. The girls clap and cheer. He exits the stage with arms full of dollars and makes his way to the back, where he is greeted by the dancers with high fives. “Good job, bro,” the other dancers say.

  The MC comes onstage with some well-rehearsed witty lines that always get a cheer. Then he yells, “You ladies want more?” The women scream yes.