Former strippers told their secrets and juicy stories from work (21 photos)

Unusual requests from clients, erotic dance in a beekeeper costume and what, after all, men want: all this was told by former workers and employees of strip clubs, private “exotic” dancers and others involved in the adult entertainment industry.





1. “I worked as a stripper all over the world, mostly in big cities. Dancers pay for the opportunity to earn money. This is called a stage fee and the girls have to pay it every night. For some clubs it could be $80 and for others it could be as little as $10. At some places in Vegas we were asked to hang out with various rich guys at the clubs and if we did we were given a stage fee. Mike Tyson was an honorary client at one of the clubs I worked at. One night he tore his shirt and broke into the DJ booth with all our bouncers guarding him. It was wild. But, in fact, Mike Tyson is very nice to me. Also, when he gave me his number, he said his name was "Steve" so no one would know it was him. I have enough stories for several days.”



2. “I'm a straight guy who used to work as an exotic dancer in bars and at private parties. Male clients always behaved as decently as possible and left good tips. I've always tried to avoid women and bachelorette parties because they indulge too much and don't tip much."



3. “A guy friend of mine worked as a stripper when we were in college and it helped him pay for school. He mainly performed at bachelorette parties and made phone calls. The funny thing is that he didn't look like a "typical" stripper: he was wildly pale and very thin, with a receding hairline, not very muscular, etc. He always thought it was funny that he was hired and paid to do undressed without looking at him beforehand. If the client did not request to speak on a specific topic in a special costume, then his agent allowed him to choose his own outfit. A friend said that most orders don't specify preferences, so he made his own beekeeper costume (face mesh and all). He said that every time that skinny white guy dressed like a beekeeper showed up and started taking off his clothes, the look on his customers' faces was priceless. I think he enjoyed that reaction as much as he enjoyed the money.”



4. “I worked as a stripper for 13 years. The most unusual request I've ever received was from a man who asked me to poop on him."



5. “Most of what you hear from us—our stories, accents, reasons why we take our clothes off, etc.—is usually lies. We all learn to be perfect liars, and we work together to help each other. While we're dancing, we're mostly thinking about our kids, husbands, boyfriends, girlfriends, grocery shopping, or anything ~except~ you. Also, I know some people are wondering this, so yes, we still get naked when we're on our period. We just hide the tampon string or cut it.”



6. “I think the saddest thing I saw while working as a waitress in a strip club was when men tried to impress their sons and paid me to smile at them.”



7. “I worked as a stripper for four years and used the money I earned to pay for my education. Some women worked on the side, but I didn’t, despite offers. Most of all, I loved when veterans came - they became disabled in the war and were always incredibly happy when I danced for them. The worst part was definitely dealing with rich drunk idiots."



8. “I danced for about seven years. I've learned that most men just want company. They're really just looking for someone to talk to who will listen to everything they have to say. In this regard, we are something like psychotherapists.”



9. “I worked as a dancer for five years and only stopped last November. Club life is completely different from what pop culture or occasional news stories portray it to be. I've worked in many different striptease environments, from the most out-of-the-way places to a private events company and almost a dozen clubs. Every reputable club I worked at had cameras everywhere to keep the girls safe, as well as escorts to escort them to their cars every night. Two of the clubs I worked at had valet parking. At one club we were even escorted by the police on weekends. Girls also had their breath checked with a breathalyzer if they got behind the wheel after their shift. I’ve never had any particular problems with driving away a client or even banning him from coming to the club forever.”



10. “During graduate school, I worked as a clothed waitress at a strip club. Most clients didn't seem to realize that many of the dancers were in college/grad school or happily in a relationship/married and were just doing it to pay the bills. On the weekends, the dancers made a lot more money than I did as a waitress, but on the day shifts, I made WAY more than the dancers. Most clients seemed to either not know how to talk to women properly, or were intrigued by the opportunity to be rude/vulgar without fear of being thrown out (they were wrong in this regard - I've kicked out several clients for saying vulgar things to me). things)".



11. “Last year marked 10 years since I worked in the industry. Striptease saved my life. He allowed me to support him financially to leave an abusive relationship. Then he also allowed me to create the life I want. I'm incredibly lucky to be in a profession where I get to play with other people. At the club, people put down their phones and talk one-on-one with each other. We feed and nourish our innate hunger for bare skin. Society still treats strippers as outcasts and a joke, but I've come to terms with it. The club has always been a place for exiles. The coolest thing about my job is that it makes me feel completely human. It is a place where I can explore my wild nature and provide space for others to experience and explore theirs.”



12. “I worked as a bodyguard for a stripper for a while. She was doing her job, and I was needed mainly to make sure that everyone was “looking with their eyes, not with their hands.” Not all strippers allow people to touch them. She worked privately and mostly performed at bachelor parties and things like that, so that was her personal rule.”



13. “I used to striptease even though I had a great job at a very conservative law firm. On Fridays after work, I would drive two hours to another city, stay with a friend for the weekend, and return to work on Monday morning. I made a lot more money at the club than at my “regular” job. Stripping allowed me to immediately buy a new car, put a down payment on a house, and put aside quite a bit of savings. The girls there were great. We never had any serious problems with clients and it was easy money. However, the owners locked the doors late on Friday nights so that the dancers could walk around completely naked (which is not entirely legal). I was not interested in this, since I was already earning wild amounts of money anyway. I have absolutely no regrets and I would 100% do it again if I still had that body and could stay up past 10pm.”



14. “I performed at a gentlemen's party that took place around the same time every year. The only goal at this party was to make money, by any means necessary. This was a party where you had to be first (and early) and stay there all day to make the most of it, because in the end there was no limit to the amount you could earn there. There you dance in the open air, where there is a bar, and everyone can see you, and you don’t have to be afraid to stand out. The sooner you get a guy's attention, the sooner you can take him to the VIP rooms (which were just curtains around a chair). Once you are there, everything begins. The best dancers are so good that they can suck all the money out of a client and force him to return to the ATM for more. Some dancers can work 12 hours straight as long as they get paid well. The rule is to never stop earning for a second. Once you stop, it’s time to leave.”



15. “I stripteased off and on for two years. I was a good dancer, but the intimacy and "sexy" aspects were not for me. After a while, I stopped giving lap dances and started making A LOT more money just sitting at a bar and genuinely chatting with people. Thanks to this, I have made many good male friends. I even got a couple of them to stop cheating on their wives (they slept with other dancers). Being a stripper is like being a scantily clad therapist. I don’t regret it at all.”



16. “I’m 70-something now, but in the early 1970s I worked as a stripper. At the time, most of these jobs were for "go-go girls" or "bikini dancers." This was the most common and easiest way to get into the profession. As a very young divorced mom, I learned that all I had to do to make a good living for myself and my baby was sew fringe and sequins onto my bra and panties, and then dance on a small stage every night. We did not have to take off our clothes, and in many places we were not allowed to talk or interact with visitors. You just go up there and dance your 45-song set on the jukebox, then wait in the dressing room - sometimes an hour or more - until it's your turn again. Some bars required you to wear a small cover-up over your bikini and sit at the bar with the patrons to buy you drinks, thereby increasing the club's profits.

Later I got real costumes and “numbers”, and I hit the road as a stripper. I was traveling with my then-husband and young daughter and was booked for several weeks at various strip clubs. We stayed in motels near clubs. The work wasn't too hard and there was enough money to support us on the road, but we never had enough free time because we were constantly traveling.

After a while I was pretty exhausted and tired of life on the road. We eventually moved to Los Angeles, where I worked in a burlesque theater while my husband ran it. It was better this way because we stayed in one place and could get a regular house/apartment.

I gave up this job until I was thirty, just in time to send my child to elementary school. I later went to college and became a public school teacher, from which I retired at age 60. I told few people about my life. I'm sure most wouldn't believe it. However, I still have one photo album from those years, which contains promotional photos of my performance and several photos from the road. I suppose others in my position would want to embellish that time or make it look very exciting, but really it was just a job.”



17. “I decided to start stripping in my small town after school. I planned to work for a couple of months just to earn money before moving to New York and going to college. Halfway through my first shift, my manager pulled me aside and told me that some clients were complaining that I wasn't showing off my dumplings enough. After that, I decided that I was working in the wrong field ????.”



18. “Most of my memories of that job are in the locker room. Sometimes I hung out there on weekends. There you never knew what to expect - anything could happen, from naked fights to small children that the dancers brought there for someone to pick them up (this was the 90s).”



19. “In the 90s, I worked in two different elite clubs for about a year and a half. They had a strict dress code, high entrance fees, membership fees, fancy food, etc. My neighbor was a dancer and I served cocktails, so we worked together on different tables. I served them drinks and flirted, and she sat at these tables and invited visitors to treat her and give me a private dance from her. Together we made sooooo much money! She didn't even have to dance for these men and we still got their money. In addition, I once witnessed a dancer receive a brand new luxury SUV as a gift for one “date” with a client - it was purchased for cash and registered in her name. Honestly, I don't blame her! Burn, friend!”



20. “I started stripping at age 31 to pay for the remainder of my doctoral program (I have a bachelor's degree in biochemistry and a master's degree in epidemiology). I really only had two options: either drop out of school or continue accumulating credit card debt. I threw up during my first audition, I was so nervous. It's been six months and it's truly one of the best decisions I've ever made - given my increased self-confidence and financial stability, I'd do it again. Some of the visitors really suck, but I've also met others who I really think will be in my life for years to come."