Stripper Interview Part I

Inside a club, stripper dynamics, perception versus reality, and fun vagina stories.

I recently did an interview on the Happy Astronaut Show with John Williams, who also happens to be my boyfriend.

This is the first half of the interview, and next week I’ll post part II, along with a Spotify link to the full episode.

How did you get into stripping and what did you know of clubs before going in?

I had a vague idea of the club system. I did not have a positive outlook of the club environment though. I never thought ill or strippers before becoming one, I only thought ill of the situation. Other than knowing what happened in clubs, like girls taking off their clothes and pole dancing and champagne rooms, I had an idea of how lucrative it could be. I did a five minute google search and found a club near me and did a little bit of reading about the club environment. I wasn’t in any position to wait around and do serious research because I was strapped for cash.  

*For me any forward progress was good progress. I didn’t say this in the interview, but it is a good statement for how I was feeling.

What was the first interaction like?

I walked in and was greeted by the bouncer, and he sent me over to the DJ. The DJ was also the day manager, so he was able to give me an application and hire me. I filled out the application, and he explained the club rules to me. He asked when I wanted to work and told me day shift was 12-7pm, night shift 7pm-2am. If I wanted to work a double shift, that would be 12pm-12am.

What were the club rules?

Laws for stripping vary by county which allows for club diversity. My club application was very simple- it asked if I was an entertainer or a bartender, my stage name, and explain any felonies. I also had to get a background check. The point of the felonies and background check is to find any prostitution charges. The club doesn’t care about drugs or moving violations. I had three days to work before I had to get my adult entertainment license at the police department, where they took my fingerprints, and a “stripper mugshot” where I held up a piece of paper with the name of my club and my dancer name. This cost $75. The police department needs this because sometimes the club gets raided, and if they’re looking for a specific girl, they can match their real name with their dancer name and know exactly where she works. There are three clubs in my county, and girls can only work at one club. They cannot get two permits for two different clubs. If a girl wants to change clubs she has to wait until the permit expires, then go fill out an application at the other club and get a new permit.

Describe the stripper naming process.

The manager asked me what name I wanted, and I said,

“I don’t know, what do I look like?”

“Princess.” He said. “You look like a princess. Shit, we already have a girl named Princess. Gotta be something else.”

You can’t have two girls with the same name, that’s an unspoken club rule. You also can’t take another girl’s stage song. This is how you start a stripper fight.

The name Penny popped in my head. I thought it was cute. I then learned that you could change your name every year when you get a new permit. I started with Penny, then I was Amy for a little bit when I was traveling and dancing. I was Margarita when I did an amateur night competition, and now it’s Vice, which I think I’ll stick with for a bit.

Describe the first night stripping.

I was absolutely terrified my first shift. My club is very segregated with regards to the clientele at specific times of day. Black girls and black clientele at night, white girls, and older clientele during the day. I felt very exposed, and that sounds silly, but you don’t really think about walking around in your thong and bra until it happens. So, I felt exposed like I never have before. I just chose my sexiest lingerie because I didn’t want to spend money before I even made any. I also didn’t know what kinds of clothes to get. I learned during my first shift about the rules my club has for lap dances and outfits.

1.     You cannot show your asshole or vagina. No sheer panties or crotchless panties.

2.     We were supposed to wear pasties, although that wasn’t enforced. We had a pair with us in case the cops came in. Pasties are just pretty stickers you wear over your nipples.

3.     We were supposed to keep on foot on the ground during lap dances, so no straddling the customer. No one followed this rule.

4.     Could not stand over a customer. My club had horizontal poles above the lap dance couches, so girls would be doing tricks above the customer as a part of the lap dance. You couldn’t literally stand on the sofa and stay in one spot. This ensured no girls were sitting on a customer’s face. That would be solicitation.

My first day shift I was scared and awkward, I had a customer tell me I gave the worst lap dance he’s ever had. I also made $500 the first day. This is in part due to me being ‘the new girl’. Everyone loves the new girl. There are customers I’ve known for two to three years now, that even when I change my name every September they get thrown off and think I’m a new girl. I always make more money the month I change my name than any other month of the year.

You were dating someone during this time. What was that conversation like?

We didn’t have a conversation because I did not want my decision to be influenced by him. I had been trying to get a job for a long time and was frustrated I couldn’t get hired, and he would say eventually I’ll find something. I knew if I asked his opinion he would say absolutely not, and I didn’t want that opinion. I wanted to do it because I knew I could make money. So, I didn’t tell him, I told him after the fact.

And how was that conversation?

It was not good. We got in a fight, he kicked me out of his house, and our relationship was over. I was expecting a fight, but I thought he was going to give me an ultimatum- stop stripping and we’re fine, if you continue this is over. The possibility of a breakup was in my head, but I did not think he would literally kick me out. And that’s exactly what happened.

What was the first week like?

The first week was intense. After my first shift I slept 13 hours and my roommate came into my room to check on me. I ate more food than I ever had in my life, but I wasn’t used to walking in eight inch heels half the day. I was sore, I had bruises from the pole, my legs were tense. I had excruciating back pain the whole first year. I would set my alarm early because I knew it would take time for me to get out of bed. I was in so much pain at times that I could not move my body, and would be in bed, essentially paralyzed by my back pain.

No one cares about you when you strip. The girls care about their money, and that no one is standing in the way of them and their money. Now I feel the same way. When a new girl comes in the club, I check her out to see if she’s competition, then I don’t think about her. She has to figure it out. No one tells you how to hustle men. I was fortunate to meet a girl who was nice and gave me some pointers on how to talk to men, and I’m still friends with her. She’s since gotten married and retired from stripping but is the bartender for day shift. I also got in with a good group of girls. A lot of girls will pretend to be your friend then literally steal money out of your bag. I’ve had $400 stolen from me, and that night I worked my ass off. After I realized I was missing money, I went into overdrive. I walked out with $800 that night.

My friends taught me the hustle through conversation. I’m not the best pole dancer, I’m not the greatest lap dance, but I’m good with people. I can talk to people. I learned as much as I could from them that first week. They told me to approach every man, keep my eye on the clock, make money within the first five to ten minutes or move on, get to the point, don’t get stuck in a two-hour conversation just to sell one lap dance. You want to maximize your money in the least amount of time.

How is each part of the club unique in how you make money, i.e., the pole, dances, hustling on the floor?

I make my money through lap dances. I have gotten better at stage money since I’ve learned to work the stage, since it’s not purely about getting up there and dancing. For some girls it is only about dancing, but they don’t make as much stage money.

You sell a dance through conversation. Think about when you’re on a date with someone, and you like them, and they touch your arm or back, and you get excited and jittery, that’s the feeling I’m assuming these men get. You flirt with them and interact with them. You make the conversation all about them and act as if everything they have to say is the most important thing you’re hearing that day. You make them feel like the most wanted man in the world. Then you say,

“Come on, let’s go do a dance. Let’s go do something in private, we’ve just had this great conversation, let’s just go get away from everyone.”

Then you go give the lap dance.

As far as lap dances go, is it simple?

It’s very straightforward and simple. You can easily be taken advantage of during a dance, and men are much stronger than the girls, so there needs to be boundaries. Once you sell a lap dance, you’re happy because you’re making money, but then it’s just another hurdle. You have to assess the customer and figure out how he’s going to react. There are different kinds of lap dance customers. There are guys that are rough, and it hurts. Others will hold you down on their lap so you can’t move. Some men just sit there (my personal favorite) but that can get awkward because then it can start to feel as if you’re dancing on top of a statue. There are men we call lickers. They have their own circle in hell. They try to lick you any chance they get, and I can never understand that. I can maybe understand a guy grabbing you or holding you, but licking a woman you don’t know, a stripper, no less, is not okay. 

Do you think people would be surprised by the abundance of “lickers” are out there?

I hope people aren’t surprised because it can be an intimate act, but not in the strip club. In the strip club it’s weird, unsanitary, just a big red flag.

You’ve said men are stronger than the strippers, most of the time I’m assuming, and as guys get rough and excited are there boundaries you have to set? If so, how do you tell them? What are your boundaries?

Some men do ask right away. These are usually the older men who have been going to clubs for years and seen the evolution of strip clubs and understand there’s different rules in different cities. I like that, although even when they ask, they still don’t always follow my rules. Usually, I take it as it happens. I do the same lap dance every time. There’s a very vulnerable point when I’m laying my back on the customer’s chest, and they can reach around and grab my vagina, and I can’t stop that. I can try to push him away, but if he’s determined, he’s gonna win. That’s when I call the bouncer. Or, I close my eyes and wait for it to be over.

Other than calling the bouncer, what is the lap dance navigation like today?

I’ll push him away, or I’ll say “you can’t do that” but I try to make it flirty. You can’t sound scared, or angry, cause once you flip that switch there’s no going back, and you just lost a customer. I’m always trying to sell another lap dance, so I try to laugh it off and make it playful.

Are there other things other girls do that break your own rules?

My personal rules are:

1.     Don’t finger any of my holes.

2.     Don’t pull my panties down.

3.     Don’t lick me.

4.     Don’t kiss me in any capacity.

I still enjoy sex, get turned on, and can be intimate. Many girls are not turned on by sex anymore, and they don’t have much sex because it turns into just another person touching them. Other girls will make out with clients, allow themselves to be fingered, rub on a customer’s dick with their tits over his shorts. This happens in every club. Sometimes this is the girl’s sugar daddy they’ve been with for a few months or even years, and it’s expected, but that’s a whole different conversation I don’t know anything about.

I hope you all enjoyed reading this! Again, stay tuned for part II.