Former Strippers Are Exposing Their Juiciest Secrets And Stories From The Job, And It's Fascinating
We asked strippers in the BuzzFeed Community to share the best, coolest, or wildest secrets and stories about their jobs. Here are the fascinating results.
Note: Obviously, we can’t 100% confirm all of these stories, but these people are allegedly speaking from their own experiences as strippers.
1."I worked all around the world as a stripper, mostly in major cities. Dancers pay to work. It’s called a stage fee, and girls have to pay it every night. For some clubs, it can be $80, and for others, it’s as low as $10. Some places in Vegas would ask us to hang out with various rich dudes at clubs, and if we did, they'd excuse our stage fees. Mike Tyson was a big customer at one of the clubs I worked at. One night, he ripped off his shirt and stormed up to the DJ booth, and all of our bouncers guarded him. It was wild. Mike Tyson was actually very nice to me. Also, when he gave me his number, he wrote his name as 'Steve' so no one would know it was his. I have stories for days."
—Anonymous
2."Straight CIS man here. I used to work as an exotic entertainer at bars and for private hire. Male clients were always super respectful and tipped well. I always tried to avoid women and bachelorette parties because they always went a little too far and never tipped well."
3."My guy friend was a stripper while we were in college, and it helped him pay for school. He mostly did bachelorette parties and booked gigs over the phone. The best part was that he didn't look like your 'typical' stripper: He was so pale and super skinny, going bald in the front, wasn't very muscly, etc. He always thought it was funny that he was getting hired and paid to strip, sight unseen. If the client didn’t request a particular theme or costume, his booker would let him pick whatever he wanted to wear. He said most bookings didn’t specify, so he'd make his own costume as a beekeeper (with a net over his face and everything)."
"He said that the looks on his clients' faces were always priceless when this skinny white boy dressed as a beekeeper would show up and start stripping. I think he enjoyed those reactions just as much as the money."
—Anonymous
4."I was a stripper for 13 years. The most interesting request I ever got was from a man who asked me to poop on him."
—Anonymous
5."A lot of what you hear us say — our backstories, our accents, the reasons why we're stripping, etc. — is usually a lie. All of us learn to be seamless liars, and we work together to help each other out. While we're actually dancing, we mostly just think about our children, husbands, boyfriends, girlfriends, grocery shopping, or anything else ~except~ you. Also, I know some people are wondering, so, yes, we still strip when we have our periods. We just hide the tampon string or cut it."
—Anonymous
6."I think the saddest thing I'd see as a waitress at a strip club was when men would try to impress their sons by tipping me to smile at them. Also, some customers truly had no other social outlets than the attention they paid for at the club. The power dynamic is also complex; some dancers felt ashamed, some felt empowered. The customers ran on the same spectrum. I personally think the perceptions of the power dynamic depend on the individual."
—Anonymous
7."All of us are married or dating or have kids, and we live 'normal' lives, but when we're in the club, it’s as if people only see us for one thing. Then, there are the guys who push it and can be really degrading. Like, I'm just here trying to make money for my kids so I can keep paying the bills and go on a vacation. It’s as simple as that!"
—Anonymous
8."I worked as a stripper for four years and used the money I made to pay for my tuition. Some women made extra money on the side, but I didn't, despite having offers. The best part was when my favorite group of veterans would come in — they became disabled during the war and were always so happy when I danced for them. The worst part was definitely having to deal with rich, drunk jerks."
—Anonymous
9."I’ve been dancing for about seven years. I’ve learned that the majority of men just want company. They're really just looking for someone to talk to who will listen to whatever they want to vent about. We’re sort of like therapists in that sense."
—Anonymous
10."I was a dancer for five years and just stopped this past November. The club life is entirely different from what pop culture or those once-in-awhile news stories present. I've worked in so many different strip environments, from the most hole-in-the-wall places, to a private event company, to nearly a dozen clubs. Every reputable club I've worked in has had cameras everywhere for the girls' safety, as well as escorts to bring them to their cars each night. Two clubs that I've worked at had a valet. One club even had us being escorted by the police on weekends. Another breathalyzed girls if they were driving. I had little issue having customers removed from the premises or even outright banned."
11."A lot of work goes into being a stripper — it's an art and a profession. If you want to be a stripper, I always suggest that people do it while they're young (and have a backup plan, since it's mostly about looks, and looks fade over time). Good hygiene is a must. From my time as a stripper, I can tell you that some of the girls will rob you blind, while others will simply work for their money. As a stripper, you sell the fantasy of sex because people come to the strip club for the fantasy and the promise of what they're missing at home."
—Anonymous
12."I worked as a clothed waitress at a strip club during graduate school. Most customers didn't seem to realize that quite a few of the dancers were in college/grad school or were happily partnered/married and were just doing this to pay the bills. Dancers on weekend nights made a lot more money than I did as a waitress, but on day shifts, I made WAY more money than the dancers. The majority of customers seemed either very unaware of how to communicate appropriately with women or they enjoyed the idea of being able to be rude/vulgar, thinking they wouldn't get thrown out (they were wrong on that count — I got several customers thrown out for saying vulgar things to me)."
—Anonymous
13."Last year marked 10 years in the industry for me. Stripping saved my life. It enabled me to financially sustain myself to leave an abusive relationship. Then, it further allowed me to create a life of my choosing. I feel incredibly fortunate to be in a profession where I get to play with other people. In the club, people put down their phones and have one-on-one conversations with each other. We feed and nourish our innate skin hunger. Socially, strippers are still treated as outsiders and as a cultural joke, but I’ve come to a place of acceptance with that."
"The club has always been a place for exiles. The coolest thing about my job is that I get to be a fully feeling human in it. It’s a place where I can explore my wild nature and hold space for others to feel and explore in theirs, too."
—Anonymous
14."I was a bodyguard for a stripper for a short while. She did her thing, and I was there mainly to make sure everyone 'looked with their eyes and not with their hands.' Not all strippers allow people to touch them. She was self-employed and mainly did bachelor parties and stuff, so that was her personal rule for people to follow."
15."I used to strip while I also had a great job at a very conservative law firm. I'd drive two hours on Fridays after work to another city, stay the weekend with a friend, and be back in time for work on Monday mornings. I made so much more money at the club than I did at my 'regular' job. Stripping let me buy a new car outright, get a down payment for a home, and put aside quite a bit in savings. The girls there were great. We never had any major issues with guests, and it was easy money. The owners did lock the doors late on Friday nights so the dancers could go full-nude (which wasn't necessary legal). I wasn't into that, as I was already making wild amounts of cash anyway. I have absolutely zero regrets and would 100% do it again if I still had that body and could stay awake past 10 at night."
16."I performed at a gentlemen's party that occurred around the same time every year. The only goal at this party was to get money, however you had to get it. You'd get there first (and early) and stay all day to make the most of it because, after all, there was no limit to the amount you could make. You're dancing out in the open where the bar is, and everyone can see you, and you can't be scared to stand out. The sooner you can catch a guy's attention, the sooner you can get him up to the VIP rooms (which were nothing more than curtains surrounding a chair). Once you get up there, it's on."
"The best dancers are so good that they can get all the patron's money and make him go back to the ATM for more. Just start slow. In that sense, it's sort of like foreplay. Some dancers can work 12 hours straight when they're making good money. The rule is to never stop making money. When you stop, it's time to go."
—Anonymous
17."I stripped on and off for two years. I was a good dancer, but the intimacy and 'being sexy' aspects were not my thing. After a while, I stopped doing lap dances and made WAY more money by just sitting at the bar and having genuine conversations with people. I’ve made so many good male friends from it. I even got a couple of them to stop cheating on their wives (they were sleeping with a few of the other dancers). Being a stripper is like being a half-naked therapist. I don't regret it at all."
18."I am now 70-plus years old, but I worked as a stripper in the early 1970s. Back then, most of those jobs were for 'go-go girls' or 'bikini dancers.' This was the most common and easiest way to get into the occupation. As a very young, divorced mom, I learned that all I had to do to make a pretty good living for myself and my baby was to sew some fringe and sequins on a bra and panties, then dance on a little stage each night. We didn't have to actually disrobe, and in many places, we weren't allowed to have any conversations or interactions with the patrons. You'd just go up there and dance your set from the 45 records on the jukebox, then wait in the dressing room — sometimes for an hour or more — until it was your turn again. In some bars, you'd put on a little coverup over your bikini dancer costume and sit with the patrons, who would buy you drinks, to increasing the club's revenue."
"I later got some real costumes and an 'act' together and went on the road as a stripper. I traveled with my then-husband and young daughter 'on the circuit' and was booked for a few weeks at a time at different strip clubs. We stayed in kitchenette motels near the clubs. The work was not too hard, and the money was enough to support us on the road, but it was never enough to take time off. We traveled constantly, mainly in the midwest and south.
After a while, I got pretty worn out and tired of life on the road. We eventually moved to LA, where I worked in a burlesque theater while my husband managed it. This was better because we stayed in one place and could have a regular home/apartment.
I got out of that line of work in my 20s, in time to place my child in elementary school. I later went to college and became a public school teacher, which I retired from in my 60s. I've told very few people about the life I had. I'm sure most wouldn't believe it. I do still have one photo album from those years, though, with the photographer's publicity shots for my act and some snapshots from the road. I suppose some would like to glamorize that time or see it as very exciting, but, in fact, it was pretty much just a job."
—Anonymous
19."I decided to start stripping in my small town after high school. I planned to work for a couple months, just to make money before I moved to NYC for college. Halfway through my first shift, my manager pulled my aside and said they had some customer complaints because I wasn’t showing my 'cookie' enough. After that, I decided I was in the wrong line of work. 😂"
20."Most of my core memories while working are from the dressing room. On occasion, I'd hang out there on my days off. It was always a toss-up of how things could go — anything from naked fistfights to the staff bringing babies back there until someone could pick them up (it was the '90s)."
"I definitely feel like for the work I put in as a cocktail waitress and for the money I made, I EARNED it. I made anywhere from $200 on a slower night to $1,400 on a great night, and $2,300 was my best night EVER. A typical shift was 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., plus however long it took to shut it down. There were always tip-outs at the end of each night, so we'd split our tips with the kitchen staff, the bar, security, etc. So, for me to walk out with that amount meant I made about twice that much before tip-out."
—Anonymous
21."I worked for two different high-end clubs for about a year and a half in the '90s. They had a strict dress code, expensive entry fees, membership fees, gourmet food, etc. My roommate was a dancer, and I was a cocktail server, so we'd team up on different tables. I'd serve them drinks and flirt, and she'd sit down at those tables and ask the patrons to buy her drinks and buy me lap dances from her. We made soooo much money together! She didn’t even have to give these men dances, and we still got their money. Also, I once witnessed a dancer get a brand new luxury SUV as a gift for one 'date' with a patron — it was purchased in all cash and put in her name. Honestly, I don’t blame her! Get it, girl!"
—Anonymous
22."I started stripping at 31 to pay the rest of my way through my PhD program (I have a bachelor's degree in biochemistry and a master's in epidemiology). I really only had two choices: either drop out of school, or keep piling on the credit card debt. I threw up during my first audition to become a stripper because I was so nervous. Six months later, and it’s truly one of the best decisions I’ve made. From the confidence boost to the money stability, I would do it all over again. Some of the patrons truly suck, but I’ve also met others who I truly feel will be part of my life for years to come."
"Lastly, to everyone reading this, strippers are not unintelligent. It's shocking how some patrons talk to us because they think we're dumb. My favorite point in the night is when they find out my other profession and level of education. Their whole demeanor and attitude changes, which goes to show that you should not be talking to people differently just based on their education or profession. Get those misconceptions and stereotypes of what a stripper 'should be' out of your head. I have zero regrets!"
—Anonymous
23."I'm not a pro, but I did strip once at an amateur night. The girls who actually worked there were super nice and seemed to genuinely really like their jobs. I went to high school with one of them, and she did it to pay her way through med school. She said she experienced a few guys who got out of line, but for the most part, the men were actually pretty great, and she loved everyone she worked with. I am positive that it's not like that for everyone, but she made incredible money for working only two nights a week, and she was very happy with her life."
—Anonymous
24."I worked in clubs spanning three different states and can tell you that exploitation thrives from the owners, management, floormen, doormen, DJs, bartenders, house moms, patrons, local police officers, etc. Everyone expects a cut and will withhold safety, security, and human dignity to exploit it from you."
—Anonymous
25."In my experience, a lot of girls like to drink before or during work because it helps them get through the shift. Faking a whole vibe can be exhausting, so drowning that out a little with alcohol seemed to be the norm. In reality, consuming less alcohol and keeping the vibes authentic helped someone like me to successfully thrive in the industry. Also, there's a lot of psychology that's used to convince men to spend time and money on us, without them feeling like we're just taking their money. The trick is getting them to say yes multiple times in different ways before saying yes to actually spending money on a girl."
26.And finally, "I worked at some high-end clubs. Dancers had to wear at least 3.5-inch heels, and most would go even higher. The waitstaff had to wear at least 3-inch heels. My dogs would bark after every shift, and I never got used to it. Working at those clubs impacted me in a lot of ways. All different types of people from all different types of circumstances can end up there. It taught me at a younger age to not be so judgmental. Most of the people are so decent and just trying to get by in life and make a living. It taught me to see people for who they are and for how they treat others. Stripping helped me realize that no one is better than anyone else, and I’m grateful for that."
—Anonymous
