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Girl, you rock! I've thought about stripping because I detest the office environment. It's miserable. Interesting story!!

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can u dance for me? and do you have aweb cam?

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RE: the first poster

Thank you!! For some time, I worked an office job alongside school and dancing, so I know what that is like. Trust me--there are much worse jobs than office work!--such as fast food, grocery, and retail. But I know what you're feeling though with the office drudge...long hours, sometimes tedious-seeming work, and the pay is very insignificant compared to what I'd make dancing. I only did the job so that I'd have something to use on a resume. If you can, try to find a club that you can work maybe a few night shifts a week, alongside the office work! Most places do not require full nudity, in fact in New Jersey ALL of the liquor-serving club establishments do not allow their dancers to wear anything less than bikinis. Good luck!

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SMART

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I really enjoyed ur article. I am in my second year of Univeristy and I have a part time job but every month I have to beg my psycho step dad for rent and then I barely have anything left over to pay for food or my cell phone and my tuition bill is sky high, Stripping is the only answer but I dont know if I have the guts to do it. Did you not feel like a piece of meat and worthless whle doing it? Did your friends find out?

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Did I feel like a piece of meat for stripping? Well...considering that I was literally on-the-streets homeless and people were being brutal to me and already treating me like a decayed piece-of-meat...read more about it in my story titled "No consideration for the homeless...Applebees hostess"...no.

As far as getting up the guts to dance? I WAS IN YOUR SHOES BEFORE. When I was a second-year college student, I had the same situation...min-wage part-time job, not enough money for rent, parents relentlessly harassing me about how much money I owed like "psychos," etc. I lived with a psycho boyfriend who mooched/possessed more than he helped me, and when he owed me money, I threatened to start stripping but I never had the guts to. I went through money/credit/tuition hardships and considered stripping for almost THREE YEARS! And then when my situation did nothing but get even worse, leaving me dumped on the side of some street with no home or friends, I knew that ANYTHING would be better than where I was. That's when I stopped caring about what my parents would think of me, and started stripping.

As far as my friends finding out? I told my close friends, and they were glad because this meant I would finally find a place to live and make things better for me. To be honest I don't really care who knows, EXCEPT I would DIE if my family found out. To this day they do not know, they think that I'm still working 60hr weeks at some restaurant. Considering that they were less-than-helpful to me, by kicking me to the curb, I don't think they deserve to know the truth.

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One last bit of advice to the second-year college student who thought about stripping but isn't sure...

I do not know you, but your situation hits too close to home for me. Correct me if I make any wrong presumptions, because like I said before I don't know you so I don't really know much about your life. But your situation--the part-time job not paying enough, high tuition, begging psychos for rent--was EXACTLY what I went through 3 yrs ago. It's also a common story for many of the college girls who get into stripping. This is gonna sound harsh/crass, but the reality is most likely it will NOT get better. Unless you can obtain further financial aide or land a decently paying internship in your field. But for me, I applied left n right and ended up with no job but some $hitty retail gig.

For me, my "psycho" parents went from nagging me about how much money I owed them, to revoking college money they'd planned to give me as a gift, to pretty much disowning me. Meanwhile, the government STILL classified me as a "dependent" of my so-helpful parents which meant NO extra financial aide. Meanwhile, college tuition costs soared year after year. And by 21 or 22 yrs old, I was STILL making the same $7/hr that I'd made when I was 16 in high school. During the months that I DID NOT strip but COULD HAVE, I racked up an enormous amount of credit card debt b/c my job did not pay me enough, I unwillingly dropped out of college, and did not have any savings to use for an apartment at the time my parents kicked me to the curb. During all those months that I slaved away for Macys, I coulda been dancing and getting things accomplished.

All I'm saying is...I don't want to see you going down the same bad road that I went down. If you have any doubts about paying bills/rent/tuition and are considering dancing, that's probably a sign that dancing might be beneficial. If you're nervous about stripping, you could try a club that doesn't require stripping off anything less than a bikini.

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Did I feel like a piece of meat for stripping? Well...considering that I was literally on-the-streets homeless and people were being brutal to me and already treating me like a decayed piece-of-meat...read more about it in my story titled "No consideration for the homeless...Applebees hostess"...no.

As far as getting up the guts to dance? I WAS IN YOUR SHOES BEFORE. When I was a second-year college student, I had the same situation...min-wage part-time job, not enough money for rent, parents relentlessly harassing me about how much money I owed like "psychos," etc. I lived with a psycho boyfriend who mooched/possessed more than he helped me, and when he owed me money, I threatened to start stripping but I never had the guts to. I went through money/credit/tuition hardships and considered stripping for almost THREE YEARS! And then when my situation did nothing but get even worse, leaving me dumped on the side of some street with no home or friends, I knew that ANYTHING would be better than where I was. That's when I stopped caring about what my parents would think of me, and started stripping.

As far as my friends finding out? I told my close friends, and they were glad because this meant I would finally find a place to live and make things better for me. To be honest I don't really care who knows, EXCEPT I would DIE if my family found out. To this day they do not know, they think that I'm still working 60hr weeks at some restaurant. Considering that they were less-than-helpful to me, by kicking me to the curb, I don't think they deserve to know the truth.

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You are awesome, and you have my full respect. You transcended your dire circumstances. But now that you are out of the pit, keep going up. Keep looking up.

God bless you.
Larry

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Being a dancer myself it is so rare that we hear of successful stories. Most stories are about drug addicts and party girls. People assume we have no life ambition and blow all our money. I commend you for your story and how you give LIFE to our lives. Some of us are parents, wives, students, etc. Many of us DO save our money, some want to retire by dancing and save and invest and others are in school. Its so nice to see another success story from the adult industry.

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Registered: Dec 2006
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 13

OK I am the original poster of this story.

First, I'd like to thank everyone for their kind words. Next, I'd like to update you guys on my situation. I completed college last year, and I found a job in my field. (LOL I'm actually there right now!) I still need some extra side money to pay off my car loan early and to build savings/investments, but I am burned out from dancing and ready to move on. Dancing is good for people who are in a bad money situation(as I was), or good for people who love doing it and make bank, but I realized that it was more of a temporary "saving grace" than something I'd want to do for longer than I'd have to. (I'd never planned on making it a career, but more as a way to pay for college so I could get my career) So I'm looking at bartending and/or cocktail waitressing in the meantime. I might still dance if I really need money, but I'm just kinda tired of the whole club scene and feel ready to move on. But I have nothing against people who choose to dance, at all.

If you read my story about Applebees(the stupid job that I had shortly before getting into dancing), you will note a very rude comment written by a total a$$hole. Just goes to show how judgmental and close-minded people are towards the go-go industry. It really sucks. That's why I am so glad that the people who read this story, are so supportive and have commended me for my progress. Perhaps if the female a$$hole who wrote the comment on my Applebees story actually read THIS story, she would see that this job is NOT about "sucking d--k" or whatever other crazy mindless dribble that she said.

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Many kudos to you. I am a professional journalist, writing for every major paper in this state. I am also not making enough money to pay my bills, which include tremendous student loans. I do not live extravagantly. Some people think I am earning a lot, because they see my name in papers. Not so.

So, I am auditioning this week for a club here. I am taking out of savings what I need to pay for pole classes. It's a tough financial situation out there, and I am going to be independent.

Thank you for sharing your story. Indeed, you rock!

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Registered: Feb 2007
Location: missouri
Posts: 2

Oh man! I loved reading your story! I am so happy for you, on so many levels. You climbed out of a tough spot by dancing at clubs, then you kept going up and up and getting a degree in MATH?!!? That's awesome. What a fantastic success story. Too bad more girls won't/can't do what you did. I think it's great for everyone- for you because you made a decent living doing something you are clearly good at, and also for other women who might feel empowered by your story. Keep going up!

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Registered: Aug 2007
Location: Reinbeck, IA
Posts: 1

I am considering starting work as an exotic dancer...any tips for getting over the first time jitters?Or...any other tips you can give for a newbie? I'm glad to hear you found something you enjoy or at least can support yourself with.

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~Jessi~

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Registered: Nov 2006
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that's independence in a very high level and i salute you!

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Great story.You have a lot of discipine and determination and learned how to survive when your back was against the wall.Why was your parents treating you like that if,when you were trying to get ahead in life?I have one crticism, which is you are not giving a total account of what really goes on behind the scenes at most strip clubs,maybe you were one of the very few lucky ones or are smart enough not to expose that lifestyle in public.In most clubs there is sex in the Champagne room, and/or prostitution;women selling their bodies for extra cash-maybe if not at the club somewhere else,there is also heavy drug use by some girls not all.I was in a strip club and saw a bouncer push a young lady down a flight of stairs.The reason I'm bringing this up is not be crtical of you, sometimes we have do what needs to be done to survive.This is for the young women who are considering going that route.Yes it's fast money, but like everything else in life has it's downside.A lot of women in porn began in the night clubs as strippers and there are denfintley Mob connections,the lifestyle and fast money can become addictive and dangerous.If your considering doing it make sure you understand what your really getting into.

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Registered: Dec 2006
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 13

In response to the above comment: Yes, you are partially right when you bring up the dark side of working at a strip club. There can sometimes be prostitution/"extras" by the girls who choose to break the law. There can also sometimes be elicit drug use, not only by the dancers but by the customers. There were several times that customers offered me coke in the couch room or asked if they'd be able to pay for a lapdance in coccaine(of course I said a big fat "NO WAY!").

However, most of these bad things can be avoided if you choose to not get involved with it. If you enter the club with the mindset of making money and doing your job LEGITIMATELY, you can easily avoid the horrors of drugs and prostitution. Here's a twist of irony: I had tried a few drugs(nothing too hardcore, mostly just pot and mushrooms) before dancing, but dancing made me STOP doing them. Once I saw that I had a fighting chance to make "real" money and move up in life, I no longer had any need at all to "cope" by smoking pot. Also, my club manager was VERY strict against drugs(some clubs need more managers like this one!!).

To the person that is interested in possibly pursuing dancing: I strongly recommend you to check out www.stripperweb.com. It is THE information site about dancing. It is a forum that has various boards, one of those boards being specifically for dancer "newbies".

As far as the money for strip clubs...yeah it's easy money but I don't think it's that fabulous anymore due to the recession/hurt economy. Dancers claim that 10 yrs ago, the money was about twice as good. You can still make fairly good money these days, and the money's still a 10-fold better than anything you'd make at a retail or McDonalds job, but I don't think the average dancer's salary is much better than the salary at a "regular" job requiring a degree. But if you do not have the skills or education(or the patience!) to land a "regular" job making $40,000/yr+, then dancing is a financially good job decision(at least until you can get your education, licensing, etc for that desired job).

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Registered: Dec 2006
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 13

One last thing concerning the horrors of working at a strip club: I will not deny that the problems of drugs and prostitution occur in some clubs. However, please understand that these problems can and will happen at many other non-strip club workplaces. For example, there was more rampant on-the-job pot smoking and coke dealing at the MCDONALDS my friend worked at, than I've ever encountered at any strip club. Meghan's law, anybody?...The McDonalds that *I* worked at is the former workplace of not one, but AT LEAST TWO convicted child molesters/statutory rapists whom are currently serving prolonged jail sentences. The grocery store that I worked at was also known for hiring recently released convicts. Have you ever seen the "I support single moms" T-shirt with a picture of a stripper on a pole?...When I worked at an unnamed family chain restaurant, there were way more teenage "single parent" servers than any strip club I've seen yet. There was also a lot more gossip, cattiness, cliques, and fights at the restaurant than at the strip club. That restaurant's manager had been in and out of jail for DUIs in the past, and he'd also violated the company's work policy when he had relations with the bartender and got her pregnant. At another chain restaurant, the manager was a 39-yr-old convict who had a 19-yr-old girlfriend and bought coke from the 17-yr-old line cook. Speaking of coke, the manager at the halloween store(I wrote about that store on this site...search for it) was a cokehead with prior drug convictions who'd stolen money out of the store's cash register before the halloween store's corporates decided to run his records and find out about his prior drug convictions. Just wanted to give the "heads up" that these things can happen anywhere.


NOTE: I am not trying to flame or criticize the person that mentioned the potential horrors(drugs, prostitution, mob, etc) of strip clubs. If anything, I am thankful for his advice because it shows a different perspective and it can serve as a caveat for any girls who are thinking about dancing. It is important that girls understand the pros AND the cons of the industry so that they can make a well-rounded decision on whether or not dancing is really for them or not.

Last edited by MinWageJobsSck on 12-26-2007 at 12:00 PM

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Registered: Jan 2008
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 13

Good for you! If I had the body, I would be dancing right next to you! Unfortunately my first child made me fat, the second made me sag. Oh well.

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