Of all the staff members at strip clubs, managers are only second to the owners when it comes to negative stereotypes. And to be completely honest, I have had a couple, albeit rare, unpleasant encounters with the managers I've worked with as a stripper. They do have a tough job when it comes to keeping the staff, entertainers and customers happy. Not to mention the owners. But the stereotypes of the uncaring and callous strip club manager, like most of the stereotypes with people who work in the strip club industry, tend to be overblown or completely unfounded.
I have worked with Eric for a few years on and off during my career. He started in the same market as I did and around the same time. So we've worked parallel for over twenty years. But I didn't actually know much about him. We sometimes worked in separate clubs, and when we have worked together, we didn't have a lot of interactions. Which is actually indicative of a good manager because that means that he didn't have a lot of problems on his shifts.
I chose Eric rather than managers that I know better, precisely because I don't know him all that well. We just didn't work that many shifts together. One of the only really meaningful interactions we had was when I was having an issue with a thief in the dressing room. After I had approached another manager who wasn't interested in helping catch the thief, I complained to Eric. He and I then did some Scooby Doo work, and caught and fired the dancer who was stealing. So although I didn't know him well, I trusted him and respected him.
But that trust and respect didn't really encompass who he was as a person. Recently when I came back to the club to dance for a brief feature appearance, I overheard a conversation he had with a newer dancer. His tone and comments struck me as kind and compassionate, and a complete departure from the red-faced overbearing and scuzzy strip club managers I've seen depicted on TV and in the movies.
The young lady seemed to be having a rough night, and I heard him explain to her how important it was for her to look after herself. He could have told her to suck it up and get back out there, as the stereotype dictates. But instead, he offered a genuine concern for her well-being with a disregard for the entertainment needs of the club.
Eric grew up in the town that we worked in together. He grew up a soft Catholic, and didn't go to church much. He started working right out of high school and worked his way up to restaurant management by the time he was twenty. The strip club he works for opened in 1998, and his best friend was already working there. Eric was soon hired as a bartender but became manager within two weeks, overseeing what would turn out to be the top club in the area.
"I was born and raised Catholic, but my parents never bible thumped me. They were Catholic, but didn't go to church or anything. I don't even know why they put me in Catholic school. But I had a good experience."
Despite the sexual nature of the work, he always looked at it as a job. At twenty-three while still working as a manager, he and a couple of his friends opened an ice cream business, and later he opened a Hawaiian BBQ restaurant he still owns and operates.
Dating outside the industry proved difficult. As he got older and the stigma of his job became more of an issue, he learned to use his businesses as a cover. "When I was single it was hard to date outside of here, for sure. Talking to girls when I used to go out to bars and letting them know where I worked. It wasn't a done deal, but they just faded out."
When it comes to his overall opinion of strip clubs, he sees stripping as one of the safest forms of sex work. Because it is legal, it offers some protections that don't exist in other types of sexual entertainment. He is committed to making it a safe place for women, especially young women who may lack the experience to recognize when they might be in a bad situation.
"I don't want to see any of my staff trying to take advantage of the girls in any way. A lot of girls come in at eighteen or nineteen years old, and I feel like our job is to protect them."
Telling a dancer to take time off when she needs to is counterintuitive in any business context. But Eric does it. And in a club setting — where the woman he was advising was, for all intents and purposes, naked — there were no sexual overtones. There was only the genuine concern for another human's well-being.
"My belief in life is to do the right thing. I believe that there is good in everyone. Working with thousands of girls throughout the years. I don't get close to all of them, but I look out for them."
The club that Eric has spent his career at may be an anomaly in the world of strip clubs. But strip clubs in general revolve around the performers, and it is simply good business to make sure that they have an establishment where the women feel safe and comfortable. And Eric has done everything he can to make that a reality.
Originally published by Only Sky Media.