Male strippers' job description

 Photo: Courtesy

Male strippers’ job description

They do pretty much what female strippers do. They do seductive pole-dancing, strip-tease their audiences, do so-called grinding and offer lap dances. What's more, they simulate intimacy while on stage and, in some extreme cases, kiss, snog, 'use their fingers inappropriately', and even get laid by some of their audiences.

Crazy Monday spoke to a 26-year-old male stripper who gave a riveting explained on how they go about their business. Hear him: "We perform at strip clubs, at all-female private parties and occasionally private parties held by gay men. We do what the client wants and charge them for it". The naked dancer who only requested to be identified as Donald* went on to add that their rates depend on the nature of the event. "Stripping at a club goes for between Sh10,000-Sh12,000 per night," calmly says an unfazed Donald.

He says it always gets nasty, especially at the VIP sections, in most strip clubs where male strippers perform. "Most patrons at VIP sections of strip clubs tend to be very ratchet. I have seen some of my colleagues get intimate with female strippers live before a cheering audience of men and women," sneers Donald.

He says wedding-related events (bachelor's/stag party or bachelorette/hen party) pay the most. He says clients always get what they want. Hear him: "Clients can be crazy. There are those who normally request us to dress like police officers, or chefs, or firemen, or watchmen, or construction workers or even pilots. And who are we to say no, especially if they are paying top dollar for it?!"

It costs an arm and leg to hire naked male dancers

From the look of things, this sort of entertainment is expensive, hence only common in upmarket areas. Donald says, at a bachelorette party, strip teasing goes for anything between Sh7,500 to Sh15,000 per hour, depending on the client. In what seems like proof that male strip dancing is a rich woman's kind of entertainment, Donald says is the male stripper takes off all his clothes and performs butt-naked, the amount can shoot up to Sh60,000 an hour.

Meanwhile, if the ladies at the hen party want him to, crazy as it sounds, get intimate with the bride to be, or one of the bridesmaids, or one of the female strippers at the party, it can cost up to Sh100,000 without any recording. Or about Sh120,000 if they record (on video), with the strippers in masks.

Seemingly, there are no standard rates in the industry, perhaps because the trade is relatively new. Because we also met Yvonne Wanjiru, a Nairobi-based 28-year-old event organiser who had an almost different story in as far as payment is concerned.

Wanjiru says she has so far organised more than five pre-wedding parties, where male strippers were hired to perform. "I have used agencies that offer exotic dancers before. Their rates are about Sh7,500 per male stripper per hour and goes down if you hire more guys. Like if you take four male strippers, you'd end up paying Sh20,000 per hour for all of them. Butt naked stripping would go for Sh35,000 per hour per stripper," she says, in reference to strippers hired from agencies/bureaus.

Wanjiru, however, says male strippers who manage themselves and operate independently probably charge differently. It is hard to verify if Donald's rates are as he says. What is not different, however, is the extent to which male strippers can go.

Nothing personal, it’s just business

"I've seen married women do all manner of strange things with male strippers. I mean, I have, for instance, seen some get intimate with random male stripper as people cheer them on. Of course, once you see such, you never look at such individuals the same way again. You sort of lose respect for them, but then again there is no room for judging, it is business," sighs Yvonne.

Donald, fondly recalls a bachelorette party where he performed almost a year ago. He says, to his shock, a lady in his audience insisted he gets intimate with her as everyone watched.

"It began as usual with a bit of strip teasing. But as time went by, the crowd began cheering me to completely strip. Before I knew it, one of the tipsy ladies from the audience, armed with a condom, was daring me to get intimate with her, as the rest cheered," he says.

Interestingly, perhaps to avoid scandalising the profession, most male strippers don't refer to themselves as such. They prefer calling themselves 'exotic dancers', 'seductive dancers', 'adult entertainers' or any other esoteric name. Donald, prefers being called an adult entertainer, says he makes more money from stripping performances than his actual daytime dancing gigs.