So I've been working in a wonderfully kitschy club for almost a year now, and figured I would share my experiences with girls who might be thinking about starting in the same environment.
What's A Dive, Anyways?
You'll know when you walk into one. Dives are a wonderful alternative stripping universe of busted couches, leaky everything, and tacky decorations. It may have been a classy place forty years ago, or it may be a falling apart truck stop bar. If you hear "don't ever work there" or "It's where washed-up strippers go to die", this is a dive. And they can be awesome places to work.
Wait, Why Would I Want to Work in a Dive?
There's lots of reasons:
- Dives are usually smaller clubs.You'll have less competition from other girls, and will probably be able to hustle every guy in the room.
- Dives are typically freer with dress code. You'll find forty-five year old ex-gown club dancers who would never dream of wearing a bikini, dancing alongside barely legal girls in wal-mart lingerie.
- Dives constantly remind you to SAVE YOUR MONEY! Working alongside a woman in her fifties who is trying to hustle to feed her twenty five cats (not making this up), is going to make you think every night about stacking so you don't end up doing the same...
-Dives are typically friendlier. If you work with under ten girls, and it's always the same girls, every night, you're probably going to eventually get to know most of them.
-Low to no house fees and tipouts. We all have crappy nights sometimes, and in a dive, you usually don't walk away owing money. Since the club likely lacks a dj and bartender, and may be very lacking on the bouncer situation, what you make is basically what you'll walk out with.
-The hiring process at a dive might be very easy. You could potentially have to do an audition, some clubs only require an interview to see if you're friendly, some will hire you over the phone if you tell them that yes, you do have all your teeth. Like, your own. A full set.
-Dives typically have a diverse set of unique regulars. Is it a dead night? No problem, Crazy Will brought his chess board. You know you're going to get three dances off of Dave, no hustle required. If you dance on stage for a bit, expect the scary looking bikers to throw paper plane twenties at you.
That Sounds Awesome, What Sucks About Working in a Dive?
-Dives are typically smaller clubs. A dancer that appeals to a niche market is going to have issues with a small customer base. Clubs typically have as many dancers as they can support. There's only six girls at your bar because there's only enough customers for six girls. -Some of the girls you will be working alongside will 'scare off' a lot of business. If your club has a reputation for toothless meth addicts, don't expect your customer base to be millionaire businessmen. -At a sketchier place, you may have girls with crazy drug problems or criminal pasts. This can happen at any club, but management at a dive may be less likely to care about brawls occurring in the dressing room. YMMV. -Clubs typically don't have higher house fees than dancers can afford, or they logically wouldn't have any girls working. If you are working at a club that wants $100 before you start your shift, it SHOULD be a packed place with huge earning potential. A dive that doesn't take any money from you may not be. -Your dive may hire anybody. Like literally anybody that walks in the door. -Dives often rely on a regular crowd. You have to know your names and remember who is who! If there's a guy that will get twenty dances off a girl if she talks to him for a half hour, do not confuse him with one of the time wasting 'pieces of furniture'. -It can be a tough jump from a dive to a high-end club. Dives sorta train you to be lazy. Not that there aren't great hustlers at dives, but a lot of the time if you are super hot, you just gotta sit there.
Okay, That Gives Me Some Stuff to Think About. What's The Hustle Like in a Dive?
- To start off, there's already a great thread about this here: http://www.stripperweb.com/forum/sho...ht=dive+hustle
Important things to note: -The hustle in a dive can be SLOOOOOOW. If there's only a few custies, girls may camp them forever because if they get a no, there's nobody else to talk to!
-You HAVE to know your regulars. These are typically the guys who will be paying your bills, so figure out which ones are worth it.
-Customers often come to dives looking for the more personal experience. They will often want to chat, and may really want to get to know you really well. Don't be weirded out by dancers showing pictures of their kids or talking about their relationships. It's a dive thing.
Alrighty, First Shift, Looks and Persona? Things I Should Know?
- There's no way to fully prepare for your first shift at a dive. They are all unique snowflakes of clubs, with their own wonderful sets of quirks, which you will learn as you work. Some general stuff though:
- Things okay to wear: Dresses (short and gown), bikinis, chaps, corsets, bodycages, lingerie, stripper shoes, flip flops, uggs, barefoot, stained wifebeater... it likely all goes. I have literally sold dances in jeans close to the end of the night. ("Get the hint! I wanna go hooommmee...") But wear something that makes you look hot. And a smile. Smile smile smile till your face falls off.
- Things to not wear: Anything stage-y, unless you are on stage. Do not wear a full sequined ball gown, costume with wings, stuff that is blinky- this is a neighborhood bar, not a Vegas burlesque show. Speaking of shows though, they can be fantastic. A lot of "anything goes" at a dive, typically, so you will see snakes and fire, as well as girls who just sit on the stage and remove one item of clothing per song. Reading a book or something, texting... You'll probably get a lot of freedom with your show outfits because there will be everything from older dancers with thousand dollar custom made costumes from when they were relevant at a high end club, to girls who will be doing stage in their same outfit.
- Names: You will probably dance with girls that use their real first name. If you don't want to do that, pick a real sounding name! Amy and Amber will make money in a dive, Ferrari, Chardonnay, and Ocean Raine are going to get laughed out the door.
- Money: You may or may not make a ton. Dives can be random and wonderful in the financial department. Your dressing room likely doesn't have lockers, so you'll want to keep your cash close. Garters may be normal in your club, or they may be incredibly weird. Purses, crown royal bags, wrist wallets, fistfulls of bills, and paper sacks are probably all acceptable money storage units. We have a girl with a l'il treasure chest. It's so cute.
- Hesitate to sit on any soft furniture. Lots of the girls bring little towels or blankies with them. This isn't always to discreetly do extras... there are custies you do not want to grind anywhere near, and there is furniture that you do not want your coochie anywhere close to.
A Note About Being an Alternative or Ethnic Looking Girl at a Dive:
-Okay, it's 2012. Lots of us have piercings and tattoos. Some higher end clubs have issues with them, and not all of us want to take out piercings and cover up tats every night. A dive will probably hire you as-is. However... a small customer base means you are going to be praying for certain guys to show up. But you can still bank! Hustle everybody. Every guy that comes through the door. You can't afford to miss one.
-If there is already an established alt looking girl, either play your look down, or move on. In a club with only a few dancers, the girl with all the tattoos is counting on certain customers. If you're trying to share them, one of you is going to likely end up shanking the other.
-The same rules likely apply for ethnic girls, although THIS DEPENDS ON AREA. Our club has one black dancer, and that is literally all we can support.
Other things you might notice/General advice:
-There is cocaine/ketamine/something else(?) all up in the dressing room.
- Don't do any without asking. You might be expected to bring your own for sharesies one night of the week.
-Everyone here seems to be dating other employees.
- Job security? You probably want to latch your teeth into a bouncer as soon as possible. Watch out for his baby momma though...
-Some of the girls are working barefoot. Is this okay?
- Definitely. There's probably nothing living in the carpet, despite forty plus years of drinks being dumped on it and people vomiting. Way more comfy than high heels.
-I have to pee and girls keep hogging the stall to do lines.
- This is what the sink is for. Seriously nobody washes their hands here.
-I think one of the girls wants to fight me after work?
- Thank god you're dating a bouncer.



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