How, why, when did you start?

[smeca]

So I've being reading this forum and generally reviving all my memories and feels about dancing the past few weeks. Just curious how other people started!

I was going into my final year at uni and knew my loan wouldn't cover my rent that year. I remember reading an article in a newspaper about sugar babies, it had that kind of "these poor girls are turning to old men" tone about it, but I was thinking oh hey that could plug the money gap I have. I started reading online, discovered stripping was a thing and found this forum. I felt happier with the idea of dancing, found a club just out of town from where I was studying, and eventually contacted them.

I spoke about it with a friend beforehand too, and she was totally up for it to pay off her credit card lol. We both started together. After a few weeks we got another friend in who was a bit hurt we didn't spill the beans straight away.

I can only say I wish I'd started years earlier, I'd have got in shape and become less of a dork sooner.

[SnuffleUffleGrass]

Got into a confrontation with my boss at my day job, realized I had ruined my chances of getting promoted there, so I made other plans.

The plans worked out. Had many happy years in the adult industry, and retired early.

[Raven88]

During the recession when my I was 21 and my day job sucked.. my family had also moved across the city so there was an opportunity to dance away from my neighbourhood and I took it.
My dad was such an asshole to me during this time, not letting me go to the dentist and I had been in pain and wracked up my credit card to pay for a root canal.

[chanzep]

Read a article about strippers in NYC and was really interested. Then a few months later ended up living with a girl who did it and ask her about it. Then went with her to buy stripper shoes. My other vanilla best friend was there also and said when she saw me try some shoes on she knew I would do it lol.

[carmen_b]

I wasn't making enough $ post recession 2008.
I supplemented at first ( 2009 ish ) but then went more full time with sex work 2010 ( club dancing ) .
I went back down to part time again roughly 2011-2012 along with vanilla work also ( doing grey area massage offerings in a vacation environment ) .
I quit all sex work for the person I thought Id marry ( plus I was kind of getting into other career things anyway 2013-2018 ).
After a devastating break up one bonus was I could dance if I wanted.
So I supplemented again in early 2019 until March 2020 when everything closed down.

I don't work much now ( a couple nights a month ) but still dip my toe in here and there.

I also think I had ONE or two shifts way back when ( like 2005 Id say ) and at that time it didn't " stick " .
^ Even earlier than THAT I was a waitress in a club during college for a bit ( I got busted by family and quit ).
Honestly my club job at 21 years old showed me the capacity for sex work. I would make $200-$250 a night roughly and people worked jobs that were paying like 1/3 of that per day in the area I was in.

That's my history in a nutshell.

It's probably dating me somewhat as a more mature / not 21 anymore dancer haha.
I feel like the money definitely declined even in the 10-12 year span I was more active.
I won't launch into a novel about that . I'm glad I just currently dance for extra shopping and vacation $$.

[WendiStarr]

I left an abusive man with nothing but the clothes on my back and was a single mom with no support system. I was tired of living in dumpy motels and heard from someone who danced that she was making more than I was in a day than I made in an entire week at my crappy, dead end vanilla job.

[bananaqueen]

These are interesting stories, ladies!
I've been curious about the industry for years but finally decided to go for it when I literally found an ad online looking for dancers at a club near where I was going to school. I had a few interviews for shooter girl and bartender at other strip clubs before with no luck. I've dabbed in and out of this business for years. Now I am a career working girl. For now anyways, until a better paying, more flexible job comes through The industry has been good to me and I am very grateful for it.

[carmen_b]

I have to say I love how you rustled up your friends as well hahaha !

So I've being reading this forum and generally reviving all my memories and feels about dancing the past few weeks. Just curious how other people started!

I was going into my final year at uni and knew my loan wouldn't cover my rent that year. I remember reading an article in a newspaper about sugar babies, it had that kind of "these poor girls are turning to old men" tone about it, but I was thinking oh hey that could plug the money gap I have. I started reading online, discovered stripping was a thing and found this forum. I felt happier with the idea of dancing, found a club just out of town from where I was studying, and eventually contacted them.

I spoke about it with a friend beforehand too, and she was totally up for it to pay off her credit card lol. We both started together. After a few weeks we got another friend in who was a bit hurt we didn't spill the beans straight away.

I can only say I wish I'd started years earlier, I'd have got in shape and become less of a dork sooner.

[smeca]

Wow quite a range, thanks ladies.

Raven that sounds awful, I hope it got better for you!

Carmen haha yeah, we were doing burlesque classes together so it was a safe bet to mention it. Aah I'd love to do the odd shift here and there for fun money, not sure how much time clubs want now/in my new area. Ooh and i feel you on the breakup, i had a similar situation But it was the right thing looking back, just sucked.

[carmen_b]

^ I have always been heavily closeted. Only one of my non industry friends knows ( and her level of knowing was that I did it for " three months "). She didn't react well so I told her I agreed and was done ha.

I have only told the people I'm in a relationship with.

[Zofia]

Got into a confrontation with my boss at my day job, realized I had ruined my chances of getting promoted there, so I made other plans.

The plans worked out. Had many happy years in the adult industry, and retired early.

OMG! my story too!

I was 18 working at a spaghetti restaurant. Manager liked by boobs and ass a little too much. Told me I had a future if I got on my knees. Instead, I walked out and never went back. A strip club was down the street. So I went in and auditioned. They hired me for the next shift. I got some heels and danced my first shift in a bikini. Made more in tips than ever at the spaghetti place. Four years of happy stripping and making bank.

XOXO
Z

[carmen_b]

^ OMG I am loving all these stories !!!

What I love it that you see this TREND where everyone had the happiness go up when they took the jump and started making more $$$ !!
Duh ! Get that quality of life. Ha!

[neverendingkneebruises]

I needed the money to get out of an unfavorable home situation, but grew to love dancing & I want to do it as long as I possibly can!

[smeca]

I needed the money to get out of an unfavorable home situation, but grew to love dancing & I want to do it as long as I possibly can!

Nice. It's great that it helped you in a situation but awesome that you ended up loving it!

[seashell]

I started at 21, as a broke cocktail waitress trying to leave my toxic parents' house. I had PTSD from a bad relationship, was newly single, and figured why not... and I quickly became a stripper, which transformed my life completely. It took a long time to really learn how to navigate the job in a healthy and positive way, but now I'm 33, managed to get some degrees and amazing life experiences thanks to stripper money, and I honestly think I could be happy doing this as a side job for a long time to come.

[Jaden F]

I was honestly just looking for a bit of excitment in my life. i had considered moving abroad and dancing about a year prior but found myself stuck in the UK in a dead end retail job.

i was at home resting up and recovering from some revision surgery from a proceedure i had a couple of years beforehand and had actully fallen into a bit of a depression. while online i found one of the local clubs looking for dancers.

I just spontaniously applied not expecting anything to come from it at all as i was still a liitle swollen and sore the surgery . No way would someone like me be stripping in an actual strip club, but i auditioned and was dancing soon after.

[smeca]

^seashell, love hearing it come full circle and that it improved life in so many different ways! Glad to hear you are still enjoying it

Jaden that's interesting. How did you find out about it as an option to begin with? I was aware vaguely about strip clubs from tv i guess but didn't think about it at all past that.

Ima add the story of a girl from my first club. She saw a big banner saying "earn 1000s a week as a dancer" and she told her mum toward the end of her school years "mum, I think I want to be a lap dancer." Knew lots of girls whose mums knew and were cool, love that for them.
I feel the most valuable thing I got from it was the confidence to set and enforce boundaries. And an accurate bullshit detector!

[305gurl]

Always knew erotic dancers made a lot of fast cash when growing up. But, as a young teenager, I just didn't like the idea of getting naked in front of strange men. I worked in Burger King, Dunkin' Donuts, and a few other gigs to make money but I felt the money earned from a vanilla job wasn't good enough to support a comfortable living as well a certain lifestyle for a young up-and-coming woman wants. As my 18th birthday was coming during my senior year of high school, which was in September, I knew a certain, bit older, friend of mine that was dancing and have told me about the money she was making. So, the next day after my 18th birthday, I went to a strip club and applied and auditioned then started stripping the next night. Great times! I only danced on the weekends as they knew I was still a high school student and made and save a lot of money. Just a few months before graduation, I already had a car and renting an apartment and got my sister out of a jam.

[Jaden F]

^seashell, love hearing it come full circle and that it improved life in so many different ways! Glad to hear you are still enjoying it

Jaden that's interesting. How did you find out about it as an option to begin with? I was aware vaguely about strip clubs from tv i guess but didn't think about it at all past that.

Ima add the story of a girl from my first club. She saw a big banner saying "earn 1000s a week as a dancer" and she told her mum toward the end of her school years "mum, I think I want to be a lap dancer." Knew lots of girls whose mums knew and were cool, love that for them.
I feel the most valuable thing I got from it was the confidence to set and enforce boundaries. And an accurate bullshit detector!

I think i became aware of pole dancing in the late 2000's when it bacame more mainstream with lots of pole fitness classes starting in the gyms and celebrities such as britney pole dancing in her stage shows and videos.

But actual strip clubs, i had only seen on tv also, mainly from American shows where there would be lots of girls dancing on poles always fully clothed to some hip hop with flashing neon lights everywhere.

On the south coast of England where im from we had four clubs, i would often walk past them occasionlly seeing a couple of the promo girls and being envious of how glam their hair and makeup was and how much i would love to get all dolled up for work like them but it wasnt untill i got invited to audition that i would step inside a strip club and see it as a career option.

Now in my 30's i returned to dancing last year when they all opened up again after lockdown.

[chanzep]

How is it down there nowadays?. I used to work down there in the summertime mainly at Spearmint years ago.

[Jaden F]

How is it down there nowadays?. I used to work down there in the summertime mainly at Spearmint years ago.

Things are generally back to normal now after covid here in the Uk, im not dancing in Bournemouth right now but it breaks my heart Spearmint has now closed,

Maybe we worked together back in the day, about 10 years ago. i was the 6ft tall quiet, shy girl with long dark hair.

[chanzep]

Omg it closed that's crazy are FYEO and Wiggle still there?

[cutiecam]

I knew I was going to be a stripper fairly early in life. By the time I was in middle school I found out my sister danced and she had such a fun lifestyle. So one week after my 18th, I went with her to work to audition. I'm 30 now, and I've been in the adult industry ever since. I credit her to helping me keep my head screwed on properly. Although I've made my mistakes, she's kept me on the straight and narrow. I live a fabulous life today, with a beautiful luxury car bought and paid for, a stunning home on the nice side of town, vacations several times a year, and savings and investments to push me to retirement. I truly love my job, most days. I'm lucky and blessed, and have a some of the most supportive people in the world around me. My sister passed away last year, and I miss her and think about her a lot. Sometimes I wonder if I would have ever even gotten into the industry without her.

[StellaRose]

Was in college, dropped out one class short of a degree. The workforce seemed too depressing and I was dealing with high anxiety about the future. Start dancing when I was 22. Changed majors and went back to school and got my degree. Realized I wasn’t ever going to “mature” and I wanted to see the country aside from just Texas. And even now, I am still dancing until whatever the next nonsense that happens stops me (gas shortage? Violence imposed curfews? Etc)

[Jaden F]

Omg it closed that's crazy are FYEO and Wiggle still there?

Yes fyeo and wiggle are still, i never danced in wiggle did in fyeo. Not sure about now but when i was there we had to wear long gowns or skirts untill midnight before being allowed to change into more usual stripperwear. Being 6ft tall and with my transgender frame i never looked good in a gown and i think it affected my confidence and earnings. As soon as the clock struck 12 i was in the dressing room changing into one of my thong bikinis or something.
We also offered £10 topless table dances which i always found really embarrassing and loathed having to do them. I got to keep my bottoms on which was a plus ,but honestly i would rather just take the guy to the private dance room and get naked.
For those reasons i preferd spearmint even if it meant going up and down those stairs all night.