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Underneath it all interview with a stripper
Interview by Stella Blake-Kelly As children, Salient Co-Editor Stella Blake-Kelly and friend Lola* used to skinny-dip anywhere they could; now Lola makes a living from taking her clothes off. After dropping out of school before gaining UE, Lola eventually started stripping, and two years later has $40,000 in the bank. She has recently enrolled in a Law degree at Victoria. Stella has $40,000 student loan debt, and is now questioning who really made the better life decision. Stella and Lola caught up to talk about life on the pole.
How long have you been dancing for?
What was involved in hustling?
I guess about two years now, I was eighteen when I started.
When I started I used to get really drunk at work, there was a lot of cocaine in Sydney so you’d usually have a few lines. You’d be drinking so you’d get the confidence that you needed to be flirtatious and pushy. In Sydney you’re not actually legally allowed to touch the girls.
What attracted you to the job? Mostly the money, definitely the freedom of it. You can work one night a week, make your money and then do whatever you like for the rest of the week.
How did you get involved? I was working for a promotion company called Sexcom [laughs], yeah there was lots of naughty stuff, sex toys, some girls did that.
Like demonstrating the toys? Like a show, getting a dildo and dancing. I normally did lingerie waitressing, bikini waitressing on boats, then topless waitressing. Then that led to stripping because I saw the money they were making.
How much did you earn a night? When I started I was not good at hustling, when I started I was earning maybe $150-$300 a night working six hour shifts, and I was happy as. I then moved to a different club in Sydney and I was making a $1000-plus every night. The money is very addictive, that’s why a lot of girls don’t stop because they become dependent on it. For a lot of girls this will be the most money they will earn in their life. Working four to five nights a week you would be making an average of around $2500 if you were good at your job. Some girls make up to $5000 weekly, although that’s more likely in Australia.
Can they touch you in New Zealand? Yes, not between the legs but they can touch everywhere else. No mouth contact, that is definitely a bit different. In Sydney it was a bit easier to hustle. People in Wellington definitely aren’t as generous with their money, everyone has money in Sydney.
How else did Wellington differ? When I moved back to Wellington to [a bar that we cannot name], the money was nowhere near as good but you’d still do $500-$600 nights. It was a bit of a party, there were a lot of messed up girls there. Lots of the girls there dabbled between prostitution and dancing so there was a lot of upstairs/downstairs swapping round. There were a lot of older girls, a lot of girls with emotional and alcohol problems. There were also a bunch of students who were totally into it, came there, made their money, got out. There were two girls with fourth-year Law degrees.
Do you use a fake name or have a persona when you’re dancing? Yeah, you’re really made up and feel more confident if you do. Some girls would be covered in tattoos, lots of piercings, a bit bogan. Some very pretty, or some
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who dress up looking really young pigtails. Whatever makes you the most money you tend to go with. Everyone has a fake name, and they usually change quite a lot. Most of us know each other’s real name, especially in Wellington because it’s such a small place and you become really close.
Do the club owners make you dress up? In Australia there are a lot of clubs who are very strict, saying you need to be tanned, your hair needs to be pristine, you need to have these shoes and wear this dress. But in New Zealand it’s pretty chilled out. I mean, you want to look good dressed up and good because that’s what the man comes to the club for, to see something that he’s not seeing on the street. Even though, probably some of the girls look worse than what’s seen on the street [laughs] you don’t have to be hot to be a stripper! Just, not at all.
The age range is usually 18 to how old? Youngest girls don’t tend to make the most money, because they’re not experienced. Often men prefer older women. I’ve worked with 40-year-olds before, some of them look haggard and shouldn’t be in the industry, and then there are ones that just look amazing and are very professional and make a good amount of money, because it’s their career. It’s easier to make a career out of it in Australia, it’s more normal to be a stripper there.
What are the working conditions like with your employer, do you think you’re treated well? There’s definitely a lot of mistreatment at some of the clubs in Wellington. At [one bar