Good article. I don't agree with all of it but with a lot if it. From my perspective, it's ME and not anyone else who keeps the game going. There will always be girls.
This guy is just rehashing a few worn theories. Escorts and porn were all quite available online from 2002 - 2007, a period when plenty of money was flowing into an ever increasing number of clubs. Indeed, porn ancestresses, cam girls and escorts are also suffering and are not making what they were back then either.
All of these pockets of adult entertainment rise and fall with the economy. It is discretionary spending, so when unemployment is high and prices on basic necessities like food and gas keep rising, then adult entertainment will suffer.
What further exacerbates these issues is that a number of new clubs opened up in certain regions during that boom period. there was plenty of money to go around during the good years, but this increase in the number of clubs is now further causing dilutions in dancer quality and in per club revenues during this protracted sluggishness.
This is all a normal part of most cyclical industries. Some of the worst/weakest clubs are already closing and we can probably expect to see the number of clubs reduce a bit until things are better.
To be honest, I don't find this SCH to post particularly insightful stuff. He is just another guy who visits clubs from time to time. His experiences seem to be extremely limited, both in geographic reference and historical perspective. There are several hounds on this board who could likely post better stuff if they were so inclined.
Rick, I like the points you made, but I do feel the post-2008 economy IS a strong factor. And, I disagree with your last paragraph.
I read the Strip Club Hound regularly. He's probably over age 60 from what he's said about himself, and he's been going to strip clubs for decades. He was also a strip club manager, (for about four years, that I can surmise.) He's from L.A. and yes, his knowledge mostly seems limited to Southern California clubs, but I'd say he expresses a great variety of experiences in clubs.
I'm very certain I know which club he managed. He's given enough away over time, that if you know the L.A. clubs, you can isolote which club he managed. And, lastly I'd disagree with you on your last sentence. Very few posters on TUSCL write as well as he does, especially the male members who say that they have worked in strip clubs.
Rick - I totally agree with you about the number of new clubs and the watering down of talent.
We've touched on this on in a few threads recently.
I used to live in Indianapolis in the early 80's. Always hot girls. Now, there over 20 clubs for a city of about 800,000 people. I think that's too diluted.
Or worse yet. Cities like Jackson, Michigan or Kokomo, Indiana, with less than 70,000 people have a half dozen clubs each. It's just too difficult to maintain quality talent.
CG, I think we agree on the economy angle. In fact, as I said above, I think that it is the predominant factor by a wide margin. I just don't agree with his concepts that escorts and online porn are part of the recent decline in SC activity. First, online porn and escorts have been widely available since circa 2000, including during the 2002 - 2007 boom period. Second, escorts and porn producers, along with cam girls, are hurting now too.
As far as the rest, I'll admit that I have no idea how old he is, but his stuff seems very geocentric and often simplistic. L.A. is not the center of the strip club universe and the conditions that exist there are not the same as those present in a number of other areas, nor does working in a single club for a few years confer any super special bona fides upon an author in my humble opinion.
Truth be told, I find the stuff on this site (when the trolls aren't cramming the boards) and SW to be much more insightful than his stuff. If he truly wants to opine on national trends and widespread industry issues, he really needs to gain (through his own experiences or by inviting other to contribute) a broader viewpoint. Kansas ain't the same as NYC ain't the same as L.A. ain't the same as Milwaukee ain't the same as Chicago ain't the same as...
That is not my view from last night nor last weekend. Last night both clubs I visited were very crowded. One was so crowded late at night at least one of my cf's never even spotted me in the crowd. Just about every single seat was taken. Probably around 200 to 400 people in the club. I'm not sure what the seating capacity is for the Greenville clubs. I'm hoping it doesn't stay as crowded as last night. I'm hoping it was related to a festival in the downtown area. I actually spent a lot less than normal.
Sharkhunter-
It may be true the club you went to was crowded, but that doesn't mean anyone was buying lap dances. I've pretty much come to the conclusion that 90% of all strip club patrons go to strip clubs just to drink alcohol and see naked chicks and never partake in lap dances, or whatever other services there are in strip clubs. I can see how it is hard for strippers to make money when most of the money made comes off of tips.
It could also be possible clubs have set their lap dance prices too high or take too much of a cut from lap dances sold, but it is damn near impossible to convince the clubs of this.
@Dan-I concur with your observation. Too many dudes sit and stare. I love being around beautiful, nude, gyrating women. But if I can't purchase the merchandise, I don't want to go window shopping. I'm at the club to spend money and to feel women, not just look at them.
The lap dance room is often busy at the club. I often see 20 to 30 or more dancers in there almost every time I go in. In fact the easiest way for me not to get noticed is to not go in there. Dancers can do two for one dances anytime at Platinum. Over at Lust where regular lap dances are $25 per and they only do two for ones at announced times, it is usually dead in the lap dance room. Of course Lust is a whole lot smaller and you don't even have room for that many.
I did notice most people were just watching and not tipping though. If a packed crowd was both tipping and getting dances like crazy, the regulars would have trouble doing both. As was, I didn't have any more trouble than on a more routine slower night. I saw an awful lot of female customers at Lust. I wonder how many of them got lap dances? Probably not many. I left Lust early. I did not see most of the hot dancers I usually see. Only about 4 or 5 in the first place. More fat dancers working last night. I guess the hot dancers had the night off or were working a different shift or day. I do not understand dancer schedules at Lust. I would think if I see the same 4 or 5 hot dancers for a few weeks on a given night I would keep seeing them. Maybe the club makes them rotate days worked every few weeks. I did not tip much while there.
@rickdugan re: SCH. Yes, we get your opinion. You don't think the Hound is very useful and too "simplistic"; his experiences are 'geographically' limited.
If you want one person reviewing a lot of clubs across US, eastern Europe and Japan, read petertips blog: http://petertips.blogspot.com/
SCH writes an opinion blog about his SC experiences based on his experiences as customer AND SC manager in SoCal. He doesn't directly compete with TUSCL [which he recommends] or petertips. He never set out to be a reviewer.
I and some other TUSCLers like his blog because of his insights as former manager, his interviews with strippers, and variety of other content. It's like the editorial page of a newspaper; you may not agree with all opinions expressed. From what I've read he would agree with you that his SC views are heavily weighted to SoCal. And he often cites this geographical limitation. And many newbies have benefited from his posts.
Hey RD, sounds like you have some good ideas about how an SC blog should be run so why don't YOU start a blog [Ricky'sReviews?] and show us all how it should be done.
I'm not sure I agree that times are worse now than in previous years, although all the dancers I know say they are. I do know there is something wrong with the business model when it's possible to visit a club, sit there for an hour, and not be approached by any dancers who are remotely attractive. I know this has happened to me and to others here on tuscl. I sometimes wonder if we'd be better off making the dancers employees again, and paying them a decent wage. Extras would still be extra, of course.
Hey, there's an idea. RickyBoy's The System blog where he can post his latest genius discoveries and refinements on the art and science of paying hookers for sex.
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But don't forget about one more thing: Ugly girls.
Far too many unattractive chicks working in the clubs these days. The hot fantasy stripper is just that in lot of cases - just a fantasy.
All of these pockets of adult entertainment rise and fall with the economy. It is discretionary spending, so when unemployment is high and prices on basic necessities like food and gas keep rising, then adult entertainment will suffer.
What further exacerbates these issues is that a number of new clubs opened up in certain regions during that boom period. there was plenty of money to go around during the good years, but this increase in the number of clubs is now further causing dilutions in dancer quality and in per club revenues during this protracted sluggishness.
This is all a normal part of most cyclical industries. Some of the worst/weakest clubs are already closing and we can probably expect to see the number of clubs reduce a bit until things are better.
To be honest, I don't find this SCH to post particularly insightful stuff. He is just another guy who visits clubs from time to time. His experiences seem to be extremely limited, both in geographic reference and historical perspective. There are several hounds on this board who could likely post better stuff if they were so inclined.
I read the Strip Club Hound regularly. He's probably over age 60 from what he's said about himself, and he's been going to strip clubs for decades. He was also a strip club manager, (for about four years, that I can surmise.) He's from L.A. and yes, his knowledge mostly seems limited to Southern California clubs, but I'd say he expresses a great variety of experiences in clubs.
I'm very certain I know which club he managed. He's given enough away over time, that if you know the L.A. clubs, you can isolote which club he managed. And, lastly I'd disagree with you on your last sentence. Very few posters on TUSCL write as well as he does, especially the male members who say that they have worked in strip clubs.
We've touched on this on in a few threads recently.
I used to live in Indianapolis in the early 80's. Always hot girls. Now, there over 20 clubs for a city of about 800,000 people. I think that's too diluted.
Or worse yet. Cities like Jackson, Michigan or Kokomo, Indiana, with less than 70,000 people have a half dozen clubs each. It's just too difficult to maintain quality talent.
As far as the rest, I'll admit that I have no idea how old he is, but his stuff seems very geocentric and often simplistic. L.A. is not the center of the strip club universe and the conditions that exist there are not the same as those present in a number of other areas, nor does working in a single club for a few years confer any super special bona fides upon an author in my humble opinion.
Truth be told, I find the stuff on this site (when the trolls aren't cramming the boards) and SW to be much more insightful than his stuff. If he truly wants to opine on national trends and widespread industry issues, he really needs to gain (through his own experiences or by inviting other to contribute) a broader viewpoint. Kansas ain't the same as NYC ain't the same as L.A. ain't the same as Milwaukee ain't the same as Chicago ain't the same as...
You get the picture.
It may be true the club you went to was crowded, but that doesn't mean anyone was buying lap dances. I've pretty much come to the conclusion that 90% of all strip club patrons go to strip clubs just to drink alcohol and see naked chicks and never partake in lap dances, or whatever other services there are in strip clubs. I can see how it is hard for strippers to make money when most of the money made comes off of tips.
It could also be possible clubs have set their lap dance prices too high or take too much of a cut from lap dances sold, but it is damn near impossible to convince the clubs of this.
I did notice most people were just watching and not tipping though. If a packed crowd was both tipping and getting dances like crazy, the regulars would have trouble doing both. As was, I didn't have any more trouble than on a more routine slower night. I saw an awful lot of female customers at Lust. I wonder how many of them got lap dances? Probably not many. I left Lust early. I did not see most of the hot dancers I usually see. Only about 4 or 5 in the first place. More fat dancers working last night. I guess the hot dancers had the night off or were working a different shift or day. I do not understand dancer schedules at Lust. I would think if I see the same 4 or 5 hot dancers for a few weeks on a given night I would keep seeing them. Maybe the club makes them rotate days worked every few weeks. I did not tip much while there.
If you want one person reviewing a lot of clubs across US, eastern Europe and Japan, read petertips blog: http://petertips.blogspot.com/
SCH writes an opinion blog about his SC experiences based on his experiences as customer AND SC manager in SoCal. He doesn't directly compete with TUSCL [which he recommends] or petertips. He never set out to be a reviewer.
I and some other TUSCLers like his blog because of his insights as former manager, his interviews with strippers, and variety of other content. It's like the editorial page of a newspaper; you may not agree with all opinions expressed. From what I've read he would agree with you that his SC views are heavily weighted to SoCal. And he often cites this geographical limitation. And many newbies have benefited from his posts.
Hey RD, sounds like you have some good ideas about how an SC blog should be run so why don't YOU start a blog [Ricky'sReviews?] and show us all how it should be done.