A sad day indeed. I have visited clubs all over North America, but none as often as Follies -- and I don't live anywhere near it. I discovered it in 1999 and never had a bad time there. Hard to imagine that any other club in the U.S. will ever come as close to what Follies offered, consistently and at a decent price. RIP.
For those who have been blessed enough to visit all three areas, how did Follies compare to say, a Diamond Dolls or Tootsie's in Miami, or a comparable club in Detroit? Are there any ither clubs that could compare?
I would be comfortable comparing Follies to an earlier Tootsie's or the original Solid Gold in Pompano. I don't say DD in Ft. Lauderdale simply because DD was factory style lap dances. In Follies, SG, and Tootsie's, the girls were all willing to sit and talk with you before and after dances.
My condolences, Shadowcat. Maybe they can reopen in a nearby area.
At least my last visit there, just before covid, included a classic high-chair LDK.
It's a weird and dark time in America. We have a monger in the white house, but the gov't has a green light to close clubs and adult websites. Strange bedfellows... :-(
Gammanu95, I have been to all the areas you mentioned, and I would have to say that to me, the thing that distinguished Follies -- from those and virtually all other U.S. clubs I've been to -- is that while the VIP activities might have been comparable to other clubs, the $10 full-nude lap dances at Follies were often absolutely off the charts in terms of two-way contact. Anything was possible. Anything. I would be interested in hearing from others as to what clubs in the U.S. might compare in terms of lap dances like that -- and for that price. I have been going to Follies for 21 years, and as far as I can recall, the price of a lap dance has always been $10. An unbelievable value.
the city hired attorney Scott Bergthold. he's a former SC customer from TN. he pissed away thousands of dollar son dancers over the years. now he has a vendetta and wants to help draft 1A proof city ordinances to close all strip clubs.
Someone should hire a p.i. and help get this guy kicked out of every city and town in the country.
Doraville was using him for a while until the transgenders on their city council realized he's anti LGBT as well.
These places with little big town syndrome really need to learn to mind their own business. What's a Chamblee? Most of us have only ever heard of it because Follies was there.
Per the article the club opened in 1992 so it had almost a 30-year-run.
I always felt Follies would be taken down sooner than later - I never posted it bc I didn't wanna gynx it - but Follies was an obvious outlier in ATL - at least in other areas like Miami almost all clubs offer high-mileage (along with alcohol) and are allowed to operate as such so no one club particularly stands out - but Follies def stood out in ARL in terms of what went-down/how-it-operated, not to mention being packed pretty-much 7-days-a-week .
Follies and Cheetah were my first stripclub and I lived 5hrs away. Very sad to see them both go. But luckly Hong Kong Tijuana is like both of them together and at half the price :-)
@Gammanu I've never had the pleasure of clubbing in south Florida, but having spent significant time in Detroit, COI, and Follies over the years I would agree with Eastcoaster's assessment. Atlanta's "lap dances" in most clubs are actually table(side) dances, and increasingly nothing but air in most metro clubs. But at Follies you didn't even have to buy a dance to get what would require a VIP trip in any other market. I think a hand job at your table was considered "first base."
Shadowcst come to oasis. We have plenty of high chairs there for you. It’s spaced out too so you don’t really have to worry about shit. Guys be 80 years old in there lit!
The building that housed the closed Pink Pony South is vacant and up for sale...29,000+ sq ft. Unfortunately the City of Forest Park is not strip club friendly either.
@rockie - same here, mate. Went to Follies once, and wasn't an epic experience for me. However, I did get to check out Memphis before the crackdown (though not quite at its peak) and THAT whole city made Follies seem tame!
Nope - it was a day visit. Wasn't a bad time, just wasn't really my thing. Don't like crowds or hunting for seats during the day for starters.
Not sure of all the places you tried in Memphis, but there was way more spots than just PP.
For comparison - Follies is ONE club closed - several others remain (granted, Follies is not in Atlanta proper). In Memphis, the activity level was such that the ENTIRE city cracked downed on ALL clubs - only a few remain.
Not sure when the big crackdown in Memphis was. I went through on a dayshift in 2016 or 2017. Only one club seemed like anything interesting. Can't remember the name and don't feel like looking it up, but it had a huge porch on the front and potholes in the parking lot. Follies I'd go out my way to see. Memphis I wondered what the fuss was about, but didn't see the clubs at night.
@wallanon The Memphis crackdown started over a decade ago. Its almost totally dead now; if your 1st visit was 5 or so years ago, you only saw the crumbs.
That was the other good thing about Memphis. It was real low key. By the time word got out to most mongers outside the city about how "extra" strong the stripclub circuit was, it was already too late.
It's not always about how good the clubs are. Some places (like Detroit for instance) can have some of the best clubs around but no reason for a lot people to ever go there. I'd say Memphis is in that same boat. Atlanta is a travel hub, so that Follies easier to get to for those who were just passing through. Part of the appeal for that club.
Now that the club is closed we can talk a little more about it. I know several guys that fucked their dance in the high top chairs or on the couch for the cost of the 10 dollar dances.... sure they would do 5 or 6 dances but really? Fucking in a room full of people with a teenage cuban girl for 50 bucks... I had one milf with nice tits tell me she was on her period so we would have to put it in her ass, this was for 100 to her and 50 to the club.
Hand jobs, BBJ, LDK, and straight fucking all for 10 dollars a song if you were not shy. If you were shy then pay for the communal VIP and if you were really shy you could go to the other VIP. I have traveled the world and there are brothels like FKK clubs, sex shows in bangkok, even hong kong in TJ..... but for a place where prostitution is illegal, I have never seen that much mileage in a strip club
For anyone who never got to Follies and is wondering what it was really like, see Papi Chulo's legendary review from 2017 titled "There's Follies -- and Then There's the Rest." Before sitting down to read it, you might want to make a sandwich and grab a beer. Maybe two.
40 comments
I would be comfortable comparing Follies to an earlier Tootsie's or the original Solid Gold in Pompano. I don't say DD in Ft. Lauderdale simply because DD was factory style lap dances. In Follies, SG, and Tootsie's, the girls were all willing to sit and talk with you before and after dances.
My condolences, Shadowcat. Maybe they can reopen in a nearby area.
Which club will take the throne now?
At least my last visit there, just before covid, included a classic high-chair LDK.
It's a weird and dark time in America. We have a monger in the white house, but the gov't has a green light to close clubs and adult websites. Strange bedfellows... :-(
I still dream of making it to TJ Hong Kong
Someone should hire a p.i. and help get this guy kicked out of every city and town in the country.
Doraville was using him for a while until the transgenders on their city council realized he's anti LGBT as well.
I always felt Follies would be taken down sooner than later - I never posted it bc I didn't wanna gynx it - but Follies was an obvious outlier in ATL - at least in other areas like Miami almost all clubs offer high-mileage (along with alcohol) and are allowed to operate as such so no one club particularly stands out - but Follies def stood out in ARL in terms of what went-down/how-it-operated, not to mention being packed pretty-much 7-days-a-week .
But now where are we gonna put the shadowcat corner?
If Shadowcat is bored during quarantine, he can research that like a retired cop with a cold case file.
Now I feel even more urgency to travel to Detroit and COI (and Tijuana), before those also go the way of the dodo.
Follies - Atlanta
Penthouse - Detroit
CH3 - Vegas
OG - Vegas
Players/Wagon Wheel - Baltimore
Read my article from 2010 about the Memphis Platinum Plus. I got a BBBJ 90 minutes after the club was busted by the vice squad.
I have also been inside Follies when a raid went down.
Memphis had no VIP rooms. Just semi private dance rooms and the floor mileage in Memphis doesn't come close to what happened at Follies.
I didn't like the smell of pot and the selling of drugs at Follies that did not go down in Memphis but some customers liked it.
I actually did better at the Columbia SC Platinum Plus and it's sister club Heartbreakers than I did in Memphis.
All 4 clubs are gone now. Got to move on but don't know where yet.
Not sure of all the places you tried in Memphis, but there was way more spots than just PP.
For comparison - Follies is ONE club closed - several others remain (granted, Follies is not in Atlanta proper). In Memphis, the activity level was such that the ENTIRE city cracked downed on ALL clubs - only a few remain.
So each year reminisce stories can be told on the anniversary.
That was the other good thing about Memphis. It was real low key. By the time word got out to most mongers outside the city about how "extra" strong the stripclub circuit was, it was already too late.
@wallanon - I agree Memphis & Detroit definitely do not have the travel appeal of Atlanta (which is why I still travel there).
Hand jobs, BBJ, LDK, and straight fucking all for 10 dollars a song if you were not shy. If you were shy then pay for the communal VIP and if you were really shy you could go to the other VIP. I have traveled the world and there are brothels like FKK clubs, sex shows in bangkok, even hong kong in TJ..... but for a place where prostitution is illegal, I have never seen that much mileage in a strip club
https://tuscl.net/review/309459/