BY: BRIAN CAPITAO
The ideal male form takes us back to ancient Greece when the highest compliment one could receive was being compared to a sculpture. Today, we compare men with impeccable bodies to the supposed Greek god—the proverbial Adonis with pecs and chiseled abs.
Welcome to the Foxxes Den, where men are put on exhibition and strut with an air of confidence and a bravado to match. Small crowds of women, largely older women are in attendance to get their eyes full of beefcake. I watch the stage as a gentleman gyrates fully clothed trying to entice the ladies in attendance. The man has good rhythm. The physique of a construction worker.
Male strippers in Toronto must get a Burlesque Entertainers License that costs around $400 to obtain and $263 a year to renew as well as have completed a police-background check, which is an additional $25.
There is a bit of gender reversal for male strippers. It takes a lot of psychological effort to get the ladies to come on stage. The emcee confidently tries to rally women, but they shyly decline.
Days earlier, I spoke to Ashton, a 26 year old male stripper at Remington’s, a gay male strip bar, who echoed that male stripping isn’t as shady as everyone thinks, “It’s actually good people that work in this business. It’s not a shady prostitution business, there’s actually good people here. I’ve met some solid people that I never met in golf and country clubs. These people have my back more than most of the other people I met in my life because they know they’re making their own money so they all have drive. They all get up in the morning and make themselves look good to make their money. They’re good people. I like being a stripper” said Ashton.
The Foxxes Den is a male strip bar that caters to women located in the basement of the House of Lancaster. I interviewed Ricky Shae, a 26-year-old Russian dancer who only recently popped his cherry. His name is meant to be a play on the word ricochet.
“This…this is…well it’s a hobby.” he says.
I had spotted Ricky Shae not far from my view sitting at the bar, shirtless sipping on a Corona with lime watching the stage.
I tell him we should go somewhere quieter for the interview and he agrees since he wants to put on a shirt. He returns quickly wearing a green tank top. He sits down and orders a beer at the bar for our interview. Another Corona with lime. He begins flirting with the bartender with his rakish charm and his hands lightly enwrap hers. She tells him the unfortunate fate of her past lovers, including one who drowned in an accident. The bartender is called away and we begin our interview.
“For me, the thing is I’m not a shy person…I’m probably the most open-minded person in the world. I don’t have stage fright. I wasn’t scared that someone was going to judge me…just smile and be yourself” says Ricky Shae, cheerfully.
During the week Ricky Shae trains at Brass Vixens, a pole dance and fitness club. The physical strain of pole dancing was a lot harder than Shae initially thought, who originally got into dancing through salsa and ballroom.
“I was shocked the first day I started. It’s way harder than it seems. Then after that, it just inspired me. I’m like ‘okay, challenge accepted.’ I wanted to do more and more,” he says.
I inquired if there was a strain on his family relationships. “My mom she knows it…she saw my show once and she was like, ‘Wow! You’re good on the pole!’ She was actually proud. For me I don’t go fully naked. I do the performance. I do the show. I entertain” says Ricky Shae.
While Ashton and Ricky Shae both dismissed Magic Mike as unrealistic, they both appreciated the theatricality and had respect for stripping’s burlesque roots. For them stripping was all about selling fantasy.
Unlike the stereotype that Hollywood would have us believe, Ricky Shae is University educated and tells me he majored in psychology at University of Toronto. After working two full-time construction jobs, he got into day trading and has a clothing company and is the process of opening a school for personal trainers.
All Photos courtesy of Jesse Milns and BlogTo.com
