Laptastic
The boom in lap dancing clubs in the UK has created opportunities for specialist agencies to support the industry with strippers and probably the largest in the UK is Manchester based Laptastic owned by Jason Watson who supplies numerous clubs throughout Europe with UK strippers as well as organising his own events.
Tyke. When and how did you first get involved in the striptease industry?
Jason. It was 6 years or more ago when a friend with a restaurant asked me to organise shows to draw in customers. I put on a lap dancing night with UK strippers which was a big success and from that a club owner approached me to organise girls for his club. From that we set up a web site, started recruiting strippers, and with lots of strip clubs opening business came in, the first was a club in Ireland, then one in Iceland.
Tyke. Where did the custom come from, the web site ?
Jason. Partly that but most now comes from recommendation and referrals. I am always honest with clubs and girls so club owners and dancers tell each other.
Tyke. How do you recruit girls, many clubs seem to find this difficult?
Jason. Again via the website or by word of mouth from girls who already work for me. I have advertised in the past but not recently as it’s not been necessary. There are some very professional, reliable girls out there though are also a lot of girls who just not up to the job to be honest. To do well in this industry a girl must look good but also be able to talk to customers, be friendly, and be reliable. When lap dancing clubs first started in the late 90s the girls could make a fortune and only really needed to work 1 or 2 nights a week. These days there are lots more clubs and girls, the girls can still make good money but they need to work hard and be prepared to take the rough with the smooth. I have over 1,200 girls on the books now and that gives a wide cross section both geographically and personality wise. I have started up a points system on my computer where I credit girls who are reliable and take off points from those who are not, the more points you have the better the jobs you get.
Tyke. Do you have a lot of stripper girls from Eastern Europe ?
Jason. We have some and the numbers are increasing.
A strippers fear and how to handle it!
Tyke. You supply a lot of strip clubs these days.
Jason. I currently supply 25 clubs plus in the UK and almost as many overseas in places as far afield as Mexico, Australia, Spain, Paris, and Japan.
Tyke. Are all of the strip girls at these strip clubs supplied by you?
Jason. Not normally, the club usually has some of their own girls but I’m usually the only agent.
Tyke. Do you visit all the clubs you supply.
Jason. I try to though with so many clubs spread across the world these days it’s not always possible. I like to check how the girls are treated, the state of the club, and what the accommodation is like. If I can’t visit I send one of the more experienced girls out first to check for me. If they say the club treats the girls badly I won’t send any more.
Strippers in London; Andrea from Sophisticats
Tyke. Don’t the clubs prefer their own girls rather than pay you an agents fee ?
Jason. Sometimes yes but normally they continue to use us because I can supply the girls they want, when they want them, whereas local recruitment can be hit and miss. Also if a club gets a few very good girls off me it sets the standards for the regular girls and stops them messing the club around.
Tyke. When clubs close in the UK they normally complain that they could not recruit enough good girls which I normally take to mean that any good girls they did have left because the club was too empty for them to make money on.
Jason. Yes, I think a lot of clubs look at quantity of girls not quality because of the house fee thing. A large number of UK clubs could be improved simply by having less girls on and only taking on the more professional UK strippers. Some club owners will take on almost anybody and I think being hustled by packs of girls who should never do this job in the first place is one of the reasons clubs men stop going to clubs. I also think the industry would benefit from more loyalty from both clubs and dancers.
Tyke. Are overseas clubs different ?
Jason. It depends which part of the world. You have to be very cautious sending girls to places like Spain, Greece, or Italy as most of the clubs there are basically brothels or close to being brothels. Having said that in Marbella I currently supply a great English owned club which treats the girls very well, is a good earner, and very popular with my girls. The system varies in overseas clubs, some pay wages, some pay airfares but like in the UK some are good and some are not. Hustler in Paris for example is one of the best run clubs I have come across anywhere.
Top earning stripper in the world, Jessica Simmonds
Tyke. Does it suit certain girls to work overseas?
Jason. Yes, especially in places like Spain or France where they treat it as a working holiday. I think though like all clubs some fit in with certain girls and some don’t.
Tyke. You still do events as well.
Jason. Lots of things like tents at festivals, road shows, boxing nights, private parties, limousine dancing etc I do shows in a luxury boat in Marbella and the other week did the first show in Gurnsey.
Tyke. How should a girl or club owner contact you ?
Jason. Via the web site www.laptastic.co.uk or e mail at [email protected]or phone {00 44}161 408 6157.
Get all contact information here
Author: Saxon
Strip-magazine.com is covering the European Striptease industry with monthly updates on or famous London Gossip, Interviews with industry people, articles and news from the world of striptease. We also offer a Striptalk forum, Industry Directory with Stripclubs and Agents and a Job board for the Striptease industry in Europe.