A call for questions…
Hello, lovely readers!
I am working on a collection of stories that will ultimately be collected together for a mémoire about my experiences in the clubs. My Gramma has been wanting me to do this, and I promised her that I would let her read it once it was assembled. I don’t make promises often, so they are important to me when I do. She’s not well. I want to get some more material out and compiled, so that she can see something soon.
But lately I’ve not been able to think of anything I feel compelled to write about. Is there anything you’d like to know that I’ve not yet addressed (or not to the degree/direction you wanted)? Please feel free to respond by leaving comments on this post, or by sending me an email.
It’s a return to stunning here in Charlotte, NC. I’m going to go take a walk in the park. I’m in the mood to be a show off. 
I think I’ll go in tight jeans and a tank top. HAHA
I look forward to your responses. HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY!
xo
Devon
7 comments
Can you talk about your experience with race issues in your industry, only of course if you have been exposed to it or observed it yourself ?
There are some complaints about the gay adult entertainment focusing on a certain “look” for the ideal male…which can be seen from seancody to A&F models (the latter is arguably related to gay adult entertainment). Instead of being part of the mainstream, those of different races are sometimes fetishized or portrayed as exotic and are pigeon holed into a certain niche. While you definitely seem to fit the profile of what is sought after by these venues, have your friends in the industry of different races or different “scenes” been treated differently or have had to work harder or gotten less opportunities than those with the desired “look”.
yes, i will address this in more depth. i touched on it in http://www.devonhunter.info/archives/545/ but i can always go back and hash this out some more (from the perspective of an oustider looking in – how ironic).
This is not a question, but an observation relating to black dancers at Richards…..I only go there once every few years, usually when invited to go with friends. Recently I went twice in a few days, once with friends and then again to see who this “Devon guy” was since he writes so beautifully.
One thing my friends and I were all discussing was how DARK the lighting had become inside Richards, compared to several years ago. We were sitting in front and still had trouble seeing the white dancers, and for extended periods of time we could not SEE the black dancers well enough to even know if they were nude or not. Several young black patrons kept trying to stand in front of everyone, right in front of the stage, just so they could try to see their favorite black dancers, and management kept shooing them away for blocking the view. But honestly, the only way they could see the dancers at all was to try to stand 2 feet from them, it was so dark in there. If you are going to have black dancers it is just plain common sense that you can’t have all the lights blacked out and expect them to make a living. Why is it so damn dark in there?
Hey, you wanted a question…..looks like I finally rambled around and ended up asking one! Why is it so damn dark in there? All it accomplished was to make us leave much sooner.
hey steve, sorry i missed you.
i’m not sure i can make a comparative judgement here – the two years i’ve worked at s.r. it has always been that dark (which is much brighter that pt’s 1109 in columbia, sc).
as for why darkness is preferable in a gay, nude strip club: many people are not out of the closet. the darkness makes it difficult for people who sneak cameras in, take pictures, and then harrass/blackmail people. however, your question does raise an alarm for me: it wasn’t THAT dark last time i worked. there is no way you’d have had trouble seeing the dancers, black or not. i won’t be there this week, but i’m planning to be there wed/thurs of next week. i’ll try to remember to pay attention to the lighting.
i’d always thought s.r. was pretty bright, especially on the stage. it has always (until i worked there 10 days ago) been bright enough to read the dancers’ tattoos when they’re onstage. i don’t know if this was an off night, or if there’s some new aesthetic in place; however, i’ve never known anyone to say that it was so dark you couldn’t see well enough from across the room that you’d have to come stand 2 feet from a dancer… strange…
You didn’t miss me the night I came to see who you were, I found you!
I haven’t been back since. I think it was a Wednesday when my friends and I were all remarking about how dark it was in there. There was a nude black dancer right in front of us and we could not see his schlong AT ALL. It was ridiculous! Every weekday morning for the last ten years I have been working out at a gym before going to work, and there is a big large open shower there, extremely well-lit, and lots of nude body builders shower in plain view. That is one reason that I do not often “pay” to see nude guys at Richards. But most of these “shower guys” will NOT dance for you (to put it mildly LOL!!) and so every few years I’ll go to Richards if invited with friends. And there have been a few times when I spotted a dancer from across the room and wanted a table dance. But on this Wednesday night, I could not have spotted anyone from across the room and I could hardly see the black dancers at all. It seemed absurdly SILLY how dark it was! It was like paying a cover charge and then getting blindfolded.
i remember that night, and yes, it was a wednesday… hmmm… that’s the level the lighting has been for the last 2 years, so i can’t compare to whenever the lights were brighter.
i know they’re very sensitive about cameras, and that that is one issue. i think generally that a dark aesthetic is what alot of people tend to prefer. in columbia, the only lighting is the red light shining on the stage!!!!
Next time you are at Richards, stand about halfway back in the crowd and just notice how invisible the black dancers are under those dark lighting conditions. It used to be lighter in there. Then they turned down the lights but they had a lot more moving, flashing lights, so you could actually see something every now and then. Now there aren’t as many flashing lights, either. We were joking about getting those miner’s helmets with headlights on them in order to see. But it is more effective, I think, to see the “shower dudes” under bright light every morning for free.
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