The 4 Bs
When it comes to why guys go to strip clubs, the answer is the Four Bs.
You know the first three.
Boobs.
Buns.
Beer (and liquor).
There is a fourth B, though, and you may not even realize it is right up there with the other three Bs.
Buddies.
As in friends, or relatives, or co-workers, or business associates.
Go into any strip club and you’ll find very few tables with just one guy sitting at the table.
Usually there are at least two guys. Two buddies.
Swapping stories, doing shots and commenting on the entertainers. Their presence at the club, when they are there with one or more buddies, is as much about camaraderie as it is about ogling half-naked women. Wives and girlfriends just don’t understand that.
I got to do the buddy thing last week at The Manor in West Palm Beach, which hosted the Exotic Dancer Invitationals for the East. Fourteen feature entertainers competed in two divisions—the Newcomer division and the Showgirl division.
The EDI East was an industry event, actually put on by ED Publications where I work, so that was one reason for my attendance. The other reason was to hang out with my good buddy Gary Santabarbara, former owner of Delilah’s in Atlantic City and current owner of Creekside Cabaret in Hatfield, PA just outside of Philadelphia. Gary was there to scout feature entertainers to book at his club, and also, he would tell you, to hang out with his buddy, me.
Gary brought his nephew, Nick Cepparulo, who is the GM at his club, and also Al Chen, one of his best friends who works in the insurance business. That’s Nick, myself, Gary and Al in the pic above.
The EDI shows were very entertaining and the club’s entertainers who performed between sets were all hot and sexy. The music was good, the drinks were reasonably priced, the club’s managers and servers were unbelievably polite and accommodating, and the seats were comfortable. So we had all of that—boobs, buns and beer.
But just as much fun was the buddy part.
There was lots of wild story telling—Gary and I have been friends involved in an assortment of shenanigans for almost 20 years. And as best friends, Gary and Al have their own war stories—ask Al how he got arrested for a brawl involving the cast of MTV’s The Real World, which led to Al’s famous line: “Do I look Irish?”
Lots of ball busting, with Nick getting more than his fair share as the youngster in the group. Lots of jokes and funny observations about the world in general. Lots of good meals; Gary and Nick even got me to try a New Jersey mystery breakfast meat called Taylor Pork Roll. Pretty tasty.
Because of a strip club, in this case The Manor, I had the opportunity to refresh my long-time friendship with Gary, start a new friendship with his nephew, Nick, and reconnect with Al who I had not seen for almost 10 years.
I also like to think I made a new friend in Scott Lizza, owner of The Manor and also Monroe’s of Palm Beach, winner of ED’s Overall Club of the Year in 2016. We had an incredible, relaxing dinner where Scott shared his thoughts on the challenges of running two successful adult nightclubs and also offered suggestions on how we can make the Annual Gentlemen’s Club EXPO more beneficial to club owners. We broke bread and got to know each other a little better.
And that only happened because a strip club was in the mix.
