You’d be forgiven for thinking Melbourne-based stripper Will Parfitt was Hollywood heart-throb Channing Tatum.
Parfitt, originally from London, has gained millions of followers on social media through his uncanny resemblance to the magic mike star – and he’s made a fortune along the way.
With nearly six million followers on TikTok, the British-born performer is now Australia’s most-requested male entertainer, revealing to news.com.au podcast I’ve Got News For You he makes between $700 and $1000 per show, “depending on how long they want me to stay”.
The Magic Men co-owner has been performing since 2015, and shared with host Andrew Bucklow the sex question “every girl” asks male strippers – whether they get “excited” during a show.
“We always get this question. But it’s so different – when you’ve got the adrenaline and you’re nervous, and you’re obviously performing in front of sometimes up to 1000, 2000 girls in the crowd, it’s the last thing you’re thinking of,” Parfitt said.
“Even though you’re doing sexual movements or you’re grinding on the girls, you’re not in that mind frame. You don’t think of it as sexual. Because it’s like, I guess, dancing on stage – so you’re just thinking about your choreography.
“But every time we get asked this question. The girls are like, ‘How do you not get turned onstage?’ But every guy I’ve ever performed with says the same thing – we just don’t think of it.”
Asked whether women get handsy, Parfitt admitted that “they sometimes do.”
“Because I always go on at the end of the show, I always get the drunk girls, and they’re always the hardest to deal with,” he explained.
“We do pick girls out of the crowd, so you’re trying to communicate with them while you’re on stage, or try and give them little instructions so they know what’s going on, but they do get a bit handsy. I’ve definitely left the stage with a few scratch marks.
“But some girls don’t care. If they’re wearing dresses – sometimes I try and pick a girl who’s wearing pants because I’m like, if you’re wearing a dress, there’s a high chance it could go above your head when we’re doing like different moves and stuff – but they just don’t care.
“They’re like, ‘I don’t care, I just want to go on stage’. They’re on stage in their underwear – they’re stripping more than us on that stage sometimes.”
As for whether women request him to perform “other services” after a show, Parfitt said it wasn’t out of the ordinary.
“They do sometimes. I think with the industry we’re in, obviously, they put us in the same category as doing more than just performing,” he said.
“I’ve definitely had a few offers for that, especially at private events that you go to. But no, I’m just a performer.”
You can listen to the full chat with Will Parfitt here.
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