Inside UK's biggest strip club - £20k a night, female boss and foot fetishes
At 22 years old, Amy Gwynn had never stepped foot inside a strip club before she opened Rude in Liverpool 13 years ago, and now she proudly runs the UK's biggest strip club and only female-owned gentleman's club.
The mum-of-four has Love Islanders, porn stars and reality TV faces working for her and recently featured on ITV's Olivia Attwood: Filthy Rich, where she gave a peek inside the reality of a historically male-dominated industry. Now, she's sharing her biggest business secrets to success and what it really takes to be a modern-day stripper. Gone are the days of stereotypes, as in Amy's words: "It's not all about big boobs and blonde hair anymore."
Amy was 22 years old when she started the business and stepped foot inside a strip club for the first time (Amy Gwynn)Amy, 36, regularly welcomes famous and wealthy faces into the club and can make £20,000 in just one night. She told the Mirror: "We get a lot of footballers, boxers, golfers and high-profile businessmen who are able to come in the back entrance and sit in private VIP. We have a lot of high-profile dancers too, girls that have been on Ex On The Beach, Love Island or porn stars. Some work regularly, others travel. Fans will come up and see them. The club could take £20,000 one night and not much the next. It's all about who walks through that door."
She said Rude is her 'baby' and her 'obsession'. "I'm constantly looking for the best girls and the best ways to promote it and make shows more interactive and exciting," she explained. With 40 dancers on her books, Amy has a vast variety of women offering different skills. Talking about what it takes to be a stripper today, she said: "It's very different now and is evolving so much. Many years ago, strippers were very typical and they all had the same look. Now, as times are changing, it's more about human interaction. You're able to see women online so the biggest thing is your energy, confidence and personality. Whether you're a bigger girl, smaller girl, have short hair or long hair, if you know that you look good then you feel good - and that makes people want to see you."
She takes a set fee from her self-employed dancers and they must all charge clients the same price (Amy Gwynn)Amy has certain requirements for her dancers, which include booking shifts a week in advance, pre-booking holiday, arriving on time, not chewing gum and no mobile phones on the floor. "Generally, there's unspoken stripper rules, like having respect for other girls," she explained. "It's important they work as a team and look out for the girl that hasn't made much money that night." For her customers, there's a strict no touching, no phones and no filming rule, in order to protect her dancers' safety.
'I started my business with £50 at uni - now it's a multi-million pound empire'
Surprisingly, her recruitment process for new workers doesn't involve dancing on a pole. "Usually, girls apply through the website or message on Instagram. I invite them down to the club for a chat. I never ever ask a girl to do a dance, which surprises a lot of people," Amy said. "It's very much about the personality and confidence, not about how well you can dance. You can be trained to go on the pole, so that's not what's important. Have you got the charisma? Are people going to like you? Are you a salesperson or a team player?" Amy recently opened a pole studio on the premises to allow girls to train and practise.
But even if you've got the knack for it, how can you earn the most as a stripper? Amy revealed: "If you get a customer who is a good spender, you need to remember his name and details to make him feel great next time. Build regular clientele and relationships, be happy and friendly. Always have your best underwear on and look after yourself mentally." She added: "There's a lot to learn from a stripper. They are girl's girls and confident. It's a job where you are exposed to women's problems, so you naturally look out for them as opposed to wanting to tear them down."
Amy has Love Islanders, porn stars and reality TV faces working for her and often welcomes footballers (Amy Gwynn)Amy said her team is varied and they're not all full-time strippers - some are training to be lawyers. "We've got single mums, students, artists and beauticians that live double lives. It's a great job for flexibility and you can earn whatever you want to earn," she explained. "You're your own boss. We have girls that live away and come and dance for eight months of the year." Some can earn £5,000 in one night and have been bought cars, holidays and clothes by customers, but there are nights they don't earn much at all. "The more regulars you get, the more you earn," Amy said.
The business mogul takes a set fee from her self-employed dancers, whereas lots of clubs take commission. "I personally prefer to take a set fee so whether they earn £2,000 a night or £400, they always pay the same amount. I like the structure and it benefits me to have higher earners in the club. They shouldn't be penalised for earning more," she explained. Likewise, all dancers have to charge a fixed price to clients. "It ensures everyone charges the same and dances for the same amount of time. Effectively, we're not getting any more from one girl than another to keep it fair playing field," she added.
She looks for charisma and personality in the interview process and said it's no longer just about appearances (Amy Gwynn)While the most common requests include women wanting to watch their partners have a dance, and vice versa, or men asking to be spanked and humiliated - which isn't allowed - some don't even require work. "A lot of men have obsessions with feet and they like to buy the girls' stripper shoes after they've worn them," Amy said.
It's important to Amy to make sure that her girls are in charge and don't cross any boundaries. "It's an industry with a reputation for being designed by men to exploit women. I want to educate women that you can take this industry and turn it on its head and have control of it," she said. "We see more girls coming in and feeling empowered. They full well know these men are coming to perv off their bodies, but they are happy and confident too. They get a thrill from men being attracted to them and admiring their bodies. It's about changing the perspective of it."
Amy's biggest investment was the dressing room, which her clients don't even get to see. It's a world away from the shoddy back rooms in typical clubs and it's all part of her business plan to make the dancers feel valued. "I remember people telling me that the customers wouldn't even see them, but it was a gesture to the girls to show them that they're the most important part," Amy explained. "I wanted to make sure they had their own beautiful toilets and make-up rooms. They work long shifts and they have music and sofas to chill out, pep talk or nap on their breaks."
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