When you live in a major city that has a thriving gay culture like New York, chances are that the opportunities you have to explore your fantasies and fetishes are that much more cumbersome than in smaller communities that tend to stay a little bit more conservative.
New York has a bunch of options for you to explore these sorts of things, and this includes the world of male strippers, which still has a big following regardless of how times have changed. Five or six years ago, when I started getting into the journalism field, there was a site that I started that I so desperately wanted to have a section of it devoted to gay life and where to go to experience the best of that in New York City.
A former friend of mine, who at the time was one of the top gay porn stars in the world, advertised on his Twitter account that he was the headliner for this "all nude" party at The Adonis Lounge. Even though I had my fair share of experiences at gay parties and gogo boys and whatnot, I have never been to something like this and it definitely got my spidey senses tingling. Also, this former friend was someone who I had an immensely large crush on, and although I had seen plenty of him naked on my computer, I had never seen it up close in person, so it gave me an excuse to go.
Adonis Lounge has been around for several years now, and has grown as time has gone by from a small party of sorts in Brooklyn all the way to booking some of the biggest gay porn stars and smoking hot guys in and out of Manhattan. I didn't hear about it until that Twitter post from my friend, but there was no way in hell I was going alone as I feared I would spontaneously combust from my nerves and more.
I took my best friend, who was game no matter what, and we strolled into midtown and found the location of the actual party. We went prime time, around 10:30 PM, got into a dated elevator, and got off at the 3rd floor. Then, we paid our price of admission and walked into the party. I specifically remember those 30 steps feeling heavy as can be, because I was so nervous of what I was about to see.
Suffice to say, it was beyond anything and everything I could've imagined and then some. The crowd was a great mixture of regular guys like me in attendance and insanely hot men, who range from all backgrounds and ages. There was even a superbly buff daddy that looked like Santa Claus after he went to the gym nonstop for a year. It's sort of like when you bring your picky eater friend to a restaurant that has every type of cuisine there. This was the case, in that there was at least one guy you had to find attractive.
I stayed for an hour or two, but because I lived in Long Island there had to be a "Cinderella" curfew of sorts, so I had to leave before the last train left Penn Station. I indulged in a lap dance or two (one from that previous friend of mine, which was worth it and then some), and was about to leave. Then, a guy, we will call him "Rick" (not pictured), approached me. I do have a certain type, and its not the "All-American buffed Abercrombie" one, however this guy fit that and he just looked at me and said "Hey."
I responded, he told me his "name", and instead of focusing on his gorgeous body, I became immediately attracted to his intellect, personality, humor and overall sense of knowing who he was. These types of situations are interesting, and dispel somewhat of a myth that guys like this only approach you for your money. We wound up talking for 45 minutes about life in general, and not once did he ask me for a lap dance and was a gentleman.
At the same time, I knew my brain wouldn't let me get to that area of "Does he like me and that's why he's not asking?" because I had this feeling he was straight, but what turned me on so much about him was that he seemed to really care about what I was saying. In the gay community, it can be very tough to find authenticity in not only the people you are around but the conversations you have with them, as sometimes there can be a level of deception or ulterior motive surrounding why they are talking to you. He just wanted a chat. I loved it, and wanted more.
I left, feeling on a high I've never experienced before in my life. I started going back, once every two months, when he was there just to continue the conversation and get to know each other more. Yes, I got a lap dance, which in this case was sort of like going on a couple of dates and then finally having sex, but it was so much more different than that. It was a genuine connection where I felt like I was falling in love with the person he was, but not to the point where I was in love with him as if we were in a relationship. Does that make sense?
I stopped going to Adonis, not for personal reasons at all but just because life gets in the way. A week before Christmas last year I decided to treat myself and go to another one of their parties which moved to a new location in midtown. I went because I knew he was there, and I just wanted to say hey as it had been a long time since I had seen him. He instantly came up to me, gave me a huge hug, and we once again got into another one of our great conversations. Those feelings that I once had for him came back, but it was never the kind that made me want to get on one knee and propose, it was knowing that someone really was invested in me as I was in them, and there's a reassurance there that works wonders for you.
So, yes, like the song says, "I fell in love with a stripper." But it was for reasons that at the end of the day I can look back on and be happy with knowing that it's great to see that there really are good people out there.
Most of the Adonis guys are
Most of the Adonis guys are straight.
@CanadianGuy62 thank you. I
@CanadianGuy62 thank you. I thought it was only me. And what's the point? It's like the writer died before he could finish the story.
OMG. This is the type of
OMG. This is the type of drivel that one would be shocked to read from a student in a high school remedial English class. Such poor writing.