All types of businesses have been largely impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic since it took over the world earlier this year. The gay nightlife scene is no doubt one of them.
Gone are the days, for now, of going to a variety of bars and clubs where hundreds of hot men dance around you during a fun night out. Gay strip joints, like the world famousAdonis Lounge in New York City, have also been on pause for months.
Adonis has played host to some of the most naughty and debaucherous parties in The Big Apple for almost a decade. The one of a kind experience they provide is like no other especially during their naked gatherings which used to take place once a month before everything changed. Here guests would be treated to a bevy of gorgeous hunks who put it all on display in just their birthday suit & sneakers. Yum.
Question is, will they ever happen again? And if so, when? Adonis Lounge owner Timothy de Iturriaga broke it down in an EXCLUSIVE interview with Instinct.
Credit: Adonis Lounge
How has the Coronavirus pandemic affected your business?
Adonis hasn’t operated since early March which has been difficult for us, but also for the many dancers throughout the country and customers who enjoy our club.
I know you have been doing things digitally with the virtual shows. Has there been a lot of interest and positive feedback?
Luckily we’ve been able to keep things going by creating Virtual Nude events and also free AMA events (Ask Me Anything) where we bring on guests relevant to the gay strip club world and a few hot dancers to keep things lively.
During these free events, we interview our guests and then open up the Live Q&A for customers and fans alike to ask anything they’d like to any of us. Both types have been very fun and successful. Plenty of customer feedback has allowed us to fine tune these formats and improve each time out.
Credit: Dick Mitchell
When do you realistically think you can open again and will there be a drastic shift in how your customers can engage with the men?
This is the question we ALL want answered! Much like everyone else, we’re waiting to hear what the Mayor and Governor tell us regarding the different phases and where we fit into that plan. I’m hoping that by late July or early August Adonis can re-erect to all new highs. We’ll do whatever is needed to make people feel safe whether that means temperature scans, wearing masks or even a pearl necklace.
What are you most hopeful for with Adonis and the future of your business?
At this point it’s hard to even contemplate what the future of Adonis or life in general will look like post-Covid. In a perfect world everything would bounce back to normal, but that seems unrealistic at least now. We’ll take things one day, lap dance, and pair of bad underwear at a time.
