Bikini Blues

Panahon na ng summer o tag-init sa Pilipinas. At siyempre, sa industriya ng gay bar, sa panahong ito naglilipana ang samu't saring bikini open na ginaganap sa mga "big night" event ng bar. Sa isip-isip ng mga may-ari ng gay bar,  papatok sigurado ito sa mga matrona at baklang tigang, makakita lang ng mga lalaking naka-jubad. Kaya't pampa-attract ng customer, taun-taon nila ito ginagawa.

Kung gaanong ikinatutuwa ng mga customer ang event na ito, ganoon naman ikinasasakit ng ulo ng mga ilang nagtatrabaho sa gay bar ang mga event na ito. Sa pakikipag-usap ko sa ilang mga macho dancers, ito ang mga natutunan ko kung bakit nila kinaiinisan ang mga big night tulad ng bikini open:

• Rehearsal na naman?: "E kaka-big night lang noong nakaraang linggo?" Ito ang madalas nilang reklamo. Syempre, sa isang event, kailangang mag-ensayo ang mga lalaki sa kanilang mga bagong summer-themed choreography o pag-rampa o blocking sa stage. Ibig sabihin nito, papasok muli sila nang mas maaga, dalawang oras bago ang opening ng bar. Hindi lang isang araw, kundi buong lingo bago ang event. Mababawasan sila ng oras ng tulog at "mapupuyat." Minsan, kung late, may kaltas pa sa daily budget at pagagalitan.   
• Hindi isasali ang mga hindi maganda ang katawan: Kung may tiyan, tanggal. Kung patpat, tanggal. Hindi lahat ng macho dancer sa bar kasali; mga 15 lang mula sa 30. Malas naman ng mga tanggal, ang unang iisipin. Actually, iniisip ng mga hindi kasali na swerte pa nga sila. At least, walang pressure sa rehearsal at sa paghatak ng customer. Makatutulog pa sila nang mas matagal. Pampalaki rin ng tiyan yun. 
• May bikini ka na, may kaltas ka pa: Madalas, ang bar ang magbibigay ng bikining isusuot ng mga macho dancers na kasali sa competition. Iisipin ng mga kalahok, uy salamat sa bago kong bikini na hindi ko naman maisusuot sa beach. Kala nila thank you lang yun? Hindi, ikakaltas ng bar sa budget na nga nilang maliit ang presyo ng bikini. Hindi ko lang alam kung gawain yan sa mga iba ring bar.
• Bagsakan ng drinks ang labanan: Syempre dahil bikini open, pagandahan ng katawan ang labanan, diba? May mga judges naman na mag-determine kung sino mananalo, diba? Mali. Kahit may judges, mga 25%-50% lang ang boto nila. Pera-pera ang labanan, at idadaan ito sa bagsakan ng drinks mula sa guest. Kung sinong contestant ang may pinakamalaking naipasok na benta ng drinks, siya ang mananalo.    
• Saan naman ako hahatak ng customer: Dahil event ito at bagsakan ng drinks ang labanan, kailangang magyaya ang macho dancer ng kani-kaniyang customer. Kaso, nahihiyang mag-imbita ng guest ang karamihan ng macho dancer, at kailangan pa nilang kapalan ang mukha para mag-aya. Baka raw isipin ng guest na piniperahan lang sila para manalo sa competition. Saan naman lulugar ang naiipit na macho dancer sa sitwasyong ito?

Matapos naman ang bikini open na event, naisip niyo ba kung saan napupunta ang mga bikini? Syempre, sa mga macho dancers na yun. Maaari naman nilang gamitin yun sa kanilang pagsasayaw. At least, may ipampapalit na siya sa bawat gabi. 

Eh paano kung madalas may competition na kailangang mag-bikini na ibibigay ng gay bar? Siguradong magtatambakan lang ng samu't saring saluwal ang aparador ng macho dancer sa kanilang bahay. May blue. May pink. May zebra stripes. May glittery. May t-back. May print ng "Kiss Me" sa harap. Sa sobrang dami na ng makukulay at magagarang underwear ng mga MD, ibinibigay na lang nila ang mga iba sa mga kaibigan o sa mga baguhan. Yung mga baguhan na lang mamroblema kung saan itatago ang mga bikining nakakahiyan namang isuot sa labas.  

Syempre, kailangang itago ang mga iyon, lalo na sa mga bahay ng mga macho dancer na hindi alam ang kanilang tunay na trabaho. Nang itanong ko kung sino ang naglalaba ng mga underwear, sinabi ng isa na siya mismo ang naglalaba para walang makakita. Yung isa naman, nahihiya pa niyang sagot, "Yung nanay ko kasi siya naglalaba ng lahat ng damit ko." Nabuking kaya siya? "Hindi na lang tinanong ng nanay ko kung saan nanggaling yun," dagdag niya. "Eh paano ba naman, kung wala ka ring panahong maglaba ng damit, makikita rin yun na nakatambak kasama ang mga nagamit ko nang damit?"

Siguradong maglilipana na ulit ngayong tag-init ang mga iba't ibang klaseng bikini. Kahit hindi na ito usong isuot ng mga lalaking nagpupunta sa beach, mapipilit pa rin mauso ito ng mga gay bar dahil sa mga big night event nila. Kung ito ang siyang nagpapaligaya sa mga nag-iinit na customer, ito rin naman ang siyang nagpapa-init ng ulo ng mga macho dancer.

GB Goer
Learn more: Lessons from Gay Bars in Manila
http://machosandhostos.blogspot.com/
email: char.affairs@gmail.com

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Photocredit: "Blue Bikini" by Jeff Boss (http://fineartamerica.com/featured/blue-bikini-jeff-boss.html)

The Scent of a (Macho) Man

Studies have shown that there's a link between memory and scent. A certain smell can remind us of a particular memory or specific feeling. That can also be true when you go to gay bars.

This past week, I visited "Kingdom Come"* alone, and got "Russell". He's 23, 5'10, with a shaved head and the face of a baby in a body of a veteran macho dancer. Apparently, he was, as he started four years ago in the same bar, but stopped to search for work in Dubai. Less than a year there, fate cost him almost the P300K from his earnings in the gay bar, with an expiring visa, and without a job. So he returned to Manila last year, and started again in this bar just this past December.

In the middle of our conversation that night, he excused himself as he was next in line to dance on stage. After his routine, he came back, slightly perspiring but now with a scent that I commended as "smelling good." I told him I'd guess what his scent was. It was too familiar. It was Clinique Happy for Men. I was right.

His choice is so different from the typical perfumes or colognes used by macho dancers or hostos in the industry. Of course, smelling good is important in their work, as they wouldn't want to be smelling of perspiration or body odor while seated beside a customer. So the use of fragrances is in order, also as an agent of strong but subtle attraction. The most commonly-used perfumes in almost all gay bars are the cheap ones which fit the daily allowance of a macho dancer, namely Afficionado, Bench, Penshoppe, Axe. These have a common sugary-sweet, slightly musky smell that one can easily recognize, not only in the gay bar, but also while seated inside public transportation, lining up in the grocery, or eating in a fastfood outlet. 

Then, there are the name-brand ones. Banana Republic. Bulgari. CK. Giorgio Armani. These are usually given as gifts by their guests. As the boys know how expensive these perfumes are, most would scrimp on using these, as they never know if they'd still ever receive such a pricey gift. Of course, their friends in the bar would always borrow their fragrances, and the branded bottle of perfume ends up half-empty by the following month. Because of this, macho dancers always say, "hindi ko na iiwan yung pabango sa locker ko. Nauubos lang kasi maraming humihingi. (I won't leave the perfume in my locker anymore. It gets consumed quickly because of too many borrowing it)."  But they never do, as they would never know when they'd be tabled with another customer. 

Russell of course was using a branded cologne. It's his favorite, and has about 8 to 10 empty orange-colored bottles lined up at a table in his room.  

However, what's so unusual for me about Russell's Clinique Happy for Men was that I never remembered anyone else in the bar using the same brand I use. I have around five perfumes, but the one I keep inside my car is that same fresh citrusy-scented orange-bottled brand Russell is using. It's kept there in case I go to a gimmick after a long day's work. But usually that gimmick turns out to be a skemper-going night out to a gay bar.

So I smell of Clinique Happy every time I am in Home Base, Neighborhood, or Kingdom Come. (That doesnt mean if you see a gay guy in his mid-20s in a gay bar smelling of this specific citrus scent, that the guy's me).

And now I might connect that light, fresh citrusy smell to Russell.

According to Russell, he remembered that his first bottle was given to him by a former gay customer years ago. That same customer made him one of the top macho dancers in Kingdom Come for months, before Russell left and went to Dubai. He also fondly recalled his memories on being at the top -- how he had a title from an event in Kingdom Come, how he earned his 1st runner-up trophy in an inter-gay-bar competition, how earning P3,500 a night was so easy. Then he proceeded to share how cheap the real branded fragrances are in Dubai, because of the low tax. But then he couldn't afford to spend too much, as he was quite desperate to look for work because of the global recession. He came back to the Philippines after some time, without any work, any phone (as he lost his phone and all his contacts in Dubai), any cash. He returned to the gay bar, back to zero customers, back to square one. And I assumed the half-empty Clinique Happy in his locker right now is one of his remaining hopes for a better life this year. 

With our brains linking scents with memories, I am now afraid to think that I will forever link Clinique Happy as my "official gay bar scent." Ten years from now, I may be in the duty-free shop in an international airport in a far away land, and sample the classic Clinique Happy on the shelves. Smelling the scent may bring me back to 2010 with all the memories of my night outs, my endless spendings, my highs and lows, my kilig moments and my heartaches in the gay bars of Manila. I may even be reminded of that specific night of Feb 2011 when I tabled a guy whose name I might not recall anymore but whose favorite scent I might remember as the same one I was using back then.  

I still have an unfinished bottle of Clinique Happy in my car. Maybe I'll just give it to Russell as a gift. Or to another gay bar macho dancer I will really fancy in the future.

GB Goer
Learn more: Lessons from Gay Bars in Manila
http://machosandhostos.blogspot.com/
email: char.affairs@gmail.com; Follow at twitter: @gbgoer

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Photocredit: http://www.corbisimages.com/Enlargement/42-21541431.html

Knee Pads

When websites and blogs describe the basic uniform of a macho dancer, they often mention three things -- sando or wife beaters, boxer briefs / short shorts, and the infamous high boots. These are the obvious and basic things one sees, worn by almost all macho dancers in all macho dancing bars / gay bars / strip clubs.

What they always forget though is the one most important piece of garment any macho dancer must have, from a newbie of nineteen to an aging retiring dancer aged thirty plus -- the knee pads.

Comes in two colors -- white or black.
Note: Actual macho dancers have hairier and more muscular legs than the models above.

No one actually notices this piece of garment unless one asks the dancer or really observes. The knee pads look inconspicuous as they're partially hidden by the high leather boots.

The main reason for using is quite obvious. It protects their knees when they kneel on the stage floor when doing their macho moves. Imagine this quite difficult macho routine as an example (with background music - Aerosmith's "I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing"):

At 2nd chorus before the bridge, when Steven Tyler sings "I don't wanna close my eyes / I don't wanna fall asleep", from a standing position, they suddenly kneel on their left knee as they twirl their arms above their heads. At "Cause I miss you baby / And I don't wanna miss a thing", they shift to kneel on their right knee, then rotate on the right knee to face the back of the stage. Then at "Cause even when I dream of you / the sweetest thing will never do", they will kneel on both knees then bend backwards as if lying face-up on the ground (while rolling their two arms - infamous macho dance move), then raise themselves using their knees. At "I still miss you baby / And I don't wanna miss a thing" , they rotate again to face the audience, do a snake-like gyration. Then at the bridge "I don't wanna miss one smile / I don't wanna miss one kiss", they will lie facing the ground, dry humping it as if to simulate sex... just using their hands and knees on the ground. They do this for most of the bridge until the high note of "for all the rest of time". Then they stand up before the last chorus.   

Their knee pads may protect them when they're dancing on stage, but these can become really uncomfortable, according to these dancers. This is most true when they are seated and tabled with the customer, as the knees become sweaty and warm underneath these pads. If not washed regularly, these too become itchy when worn. The dancers can't remove these after each dance, as it will involve removing their high boots and unfastening and re-fastening all the buckles per boot. So they just keep them on, until they are called for their next stage performance.

So if you, as a customer, want to impress a newbie, ask him if he already has his pair of knee pads. If not, you may want to buy him some. Because for sure, he will priortize investing on the three basics I mentioned earlier -- new sandos, new boxer briefs, and those high leather boots, which are rather quite expensive (P5K - P7K). Just a thought, if you have the means, why not pay for all these as well?

GB Goer
Learn more: Lessons from Gay Bars in Manila
http://machosandhostos.blogspot.com/
email: char.affairs@gmail.com; Follow at twitter: @gbgoer

White Shoes

My girl friend, "Mary", who goes with me to macho dancing bars, dislikes seeing guys in the malls wearing white leather shoes with dark slim/skinny jeans. She says it is a dead give away to a macho dancer in "porma" attire.

She's maybe on to something. In "Home Base" and "Neighborhood", when these models go up on stage in their casual attire, they usually wear those white pointy leather shoes. Almost all of them. Even paired with a tight roundneck or buttoned-down shirt. Oddly, those wearing the classic black leather shoes (which I believe looks nicer on dark jeans) even feel awkward walking on stage. When we meet up with our "dates" outside of the bar, we notice everytime that they will wear their best tops, best dark jeans, and voila!, their white leather pointy shoes.

I asked some of my ex-bfs why. They said it just looks nice, in-fashion. I didn't probe further.

When I went to Singapore and asked my (now) ex what he wanted for pasalubong, he said "white leather shoes", something that he can wear in the bar. He said he still didn't have a nice pair yet as a "newbie", and apparently, it was an unspoken requirement for "modeling". So I bought him those white loafer-type sneakers (leather on top with rubber soles), which he can also use in malls, outings, dinners, etc. When he opened my gift, he looked a bit disappointed. He was expecting the exact "white pointy formal leather shoes" that he sees his mates wear.

How did this seeming trend start? I guess one model just started wearing a pair in one of the events, partnered with white pants. It might have looked good on him, which was followed by another, then copied by another, until it spread to the bar and future bars, making even newbies in the industry want to have one. I guess for them, their limited experience of fashion, as what they see as "nice looking" in the street or in the mall counts as fashion already.

Another theory: maybe there was an event in the bar which required them to wear white leather shoes. And assuming these boys have limited pairs of footwear only (tsinelas, a pair of rubber shoes, and any formal shoes required for modeling), since they bought their white shoes already, they may think this footwear counts as "porma" attire already.

GB Goer
Learn more: Lessons from Gay Bars in Manila
http://machosandhostos.blogspot.com/
email: char.affairs@gmail.com; Follow at twitter: @gbgoer