Life Of A Stripper - Chapter II

by Lucas Castillo

December 6th, 2018

Please see chapter I before proceeding.

So here I am. Back to shaking my tail for cash on the weekends.

I was back on the road hitting different bars with the guys using Airnb's and hotels provided by our company. It wasn't extreme traveling, but I was enjoying being somewhere new every weekend. Can't beat that.

(Nick, DK, Chase, Myself, 'Preacher' Airnb host, & Sean)

I had just turned 28 years old and I still had no idea nor had a concrete plan for life. I was only dead set on having the best summer of my life. I adjusted my finances, consolidated debt and was back in the gym full time. I had everything to look forward to.

I was always broadcasting everything I was doing on my Instagram story. I enjoyed sharing every moment.

Naturally, I hit a bump in the road. I had just quit my job as you know and I was completely unaware of how slow stripping was this early in the season. So I had a lot of free time and of course that was not the way I was used to living. It's always work work work, right?

It is now the near end of June. I didn't have any shows to look forward to until damn near mid July. I was quite irritated. What the hell was I going to do for the next coming weeks?

In all glory, I received a text message from one of my most favorite souls on this earth, Mimi. This was superior timing.

Mimi, Rachel, Marco & Myself

Mimi is pretty much a sister. One of my closest friends, Marco, ended up marrying Mimi's sister, Rachel in October of 2017 and that was where we met. It was pretty much a clash of the titans. We became close friends instantly and I knew I had just added another family member to my roster.

Mimi is down right one of the most strongest women I know to date. She prides herself on her hippiness, her feministic qualities and her very loyal loving attitude.

To get to it, Mimi was inviting me to a music festival called Electric Forest.

I was ecstatic. I had never been to a music festival before. I had been to several concerts, but never anything quite to this scale.

It was the one music festival that had actually always intrigued me the most. I liked the idea that it was in a forest and you were able to camp on the grounds. I've always loved being outside, especially in a forest. So this was perfect. I was ready to do something crazy.

So I happily accepted the offer since I had enough money in my pocket to go on a real adventure for the first time, ever.

I booked a flight to Gran Rapids, MI and off I went. I had never flown on a plane by myself before so doing that alone was a huge.

Mimi picked me up from the airport just days later and we set off to Rothbury, MI where we would be for the next 6 days.

I have to say. The anticipation was real. The lines to get in were intense.

I met a handful of people prior to entering the gates and they only made the anticipation BETTER. I could feel how much they were living for the experience that Electric Forest brings.

I could not wait.

Of course, I attempted to interact with my social media so I could begin broadcasting my experience. Cell phone service was non-existent. I seemed that HQ had placed the festival in a limited cell service location so that you were forced to stay off of your phone.

This was extremely clever.

Once we got in we were placed in creative parking, forcing everyone to essentially camp together.

This was so fucking awesome. I thought it would just be Mimi and myself camping alone. We ended up with some of the best people I have every met. They became family instantly.

Sadly, that isn't everyone.

You have to look at it like this. You are thrown into the woods with strangers from all different backgrounds. You have little ability to communicate with the outside world and you are now obligated to make new friends and learn from each other.

It’s like a new set of roommates but out in the wilderness. It's pretty kick ass and is completely outside of the total 'norm' that society presents today.

So there I was. In a place full of life and joy. I was surrounded by thousands of others that were seeking the most memorable moments. It felt fucking amazing.

Upon arriving at this festival, I wanted to make a statement for myself and for other men like myself.

As a stripper, I was attempting to get more comfortable with my body. Walking around in broad daylight in just my underwear was something I had never done. At EF, you were allowed to. I was working on my confidence after all. I was only used to running around in the dark at work, still shy.

So yes. For 6 days I walked around in Calvin Kleins flaunting my masculinity. I wanted to show everyone that men could too express themselves sexually - similar to the way most women do at events like Electric Forest, or just in general.

I wanted to show everyone that all strippers - man or woman - are actual human beings as well. I believe society thinks that all strippers are horrible people. That's not true. I had to prove at least a few people wrong. I went as far as writing 'stripper' across my chest in sharpie to grab some attention.

As you can see, day one was lived to the fullest. A couple nearby was taking photographs of anyone that wanted their picture taken. They were even using their epic Volkswagen Van as a decor and gave away polaroids for free. Of course I got one.

How fucking awesome, right?

Naturally, I met other strippers like myself. The first were Ashley and Scarlett. Dancers from Iowa. Such babes.

I ran into them in line waiting to get inside the musical grounds. I was relieved that I was acknowledged honestly. It was like a "fuck yeah, strippers are awesome" collaborative kind of moment.

Ashley ended up running me down shortly after we departed from the entrance to gift me one of the many crystal wrapped pendants she had made for EF - just to gift away out of joy. This was ironic for me because I wanted something around my neck since I was dancing again. Everyone I worked with was rocking a necklace or chain. It's a stripper thing I guess. So it was perfect.

Ashley asked me to pick the one that called to me most. So I chose her hand wrapped pink tourmaline that is still worn around my neck to this day.

I quickly learned that giving and gifting was a huge thing at EF. Trading was a big thing as well. It was something I never experienced, at least when it came from a complete stranger. How powerful is that?

I was off to a really great start. This was just day one. Little did I know how much more was to come.

Sherwood Forest.

I honestly refused to take photos of this place. So I don't have any photos to share. I just instantly knew how special this place really was. You have to get the full experience to know what I am talking about.

It is packed full of artist of all kinds, stages, trading posts, gardens, you name it. There was just so much to do there. It was a touch of whatever you might imagine heaven being like on earth. The @elecrticforest page on instagram has so much content to view. It really isn't the same. Though, I would encourage anyone to check it out.

You are constantly in and out of the forest all week long. That's what you do at Electric Forest. You go in for a few hours. Travel back to camp to recharge with food and more water, maybe a nap and then you go back to continue adventuring the forest to dance your ass off. It's truly fucking epic.

It seemed like you could make a new friend at will. You really could. People are just so fucking nice at this festival.

I ended up attaching a big sharpie to my pack. Anytime I interacted with someone new, I would ask them to write their name or their own symbol wherever they wanted on my body. Here are just a couple that made it on my camera roll.

My body was typically covered by the end of each night. I just remember meeting and speaking to so many new faces as I possibly could. It was so rewarding to see and speak to people that genuinely wanted to share a conversation. Even the shortest interaction, you felt big love. I was a stripper just trying to show people that I was still a human being. I believe I reached a lot of people.

The first question was always 'why are you in your underwear bro?' My response was always simple.

I have big love for anyone that gives me a chance without judgment. 'Strippers are people too' was the common lingo. My experience being a stripper really made me feel like we didn't get the respect we deserved. I believe we are all equal. We all have feelings. We are all the same. We just have a very different and interesting line of work.

Then finally, I began to find more people like myself. Not strippers. But men that were aiming for a similar awareness level.

This is Brock. A friend that I plan to meet up with next summer at EF2019 to party and celebrate with again.

As I was on my way back in one night and this random girl approached me screaming 'you have to meet my boyfriend, he's in his underwear too!'

So naturally, I was like 'fuck yeah finally there's another dude out here like me.' He really showed me up though as you can see.

Instantly we were family. As weird as some might find it, it was a relief to myself and Brock to find a 'bro' doing the same thing. We were standing up for something we strongly believed in. We were both embracing our masculinity in our own way. Ironically it was expressed in our underwear. We both share the same passion for male equality. I look forward to seeing Brock and his girlfriend again next year and to celebrate once again.

It just kept getting better and better.

The music artists, the lights, the energy. There isn't anything like it.

My entire stupid egotistical expectation of this place was blown away and I had found a place that I really began to call home. I could be myself without giving one single fuck and everyone else was on the same page.

It was dope.

It's about to get weird.

Continue reading onto Chapter III.

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