One of the reasons strippers felt safe in the strip club involved the bouncers and male staff. Security personnel develop instinctive abilities to identify problems before escalation. Good security is essential for entertainers to maintain control of the environment.
Damien grew up primarily with his father in a single-parent household. His father was strict, emphasizing responsibility and self-reliance. Damien excelled academically and obtained a college scholarship, playing football for about a year before personal circumstances interrupted his studies.
Around 1996, he began working security at car shows and managing a fitness club. A regular gym member who managed a strip club recruited him to work as a bouncer. After eight months juggling both roles, he transitioned to full-time club work, earning substantial income.
He worked almost exclusively at one club except for a brief period at a newly opened rival establishment. The latter club's open drug culture and sketchy dealings made him uncomfortable, so he returned to his original workplace where he remains employed today.
Damien describes bouncers who avoid substance use at work: "Most guys don't really drink or get high at work. Too much shit can pop off at any moment."
His protective instinct toward coworkers extends beyond professional boundaries. He explains: "I feel protective. It's like a good feeling and a curse at the same time."
Regarding external stigma, he notes: "Tell someone you work at a strip club and it's like, 'Oh you work at a strip club? Oh you probably fuck everybody.'"
After a year-long break from bouncing, he found traditional employment restrictive. The club environment permits more open conversation about topics typically filtered in mainstream workplaces.
With twenty-five years bouncing experience, Damien's primary regret involves not managing money more carefully when younger, a common sentiment among adult entertainment workers experiencing feast-or-famine cycles.
Damien proposes raising the minimum dancing age to twenty-one, believing eighteen-year-olds face greater vulnerability: "At eighteen, you're not ready for all that. Instead of eighteen, how about you come back a little more mature at twenty-one."
He recognizes the industry's empowering potential, particularly for abuse survivors, when proper support systems exist.