The elevator dinged and the doors slowly opened, as a beautiful man with striking green eyes stood before me. He kissed me on the cheek, while at the same time introducing himself with his British accent. Then the unthinkable happened … the lights went out and music began playing in the background. He unbuttoned his shirt and started stripping in the office. Okay … a little far fetched, but that’s what I imagined what would happen when I heard about my interview with a Magic Mike stripper.

The life of a stripper has always been intriguing to me. What did they do for work before? How did they get into the industry? Is the life they lead as crazy as you’d imagine? With a million questions running through my head I sat down with Will Parfitt, a Helpful Hunk, to examine the day in the life of a male stripper.

Please note that some answers may have been edited for length

Q: So Will, can you tell us a little bit about how you got into the industry?

A: Well I’m from England originally, I’ve been living here for about 7 years now and I just bumped into a club promoter on a night out. He kept calling me Channing as a joke. I was then introduced to people as Channing Tatum’s brother and eventually met the owner of Helpful Hunks. The rest is history!

Q: So do you have a stripper name? Did Channing stick?

A: Yeah (laughing), I go by Channing now! My picture was up on the website with my name Will and apparently they were getting requests all the time from people, specifically asking for “Channing” so my boss changed my name online and I just decided to roll with it.

Q: So how long have you been been a stripper for then?

A: It’s been about four years now.

Q: What were you doing for work before you got into stripping?

A: Just odd jobs really, some work at a cafe, removalists and whatnot. Back home in England I was doing carpentry with my dad but I wanted some travel and adventure in my life. Somehow I  ended up in Australia.

Q: What are some of the weirdest requests you get?

A: We get some pretty weird requests, I’m not gunna lie… We had this dirty dancing request at an office at like 7AM. A couple of girls in the office thought it would be a funny surprise. There was another time that I did a private event for a 90th birthday party. The woman had an oxygen tank and I thought I’d have to be giving her CPR! She was loving it at the time, was up and dancing and handled it like a champ! Apparently she was in the hospital a few months before that and she said “if I get out, I want to have a stripper” (laughs). I hope when I’m 90 I have a stripper dancing on me as well!

Q: What costume do you usually rock?

A: Well I’m lucky, I get to just wear the Magic Mike outfit since I’m known as Channing, but some of the other guys dress up as firefighters, policemen, tradies and whatnot. I’m not a fan of the firefighter outfit, that can be a hot one in the summer months!

Q: Have you ever worked at any themed parties before?

A: I’ve done one where I was dressed as a prince and the women were Disney princesses. My favourite was when I  went to a job and they were all dressed up as Magic Mike – the same as me – wearing the white singlet, trackies and red snapbacks, so that was really funny!

Q: Do things ever get awkward?

A: When you first start you’re obviously a bit more awkward but now I reckon I could literally just do it anywhere. You just do it without really thinking about it.

Q: Can you tell us a little more about the different services Helpful Hunks provides?

A: It ranges from house calls where we do private parties at their house to our group shows on weekends. Sometimes we’re waiters at a classy corporate event so we do topless waiting. We once did an event for Peter Alexander, where we were brought out on the runway after the models and we did a surprise show for the audience. It was a fun time!

Q: What’s your relationship like with the other hunks? Are you just co-workers or are you all good mates?

A: We’re actually like a family. It’s actually a really good way to meet guy mates because you’re not just gunna hit up a guy on Facebook and be like “hey mate, wanna hangout?”, whereas with the topless waiters and strippers it’s easy to become mates. We do stuff outside of Helpful Hunks together so it’s a good social thing as well.

Q: What type of work do you enjoy doing the most?

A: Ah, I like the show that we do on the weekends because all of the boys are together. We actually did a tour in New Caledonia and we just locked in another tour in China as well, so there’s some good travel opportunity!

Q: As a stripper we know you’ve gotta have the body to go along with the personality… Do you follow any particular workout routine?

A: Hmm not really. Well I was training for a couple years before I got into the whole thing so I was enjoying the gym anyway. Now it doesn’t feel like a chore to me!

Q: Are most of the private events hens parties?

A: Yeah, hens parties, birthdays … I’ve been getting a few lately that are just girls nights on a random weeknight. I think social media has played a part in that, as well as the fact that we’re 24/7 and you can book us at any time. We actually get a lot of girls that come to the show regularly and treat it as a pre-drink because it’s from 7-10 at a nightclub in the city.

Q: What does your life look like outside of stripping? What’s a typical Sunday for you?

A: Well I live in close to the beach, so I usually just enjoy breakfast and have a chilled day. The weekends are pretty crazy most of the time but the rest of the week is relaxed. I also play soccer and hangout with some mates when I have free time.

Q: Have you and the other Helpful Hunks ever done a charity calendar?

A: Hmm, well we have done a calendar but most of the guys on it aren’t working with us anymore so we’re going to a new one at the beginning of a year, so keep an eye out for that! A charity calendar is a great idea though. We’re doing a cowboy video as charity to raise money for the farmers right now actually!

Q: Okay, so we’re dying to know… what are your go-to moves when charming the ladies?

A: Do you want to see? (Laughing) Haha I don’t know, a few body rolls here and there, hip thrusts and away we go! You’ll have to come to the show and see for yourself!

What a convo, am I right? There’s definitely more to a day in the life of a Magic Mike stripper than I had originally expected. Not only did ‘Channing’ impress me with his good looks but he had a great personality to go along with it! If you’re after a topless waiter or the perfect addition to your hens party, you know who to call!

Contact Helpful Hunks today to secure Channing or another hunk for a crazy night out!