Beyond the Pole (2018–2019): Season 1, Episode 1 - Throw Some Mo - full transcript
Labri has an issue when another dancer dances for her regular Young Joc. Laina confides in Lea Lea about her issues with her mother being on drugs and she considers counseling. Meanwhile ...
- Everybody comes to
Atlanta, it's the hub.
You got the sub-culture,
the night life, which
everybody loves.
Cars, exotic dancers,
the music.
And of course, the money.
It's raw, it's uncut,
it's the naked truth,
versus a well-dressed lie.
People live double lives.
Reverends, athletes,
entertainers, doctors, lawyers,
all the way down
to the trap boys.
All of them come
to the strip club.
Equal playing ground, as
long as you got some paper.
If you a young, black girl and
cute in the face and
thin in the waist,
and you cannot get a job,
you can get one as a dancer.
The average dancer
makes more in one year,
than the average working
girl makes in three years.
They live how they get down,
They get down how they live.
Unfortunately, you have
to have an exit strategy,
because eventually, it
does come to an end.
- There's two Atlanta's.
One side, you might know,
the aquarium, Coca-Cola.
But there's a total
different side,
that you might not know.
This is my Atlanta.
The sub-culture.
The things that people think,
but they never talk about.
This is the lifestyle
that I wanna bring you to.
- My name is Labri, I dance
at Blue Flame in Magic City.
I've been dancing now for
four, going on five years.
I had to learn that atmosphere,
'cause those girls
are like sharks.
Honestly, you just
have to be a bitch
and you can't just be a bitch,
you have to consider
yourself that bitch.
I feel like a lot
of the reason why I
am the way I am now is because I
started dancing at a young age.
The hardest part is doing it,
so once you've
gotten it over with,
it's just, it's
always an option.
But at this point in my life,
I don't want it to be
an option, anymore.
I'm ready to hang my shoes up.
I was dancing at
Goosebumps one night,
Joc invited me on his night,
and went to dance
for him and then,
while I was dancing for him,
another girl actually tried
to confront me about him.
So, that was funny to me
because, I just, I don't know.
It was funny.
I know me, personally,
I'm very territorial
over my customers, I don't care.
If I'm not there, that means you
leave the club
until I go to work.
All I'm here to do
is get this money,
so I was just
looking at it like.
I understood where
she was coming from,
but also, I don't know what
goes on in her club, regularly
because that's not my club.
When you're Labri,
you can go to a club
for a night and
dance, but most girls
can't do that because you need
a permit in Georgia, but,
I did.
- Obviously, he ain't
throwing no money no more.
Can we go to the
back, real quick?
- In this industry,
girls can be very territorial
because in all honesty,
it's not so much about the
customer, it's about the money.
'Cause they feel as
if, "oh, this bitch
is really stepping on
my toes." Basically.
She could fuck up my
money with this nigga,
'cause I know
that's now I think.
Well, not really, I really
don't be intimidated
by nobody, 'cause
I know I'm just the
finest thing walking,
you can't tell me shit.
She got a problem,
let me take my
motherfuckin' shoes,
'cause I don't know
what the fuck goin'
on, it ain't that deep.
This ain't no motherfuckin'
character, this me.
What's up? What's the problem?
With girls in the strip
club, it's always fights.
- Like you on some shit!
- 'Cause at the end of the day!
- Sometimes, it
escalates to blows.
It's probably some
bitches fighting
in the strip club right now.
It really doesn't
matter who participates
in the fight, who started it.
If you do fight
and blood is drawn,
it's two weeks in the street.
- Chill!
- Bitch!
- What part of your foot hurt?
- Girl, the whole foot!
- The whole thing? Oh, okay.
- It's not so much as
the heel, but girl,
you gotta tote around
all this heavy ass all night.
- You gotta tote
around all that!
- Look at all that ass!
- All that ass!
- Girl, my feet are
saying, "please!"
- Aye! Back it up, back it up!
- All that ass, all
that ass, all that ass!
- She was dancing with
the same dude in the bar.
- I'm just glad we made
some money tonight.
I know I'm glad we made bank.
- My name is LingLing.
Everybody has their own type.
So, when someone comes
in, they be like,
"oh, they want LingLing."
because they like
Asian women or foreign types.
They come in and
they kinda blur out
everybody else, like,
"them girls with
the big butts" or
"that one's fat"
or "that one's too short".
I have my type, too.
I actually went through some
rough patches in my life
and I decided to go ahead
and get into the fast money.
Dancing has its pros and its
cons, from being labeled as,
every stripper has
to be an escort to
every stripper is idolized.
- We don't ever think we
get together and hang out.
- Right! We always just argue.
- But, you know what I
mean, y'all seem real chill.
- We should work
together because we
are all trying to
get outta here,
everybody's working
on something.
My name is Angel Kake, I began
my last year of high school.
Me and my mom were
at a weird place.
I thought I knew what
was best and from that,
I was 18, turning 19, I stopped
for, maybe, about six years
and then, I returned
for the last two years.
So, all in all, I would say,
I don't know, you
figure out the math.
Just think of how
old I might be.
- Probably finna go
get something to eat,
I'm hungry as fuck!
- I'ma try
to put my shoes back on
and go back out on
this floor, y'all.
- You can have that pole, girl!
- I'ma make one more
round 'fore I go,
you know this power
hour right here.
- My name is Leah, but
they call me Sweet LeaLea.
I have been dancing on and
off for about 10 years now.
You have to be confident
in this industry.
I love that, for as much
as it takes, it gives, too.
It's a billion dollar
industry, you know, sex sells.
Women in the adult
industry, we give men
this fantasy that
they don't really,
necessarily get at home.
It's so many facets,
so many entities,
wrapped up in the
industry and I think
that's why I love it so much.
- Hello?
- Hey, mom!
- Hey babe, what's up?
- Just callin' to check on you,
letting you know I'm okay.
I go by Laina Champion,
which is my real name.
I been dancing for nine years.
When I have a couple
drinks, I can get
a little outrageous and crazy.
I don't start
nothin' with nobody.
But,
I'm a savage.
That's me, savage.
I been out in the
streets for a minute,
I didn't have no mother role to
show me how to be a woman, a
man show me how to be a woman
and I would like
for the young women
to look at me as an example.
I don't want them to go
through this lifestyle.
Have you been
staying clean, mom?
You trying?
My mom,
has been using crack,
and I never really had
any interaction throughout
the years of my life.
My dad, he passed away
when I was two years old.
So, I just been having to,
live life on my own.
So, you see what
route I had to choose,
to take care of myself?
For me, I do have to,
drink.
I have to drink,
to find my alter ego.
I've never done drugs before.
I had to take care of myself,
'cause I left the house at 17.
It's like normal for a
father not to be there,
but for a mother not to
be there, that's just,
I don't see how anybody can
can live without their child.
I'ma call you right
back, I love you.
- Your legs look good.
- Thank you!
My treatments are
really working for me.
- I know!
- So, girl, let me tell you what
happened at work last night.
- What? It's always something!
What did you do? 'Cause I know!
- He came in the club, right.
He told me he came
in there to see me,
but he was dancing
this other girl.
So, you know me, I get dressed.
I go get my mace and
mace the whole damn club!
- No, you didn't!
- I swear to God!
- No, you didn't!
- My girl, Mickey,
at Dreambody Studio,
she keeps me waist
trained, year-round.
I'm also gonna get the
cellulite removal today.
- So, how it's been?
- It's going
really, really well.
- Everybody keep asking about
when you gon' drop again.
So, Stormy, you know
she does branding,
she's coming up
here, you know she's
a branding guru, so yeah.
That'll be good
for your lip line.
- I'm excited, you know I
follow her on social media.
- Hey, how are you?
- Hey girl, this is Labri!
I had on gloves.
- Nice to meet you,
we gon shake hands.
- You're beautiful!
- Hey, how are you?
Nice to meet you, thank you.
- Stormy Wellington, who am I?
I represent the struggle,
the fight, the success,
I'm every woman.
I don't know if people
understand this,
but my mom called me "bitch."
That was my name and
I used to be like,
"Who would call they
daughter a bitch?"
She said, "you gon
go into a world
that they gon treat
you like a bitch,
so I'ma let you know what it is,
but you're my bitch."
Well, my first
experience in the club,
I was 13 and my
water was off at home
and I'll never
forget, I had on this
black suede vest with
this black suede skirt
and I went into the
club and I was intrigued
by the women, they
were were beautiful,
the energy, the life
and I'm 13 years old.
This guy was like, lift up
your skirt, I'll give you $600.
And of course, I
lift up my skirt
and I got those 600
dollars and the next day,
my water was cut back on.
Had to figure it out, I had
to make a lot of mistakes,
I had to lose a lot,
I had to get hurt.
I woulda had the right guidance,
someone that said, "hey
girl, let me hold your hand."
For me, I have a soft spot
for what I didn't have
and so, I would love
to see more girls
exit that lifestyle because
most of them want to.
Most people know I'm involved
in multi-level
marketing, direct sales.
The money that I
make is from retail.
A lot of people
look at what I do as
scam, a pyramid, but it's sales.
- This is Bri, she
has a lip line.
- You don't have to introduce,
I follow her on Instagram.
- Oh, yeah, she said
she follows you already!
- Good, are you inspired?
- Very, very.
- Good.
That's my goals. Mission
accomplished, right?
- When Stormy first
walked into the room,
I was thinking to
myself, "yes, bitch!"
She was clean, I
liked her little fit.
To be fresh off a
plane, Sis was cute!
I'm like, "okay!"
- What kind of lip
line do you have?
- Actually, it's a
full cosmetic line.
Originally, I entered
entrepreneurship in 2014.
It was a little overwhelming,
juggling daytime
and my night job,
'cause I still do
dance, that's why I'm
trying to transition
and not have to go with
the night life and all that
no more, but it's hard.
- Why you still dancing if
you got a product to sell?
- Good money.
- The same hustle you
have in that club,
is the same way you gotta
hustle them cosmetics.
- She was right, if I
can make this amount
of money, average
at night, I should
be able to try to make that same
money with my business
during the day.
- Wherever your focus
goes, your energy flows.
And so, you're not focused
on your cosmetic line,
that's why it's not flourishing.
- I guess, that work is so easy,
I know the hardest part is.
- It's very temporary
and you have to
use your body to make the money.
And, so, how long
is that gonna last?
Your cosmetic line
could be long-term,
it could be residual income
'til you 60, 70 years old.
You have something,
most people don't have
an exit, you have
it, so that's a plus.
I commend you for
that, that's good.
- Thank you.
- I like Labri, I
connected with her.
It was something
about her energy,
her spirit, I just like
her as an individual.
What is different about
your cosmetic line?
Is it organic?
Does it last longer, what
makes your cosmetic line?
- If you put it on,
Not even probably,
you put it on now,
it's gonna stay on
until in the morning.
- So there go your niche,
you have to sell that.
You don't have a mentor, a
coach, somebody that you?
- Everything up
until this point,
it's been self-taught
with my business.
I took heed to her
advice, I really do
feel as if she didn't
tell me anything wrong.
- Okay, you'll be done
in about three minutes.
- My stomach gon' be flat?
- Yes, ma'am!"
I just want you to
drink a lot of water,
relax, keep up with
a healthy diet.
- I don't eat crazy, I
take pretty good care.
- So, I know you,
you're not in the
cosmetic field,
but I would really
like to know if you could
help me further my business.
- I would like to,
I would love to.
I really wanna see, but you
gotta have an exit strategy.
I don't want you to be a
stripper 15 years from now.
I have a genuine passion to
help the girls out of the club,
and so, I felt like
meeting Labri was my entry.
- I want you to meet some
of the other girls, as well.
- Okay, that sounds fun.
- Long as they don't
see me and think
a check coming, I'm good.
That used to be me, you know?
- You used to dance?
- Yeah.
- Really!?
- Yeah!
- I'm 'bout to cry.
- In real life,
see, when I danced,
I ain't work like y'all do.
All them back flips and
cartwheels y'all do,
back in my day, we just shook
a little leg and got a check.
- Now, let's take the band out.
- Take the band out?
- Yeah, put the man
on the heating pad.
That's pretty, now let's
do a tree for Mama.
In Mama's honor,
we gon' do a tree.
Becoming a mom,
really, really defined
what true and
unconditional love was,
for me.
Nothing compares to
being a mom to me,
absolutely nothing.
- Come on, you gon'
put this in here?
So awesome.
Hey, hey, hey!
- How you doin'?
- Oh, good, good,
good to see you!
I invited my friend, Lainie,
over for dinner tonight.
The last time I talked to her,
she was a little bit
concerned about her mom.
And because I know Lainie,
I'm concerned about her,
so I wanted to kinda
just invite her over
and just gauge where she was,
mentally and emotionally.
- When were at the
club other night,
and I heard you
talking to your mom.
I kinda just wanted
to just kinda,
see how you were
feeling about that.
- I really don't like
talking about this
issue, it's a family matter,
but I really trust LeaLea.
I see her every now and
then, throughout the years,
but she never really been there.
- So, you all really weren't
around her when she was.
- No, I don't even know my
mom's side of the family.
- That sucks.
You have to be willing to
take the first step, you know?
But then, I will say this, too,
she doesn't get to come
and ruin your life again.
I sympathize with Lainie
because she had to
take on a role at
a very young age.
She had to be a
mother to herself
and then, she had to literally
almost raise her own mother,
so, as a child, that's
not something you,
you're ready to do, it's not
something you should have to do.
- Thinking about
counseling or something.
- You know, I'm,
Girl, I could really
flip right now
because I was just
having this conversation.
I said, "black people, we are
afraid to go and get help."
We think that's a taboo,
you know what I'm saying?
You think something's
wrong with you,
but there is strength in
admitting that you need help.
There is strength
in admitting, hey,
I cannot do this by myself,
you know what I mean?
There is strength in that,
that is not a weakness.
The first step is knowing
and admitting that
you need help and it
takes a strong person
to say, "hey, I need some help."
So, I'm very proud of
her for taking that step.
- Well, before we
get ready to eat,
I have a book for you because
I want you to read it.
I think that, you know me,
I'm not religious at
all, but I do believe in
feeding your spirit and I
want you to read this book.
It's called, "The
Road Less Traveled."
And it's actually one
of my favorite books,
when it comes to
spiritual growth because
everybody thinks you're supposed
to be on the same level, no.
But I think this book would
definitely help you out
and a whole lot
you have going on.
I want you to read this book.
So, while we doing that,
while you looking at that book,
If you wanna eat, you know
I cooked some lasagna and,
this is what we gon' eat.
- Looks good.
- It better be, Maliah made it.
- So, tonight, my guy
friend let me use his spot,
so, I thought it
would be a good idea
for me to invite some
of my lady friends,
from the industry, over.
Have girl talk, drink,
gossip a little bit.
As always, I'm gonna
be fashionably late,
so, I invited Richie
over to entertain
the ladies until I could
get there and occupy them.
- We are all
drinking, currently.
We have options of
Wicked Lemonade.
We got peach, blueberry,
we have some,
Moscato, Riesling, and
a little Pinot Grigio
and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Which one can I
help you out with?
- Richie, the eye candy.
A very good-looking man, a
very good-looking man.
A big flirt, but a
good-looking man.
- Down south, they mess
with their dancers.
The south, the strippers
got it on lock.
You go to New York,
it's colorism, for sure.
Because the darker skinned
dancers, have to fight against
the dancers that are
y'all color, you know?
They not gonna be dark
like me and it's not
as easy as people
would like to think.
Just because everybody knows
my name is Sweet LeaLea.
No, I still have to hustle,
too, when I go to places.
- It's as largely about,
understanding what
your opposite want.
Not to even toot my
own horn, I'm like one
of the bottle girls that really
get a lot of money out of it.
- So, you don't strip, though?
- No.
- Stripping is the
whole 'nother game.
You gotta be twerkin', workin'.
I did the bartending,
and I'm not here for
the nightlife games.
- The easiest way.
- If I'm gonna be up at night,
I wanna make as much
money as possible.
I'm not going if I'm not
making at least $400.
I feel like I'm kind
of being insulted,
'cause I'm really
degrading myself.
- My slow day for a bottle
girl is a thousand dollars.
- But you have probably a demand
'cause you have clientele.
As a dancer, you could
be a brand new dancer
and just go in and get
it how you live, but
as a bottle girl, you
actually have to have
some clientele, for
you to make some money.
- I would agree with that.
I have a company called
Barcode Solutions.
One component, I
train girls how to be
bottle girls, cocktail
waitresses and bartenders.
So, I'm having a bartending
class and a bottle girl class,
so it's kind of like the
wide-scale of launching.
- Hey, hey, hey!
- Don't you look all pretty.
- Hey Labri!
- You look cute, girl!
- I know, I like your shades!
- I'm late tonight
because, as always,
I had to make sure
everything was on point.
My hair to my makeup
to my accessories.
Just my personality, I'm
always fashionably late.
- It gives and it takes, it's
got its good and its bad.
From, times of the year
to making $1500 a night.
Then, there's that you
make $60, you know?
I mean, I'm not gonna
lie, I've been there,
I made $60 before,
are you serious?
I still gotta pay tip out.
And then, that's
even embarrassing
'cause they're
looking at you like,
"You a stripper and you
can't even pay tip out?"
Everyone thinks that
dancers make a lot of money.
Truth is, we gamble.
A lot of people don't realize,
we do pay to go there.
We do pay for our permits,
we do pay to come in,
we do pay for our drinks,
if we decide to
purchase them ourself.
And we do have to pay to leave.
For me, honestly, there
have been times that I
haven't made the money back
that I spent to come in there.
- Stripping has become so
famous, instead of infamous.
Little girls are in high school,
saying they wanna
jump straight off
the stage and go straight
to the strip club.
- And they do.
- Well, that's where we come in.
As soon as Maliah
is old enough to
ask me or she feels like,
I'm going to be honest with her
because I feel like this is
just the entertainment industry.
I think the earlier
you talk to your
kids about that
and explain to them
that it's just entertainment,
the easier it becomes
for everybody involved.
- So many young girls
write me on Instagram, DM me,
"oh, I wanna come to your club,
you be making money. I
like the way you dress."
This, that and the third.
Then, they come
there. All they do is
buy the most expensive outfit,
get they make-up done by the
same person, get
they hair pressed.
- And smoke hookah.
- And take a picture
in the mirror,
then smoke hookah all night,
don't make a damn dollar.
- They don't know, we started
out with them $19.99 outfits.
- I don't feel like the
girls are really being real.
I think they're kinda
like, making themselves
out to be these glamorous,
money-making strippers,
which is cool, but honestly,
I wanna keep it real, I wanna,
make people understand
the reality.
There has to be an
exit strategy because
where do you get to speak
to these girls and say,
"hey, you gotta leave out."
But you're still in there?
You guys have a cut off,
I'm done,
January,
15th,
2000,
and.
- I don't have no age, you can
strip as long as you want to,
'cause I feel like
if you fine at 45,
you can go in there and hit
it, go in there and get it.
- You could say what
you want about me
in the club, you
could do whatever.
At the end of the
day, it boils down to,
suck my dick, where's the money?
- So, I have a question
between everybody.
I've been modeling
for the last 15 years,
but I never wanted to be labeled
as the model that's a stripper,
every stripper is
a model, you know?
What would your guys'
advice for me, be?
To come out, to
really try to pursue,
to be international with it?
- You're ready for runway,
you're ready for all that.
I would just keep going forward.
- If we gon' just keep
it all the way 100,
there's not ever gon' ever,
if people know you dance,
it's not gonna ever, you're
never gonna get away from that.
- I respect everything
that everybody's saying,
but none of that really matters.
We can't really
talk to you about
the models, the highway,
the high-fashion shit
'cause none of us really do it.
It's your confidence,
shake your hand,
then it's your network.
And speaking of network,
I know Derek Blanks, girl!
He's a photographer
and I feel like
it'll be great for
you to meet him,
with your pretty face,
and he's having a party.
I think we should all get
cute and go to the party.
Keep drinking.
What y'all feeling like?
Y'all wanna go?
And you gon' meet more
models and everything.
- Let's toast, then,
before you leave.
- He gon' wanna have anal
sex with you and he's not gay.
- Huh?
- He gon wanna have anal sex.
- Who?
- Your man.
- I will do anal
sex! He can fuck me
in my ass, but I'm not
fucking him in his!
- It's strictly gon
be that or that,
like I told him, I'm a tri-sexual,
I will try anything once.
So, if nigga wanna
get fucked, I will
put the strap on and
handle that.
I'm going to handle it like
the dick is attached to me.
Period, but, that is
as far as that goes.
- That is far!
That is not as far as it goes!
Bitch, that is far,
that is all the way far!
- We are VIP all day, all
night, everywhere we go.
Very Important Person coming
through, step aside, people!
- Derek's party was amazing.
I just felt that it
was a little rushed
and I really couldn't
hear him when
I was introducing myself to him.
I really wish I could sit
down with him one on one.
- Oh my gosh, he's
one of the most
amazing photographers
in Atlanta.
I'm so excited that
we're just in the
mix with all these great people.
- This season
on "Beyond The Pole."
- Sex sells.
It's a billion dollar industry.
- I live by two things:
I say, don't touch me
and don't touch my money.
- You get addicted
to the fast money
and then, you don't
ever wanna stop.
- So, are you planning on
stopping any time soon?
- I gave myself,
maybe, another year?
But I gotta stack them chips
up, first, before I leave out.
- There has
to be an exit strategy
because, where do you get to
speak to these girls and say,
"hey, you gotta leave out."
But you're still in there?
- The only one thing,
or maybe two things,
that I would say that
you should take with you
from the life of
being an exotic dancer
is your hustle and your heart.
- Every one of us have
some underlying issues.
- For me, I do have to,
drink, to find my alter ego.
- Any anger, any bitterness,
I want you to call it out.
- This is for my
dad passing away.
This is for cancer.
My struggle.
- I was actually
diagnosed with Melanoma.
I have stage two skin cancer.
- Does your son
know you're here?
- He sees me count my money,
he sees my big ol' shoes.
You know, I don't wanna hide it.
- My daughter, she's
16 now and I don't,
I'm gonna eventually tell her.
- You don't think
she knows, though?
- No, 'cause girl, when
I leave out the house,
I have on my scrubs.
- I don't have a permit,
I can't go dance.
I'm not about to go escort,
I'm not about to go sell drugs.
At this point, if I
can't find somewhere
to lay my head at
night, it's just,
I'm trying.
- I think I got a
solution to your problem.
- I want an open marriage!
Sus, let me hold your hair
back while you suck the dick!
You know what I'm saying?
- You gotta keep
putting out your tongue
every time you gotta
think about it?
- That's how I suck on my straw.
- I bet you do.
- What do you guys think
about speed dating?
- You wear gray sweatpants
or basketball shorts?
- You're out of control.
- I've made millions of dollars
and coached over 12 people
to millionaire-status,
I'm not about to debate
with you, you or nobody.
- I'm 'bout to get
my bag, for real.
Y'all can take this mic
off me, I'm finna go.
- And from there, it just.
- See, you don't wanna listen.
- Girl, listen, I'm not
'bout to do this with you.
- Or she didn't have
the right answer
and from there, it just.
- I'll have you
not being able to
go to the strip club
and get no coins!
'Cause I'll have a
motherfucker fuck you up
every goddamn day you go
to the motherfuckin' club!
- Let her go!
- Believe that!
- They was just, oh,
my God, I don't know.
- Listen, reality show people,
I will fuck me a motherfucker
up, believe that!
- I want y'all to
know that, for real.
I'm a coach, I love the
Lord with all my heart,
but I will kick me a
motherfucker ass, okay?
And ask God to forgive me when
I'm motherfucking finished!
- First of all, I put
myself in this environment,
I can take myself out
of this environment.
- Okay, babe, get your friends
out my house, goodnight.
- I don't need to
be rescued and I
definitely don't need
her to rescue me.
- What's the average income
per day, like for real?
- At least $1000.
- Okay, so when we
getting together again,
so I can show y'all
how to make more
than that and keep
your clothes on?
- In or out,
baby. It's your choice.
- What made you want
to do this show?
- Rhonda Cowen and Ed
Woods, rest in peace,
- Yes.
- Said, "we have a
guy, Mark, who has this
concept about doing a
show about strippers."
- I had my vision of
what I wanted to do
to give the dancers a platform,
talk about their
struggles and Woods said,
"I got the right
person for the job!"
And, he brought Shante in.
- I knew Shante from
the music business.
At first, we bumped heads.
- What!?
- I was just about to
question that, go ahead.
- With this show,
I said to Mark,
"It really has to have a
redemption factor for me.
'Cause I'm at a point
of my life where,
I just can't do just anything.
- So, when Shante
told you that she
wanted to have a redemption
factor in the show,
how did you feel about that?
- First of all, I
believe in redemption,
but I was concerned how it
would affect the eyeballs.
Everybody don't wanna
hear a ghetto story.
Or what your ghetto story is
that got you to this point.
So, that was my worry.
- I'm the type of girl that
would go to a club and be like,
"why do you strip? What
makes you do this?"
I'm that girl!
Then they'll be like, "can
you stop talking to them!?
They're dancing for us!"
I really wanna know.
- Of everything
that you could do,
what made you wanna do
a show about strippers?
- What could make a girl,
take all her clothes
off in front of someone,
that she don't even know?
What happened in
her life, you know?
Where was the void?
And I was intrigued by that.
- I really want
to let young girls
know that there's
a price, you know?
It's not the glitz
and the glamour.
Sometimes, they
don't make anything.
And I don't think
young girls know that.
- Okay.
- Okay, so we're good?
- Yup!
- Okay.
Atlanta, it's the hub.
You got the sub-culture,
the night life, which
everybody loves.
Cars, exotic dancers,
the music.
And of course, the money.
It's raw, it's uncut,
it's the naked truth,
versus a well-dressed lie.
People live double lives.
Reverends, athletes,
entertainers, doctors, lawyers,
all the way down
to the trap boys.
All of them come
to the strip club.
Equal playing ground, as
long as you got some paper.
If you a young, black girl and
cute in the face and
thin in the waist,
and you cannot get a job,
you can get one as a dancer.
The average dancer
makes more in one year,
than the average working
girl makes in three years.
They live how they get down,
They get down how they live.
Unfortunately, you have
to have an exit strategy,
because eventually, it
does come to an end.
- There's two Atlanta's.
One side, you might know,
the aquarium, Coca-Cola.
But there's a total
different side,
that you might not know.
This is my Atlanta.
The sub-culture.
The things that people think,
but they never talk about.
This is the lifestyle
that I wanna bring you to.
- My name is Labri, I dance
at Blue Flame in Magic City.
I've been dancing now for
four, going on five years.
I had to learn that atmosphere,
'cause those girls
are like sharks.
Honestly, you just
have to be a bitch
and you can't just be a bitch,
you have to consider
yourself that bitch.
I feel like a lot
of the reason why I
am the way I am now is because I
started dancing at a young age.
The hardest part is doing it,
so once you've
gotten it over with,
it's just, it's
always an option.
But at this point in my life,
I don't want it to be
an option, anymore.
I'm ready to hang my shoes up.
I was dancing at
Goosebumps one night,
Joc invited me on his night,
and went to dance
for him and then,
while I was dancing for him,
another girl actually tried
to confront me about him.
So, that was funny to me
because, I just, I don't know.
It was funny.
I know me, personally,
I'm very territorial
over my customers, I don't care.
If I'm not there, that means you
leave the club
until I go to work.
All I'm here to do
is get this money,
so I was just
looking at it like.
I understood where
she was coming from,
but also, I don't know what
goes on in her club, regularly
because that's not my club.
When you're Labri,
you can go to a club
for a night and
dance, but most girls
can't do that because you need
a permit in Georgia, but,
I did.
- Obviously, he ain't
throwing no money no more.
Can we go to the
back, real quick?
- In this industry,
girls can be very territorial
because in all honesty,
it's not so much about the
customer, it's about the money.
'Cause they feel as
if, "oh, this bitch
is really stepping on
my toes." Basically.
She could fuck up my
money with this nigga,
'cause I know
that's now I think.
Well, not really, I really
don't be intimidated
by nobody, 'cause
I know I'm just the
finest thing walking,
you can't tell me shit.
She got a problem,
let me take my
motherfuckin' shoes,
'cause I don't know
what the fuck goin'
on, it ain't that deep.
This ain't no motherfuckin'
character, this me.
What's up? What's the problem?
With girls in the strip
club, it's always fights.
- Like you on some shit!
- 'Cause at the end of the day!
- Sometimes, it
escalates to blows.
It's probably some
bitches fighting
in the strip club right now.
It really doesn't
matter who participates
in the fight, who started it.
If you do fight
and blood is drawn,
it's two weeks in the street.
- Chill!
- Bitch!
- What part of your foot hurt?
- Girl, the whole foot!
- The whole thing? Oh, okay.
- It's not so much as
the heel, but girl,
you gotta tote around
all this heavy ass all night.
- You gotta tote
around all that!
- Look at all that ass!
- All that ass!
- Girl, my feet are
saying, "please!"
- Aye! Back it up, back it up!
- All that ass, all
that ass, all that ass!
- She was dancing with
the same dude in the bar.
- I'm just glad we made
some money tonight.
I know I'm glad we made bank.
- My name is LingLing.
Everybody has their own type.
So, when someone comes
in, they be like,
"oh, they want LingLing."
because they like
Asian women or foreign types.
They come in and
they kinda blur out
everybody else, like,
"them girls with
the big butts" or
"that one's fat"
or "that one's too short".
I have my type, too.
I actually went through some
rough patches in my life
and I decided to go ahead
and get into the fast money.
Dancing has its pros and its
cons, from being labeled as,
every stripper has
to be an escort to
every stripper is idolized.
- We don't ever think we
get together and hang out.
- Right! We always just argue.
- But, you know what I
mean, y'all seem real chill.
- We should work
together because we
are all trying to
get outta here,
everybody's working
on something.
My name is Angel Kake, I began
my last year of high school.
Me and my mom were
at a weird place.
I thought I knew what
was best and from that,
I was 18, turning 19, I stopped
for, maybe, about six years
and then, I returned
for the last two years.
So, all in all, I would say,
I don't know, you
figure out the math.
Just think of how
old I might be.
- Probably finna go
get something to eat,
I'm hungry as fuck!
- I'ma try
to put my shoes back on
and go back out on
this floor, y'all.
- You can have that pole, girl!
- I'ma make one more
round 'fore I go,
you know this power
hour right here.
- My name is Leah, but
they call me Sweet LeaLea.
I have been dancing on and
off for about 10 years now.
You have to be confident
in this industry.
I love that, for as much
as it takes, it gives, too.
It's a billion dollar
industry, you know, sex sells.
Women in the adult
industry, we give men
this fantasy that
they don't really,
necessarily get at home.
It's so many facets,
so many entities,
wrapped up in the
industry and I think
that's why I love it so much.
- Hello?
- Hey, mom!
- Hey babe, what's up?
- Just callin' to check on you,
letting you know I'm okay.
I go by Laina Champion,
which is my real name.
I been dancing for nine years.
When I have a couple
drinks, I can get
a little outrageous and crazy.
I don't start
nothin' with nobody.
But,
I'm a savage.
That's me, savage.
I been out in the
streets for a minute,
I didn't have no mother role to
show me how to be a woman, a
man show me how to be a woman
and I would like
for the young women
to look at me as an example.
I don't want them to go
through this lifestyle.
Have you been
staying clean, mom?
You trying?
My mom,
has been using crack,
and I never really had
any interaction throughout
the years of my life.
My dad, he passed away
when I was two years old.
So, I just been having to,
live life on my own.
So, you see what
route I had to choose,
to take care of myself?
For me, I do have to,
drink.
I have to drink,
to find my alter ego.
I've never done drugs before.
I had to take care of myself,
'cause I left the house at 17.
It's like normal for a
father not to be there,
but for a mother not to
be there, that's just,
I don't see how anybody can
can live without their child.
I'ma call you right
back, I love you.
- Your legs look good.
- Thank you!
My treatments are
really working for me.
- I know!
- So, girl, let me tell you what
happened at work last night.
- What? It's always something!
What did you do? 'Cause I know!
- He came in the club, right.
He told me he came
in there to see me,
but he was dancing
this other girl.
So, you know me, I get dressed.
I go get my mace and
mace the whole damn club!
- No, you didn't!
- I swear to God!
- No, you didn't!
- My girl, Mickey,
at Dreambody Studio,
she keeps me waist
trained, year-round.
I'm also gonna get the
cellulite removal today.
- So, how it's been?
- It's going
really, really well.
- Everybody keep asking about
when you gon' drop again.
So, Stormy, you know
she does branding,
she's coming up
here, you know she's
a branding guru, so yeah.
That'll be good
for your lip line.
- I'm excited, you know I
follow her on social media.
- Hey, how are you?
- Hey girl, this is Labri!
I had on gloves.
- Nice to meet you,
we gon shake hands.
- You're beautiful!
- Hey, how are you?
Nice to meet you, thank you.
- Stormy Wellington, who am I?
I represent the struggle,
the fight, the success,
I'm every woman.
I don't know if people
understand this,
but my mom called me "bitch."
That was my name and
I used to be like,
"Who would call they
daughter a bitch?"
She said, "you gon
go into a world
that they gon treat
you like a bitch,
so I'ma let you know what it is,
but you're my bitch."
Well, my first
experience in the club,
I was 13 and my
water was off at home
and I'll never
forget, I had on this
black suede vest with
this black suede skirt
and I went into the
club and I was intrigued
by the women, they
were were beautiful,
the energy, the life
and I'm 13 years old.
This guy was like, lift up
your skirt, I'll give you $600.
And of course, I
lift up my skirt
and I got those 600
dollars and the next day,
my water was cut back on.
Had to figure it out, I had
to make a lot of mistakes,
I had to lose a lot,
I had to get hurt.
I woulda had the right guidance,
someone that said, "hey
girl, let me hold your hand."
For me, I have a soft spot
for what I didn't have
and so, I would love
to see more girls
exit that lifestyle because
most of them want to.
Most people know I'm involved
in multi-level
marketing, direct sales.
The money that I
make is from retail.
A lot of people
look at what I do as
scam, a pyramid, but it's sales.
- This is Bri, she
has a lip line.
- You don't have to introduce,
I follow her on Instagram.
- Oh, yeah, she said
she follows you already!
- Good, are you inspired?
- Very, very.
- Good.
That's my goals. Mission
accomplished, right?
- When Stormy first
walked into the room,
I was thinking to
myself, "yes, bitch!"
She was clean, I
liked her little fit.
To be fresh off a
plane, Sis was cute!
I'm like, "okay!"
- What kind of lip
line do you have?
- Actually, it's a
full cosmetic line.
Originally, I entered
entrepreneurship in 2014.
It was a little overwhelming,
juggling daytime
and my night job,
'cause I still do
dance, that's why I'm
trying to transition
and not have to go with
the night life and all that
no more, but it's hard.
- Why you still dancing if
you got a product to sell?
- Good money.
- The same hustle you
have in that club,
is the same way you gotta
hustle them cosmetics.
- She was right, if I
can make this amount
of money, average
at night, I should
be able to try to make that same
money with my business
during the day.
- Wherever your focus
goes, your energy flows.
And so, you're not focused
on your cosmetic line,
that's why it's not flourishing.
- I guess, that work is so easy,
I know the hardest part is.
- It's very temporary
and you have to
use your body to make the money.
And, so, how long
is that gonna last?
Your cosmetic line
could be long-term,
it could be residual income
'til you 60, 70 years old.
You have something,
most people don't have
an exit, you have
it, so that's a plus.
I commend you for
that, that's good.
- Thank you.
- I like Labri, I
connected with her.
It was something
about her energy,
her spirit, I just like
her as an individual.
What is different about
your cosmetic line?
Is it organic?
Does it last longer, what
makes your cosmetic line?
- If you put it on,
Not even probably,
you put it on now,
it's gonna stay on
until in the morning.
- So there go your niche,
you have to sell that.
You don't have a mentor, a
coach, somebody that you?
- Everything up
until this point,
it's been self-taught
with my business.
I took heed to her
advice, I really do
feel as if she didn't
tell me anything wrong.
- Okay, you'll be done
in about three minutes.
- My stomach gon' be flat?
- Yes, ma'am!"
I just want you to
drink a lot of water,
relax, keep up with
a healthy diet.
- I don't eat crazy, I
take pretty good care.
- So, I know you,
you're not in the
cosmetic field,
but I would really
like to know if you could
help me further my business.
- I would like to,
I would love to.
I really wanna see, but you
gotta have an exit strategy.
I don't want you to be a
stripper 15 years from now.
I have a genuine passion to
help the girls out of the club,
and so, I felt like
meeting Labri was my entry.
- I want you to meet some
of the other girls, as well.
- Okay, that sounds fun.
- Long as they don't
see me and think
a check coming, I'm good.
That used to be me, you know?
- You used to dance?
- Yeah.
- Really!?
- Yeah!
- I'm 'bout to cry.
- In real life,
see, when I danced,
I ain't work like y'all do.
All them back flips and
cartwheels y'all do,
back in my day, we just shook
a little leg and got a check.
- Now, let's take the band out.
- Take the band out?
- Yeah, put the man
on the heating pad.
That's pretty, now let's
do a tree for Mama.
In Mama's honor,
we gon' do a tree.
Becoming a mom,
really, really defined
what true and
unconditional love was,
for me.
Nothing compares to
being a mom to me,
absolutely nothing.
- Come on, you gon'
put this in here?
So awesome.
Hey, hey, hey!
- How you doin'?
- Oh, good, good,
good to see you!
I invited my friend, Lainie,
over for dinner tonight.
The last time I talked to her,
she was a little bit
concerned about her mom.
And because I know Lainie,
I'm concerned about her,
so I wanted to kinda
just invite her over
and just gauge where she was,
mentally and emotionally.
- When were at the
club other night,
and I heard you
talking to your mom.
I kinda just wanted
to just kinda,
see how you were
feeling about that.
- I really don't like
talking about this
issue, it's a family matter,
but I really trust LeaLea.
I see her every now and
then, throughout the years,
but she never really been there.
- So, you all really weren't
around her when she was.
- No, I don't even know my
mom's side of the family.
- That sucks.
You have to be willing to
take the first step, you know?
But then, I will say this, too,
she doesn't get to come
and ruin your life again.
I sympathize with Lainie
because she had to
take on a role at
a very young age.
She had to be a
mother to herself
and then, she had to literally
almost raise her own mother,
so, as a child, that's
not something you,
you're ready to do, it's not
something you should have to do.
- Thinking about
counseling or something.
- You know, I'm,
Girl, I could really
flip right now
because I was just
having this conversation.
I said, "black people, we are
afraid to go and get help."
We think that's a taboo,
you know what I'm saying?
You think something's
wrong with you,
but there is strength in
admitting that you need help.
There is strength
in admitting, hey,
I cannot do this by myself,
you know what I mean?
There is strength in that,
that is not a weakness.
The first step is knowing
and admitting that
you need help and it
takes a strong person
to say, "hey, I need some help."
So, I'm very proud of
her for taking that step.
- Well, before we
get ready to eat,
I have a book for you because
I want you to read it.
I think that, you know me,
I'm not religious at
all, but I do believe in
feeding your spirit and I
want you to read this book.
It's called, "The
Road Less Traveled."
And it's actually one
of my favorite books,
when it comes to
spiritual growth because
everybody thinks you're supposed
to be on the same level, no.
But I think this book would
definitely help you out
and a whole lot
you have going on.
I want you to read this book.
So, while we doing that,
while you looking at that book,
If you wanna eat, you know
I cooked some lasagna and,
this is what we gon' eat.
- Looks good.
- It better be, Maliah made it.
- So, tonight, my guy
friend let me use his spot,
so, I thought it
would be a good idea
for me to invite some
of my lady friends,
from the industry, over.
Have girl talk, drink,
gossip a little bit.
As always, I'm gonna
be fashionably late,
so, I invited Richie
over to entertain
the ladies until I could
get there and occupy them.
- We are all
drinking, currently.
We have options of
Wicked Lemonade.
We got peach, blueberry,
we have some,
Moscato, Riesling, and
a little Pinot Grigio
and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Which one can I
help you out with?
- Richie, the eye candy.
A very good-looking man, a
very good-looking man.
A big flirt, but a
good-looking man.
- Down south, they mess
with their dancers.
The south, the strippers
got it on lock.
You go to New York,
it's colorism, for sure.
Because the darker skinned
dancers, have to fight against
the dancers that are
y'all color, you know?
They not gonna be dark
like me and it's not
as easy as people
would like to think.
Just because everybody knows
my name is Sweet LeaLea.
No, I still have to hustle,
too, when I go to places.
- It's as largely about,
understanding what
your opposite want.
Not to even toot my
own horn, I'm like one
of the bottle girls that really
get a lot of money out of it.
- So, you don't strip, though?
- No.
- Stripping is the
whole 'nother game.
You gotta be twerkin', workin'.
I did the bartending,
and I'm not here for
the nightlife games.
- The easiest way.
- If I'm gonna be up at night,
I wanna make as much
money as possible.
I'm not going if I'm not
making at least $400.
I feel like I'm kind
of being insulted,
'cause I'm really
degrading myself.
- My slow day for a bottle
girl is a thousand dollars.
- But you have probably a demand
'cause you have clientele.
As a dancer, you could
be a brand new dancer
and just go in and get
it how you live, but
as a bottle girl, you
actually have to have
some clientele, for
you to make some money.
- I would agree with that.
I have a company called
Barcode Solutions.
One component, I
train girls how to be
bottle girls, cocktail
waitresses and bartenders.
So, I'm having a bartending
class and a bottle girl class,
so it's kind of like the
wide-scale of launching.
- Hey, hey, hey!
- Don't you look all pretty.
- Hey Labri!
- You look cute, girl!
- I know, I like your shades!
- I'm late tonight
because, as always,
I had to make sure
everything was on point.
My hair to my makeup
to my accessories.
Just my personality, I'm
always fashionably late.
- It gives and it takes, it's
got its good and its bad.
From, times of the year
to making $1500 a night.
Then, there's that you
make $60, you know?
I mean, I'm not gonna
lie, I've been there,
I made $60 before,
are you serious?
I still gotta pay tip out.
And then, that's
even embarrassing
'cause they're
looking at you like,
"You a stripper and you
can't even pay tip out?"
Everyone thinks that
dancers make a lot of money.
Truth is, we gamble.
A lot of people don't realize,
we do pay to go there.
We do pay for our permits,
we do pay to come in,
we do pay for our drinks,
if we decide to
purchase them ourself.
And we do have to pay to leave.
For me, honestly, there
have been times that I
haven't made the money back
that I spent to come in there.
- Stripping has become so
famous, instead of infamous.
Little girls are in high school,
saying they wanna
jump straight off
the stage and go straight
to the strip club.
- And they do.
- Well, that's where we come in.
As soon as Maliah
is old enough to
ask me or she feels like,
I'm going to be honest with her
because I feel like this is
just the entertainment industry.
I think the earlier
you talk to your
kids about that
and explain to them
that it's just entertainment,
the easier it becomes
for everybody involved.
- So many young girls
write me on Instagram, DM me,
"oh, I wanna come to your club,
you be making money. I
like the way you dress."
This, that and the third.
Then, they come
there. All they do is
buy the most expensive outfit,
get they make-up done by the
same person, get
they hair pressed.
- And smoke hookah.
- And take a picture
in the mirror,
then smoke hookah all night,
don't make a damn dollar.
- They don't know, we started
out with them $19.99 outfits.
- I don't feel like the
girls are really being real.
I think they're kinda
like, making themselves
out to be these glamorous,
money-making strippers,
which is cool, but honestly,
I wanna keep it real, I wanna,
make people understand
the reality.
There has to be an
exit strategy because
where do you get to speak
to these girls and say,
"hey, you gotta leave out."
But you're still in there?
You guys have a cut off,
I'm done,
January,
15th,
2000,
and.
- I don't have no age, you can
strip as long as you want to,
'cause I feel like
if you fine at 45,
you can go in there and hit
it, go in there and get it.
- You could say what
you want about me
in the club, you
could do whatever.
At the end of the
day, it boils down to,
suck my dick, where's the money?
- So, I have a question
between everybody.
I've been modeling
for the last 15 years,
but I never wanted to be labeled
as the model that's a stripper,
every stripper is
a model, you know?
What would your guys'
advice for me, be?
To come out, to
really try to pursue,
to be international with it?
- You're ready for runway,
you're ready for all that.
I would just keep going forward.
- If we gon' just keep
it all the way 100,
there's not ever gon' ever,
if people know you dance,
it's not gonna ever, you're
never gonna get away from that.
- I respect everything
that everybody's saying,
but none of that really matters.
We can't really
talk to you about
the models, the highway,
the high-fashion shit
'cause none of us really do it.
It's your confidence,
shake your hand,
then it's your network.
And speaking of network,
I know Derek Blanks, girl!
He's a photographer
and I feel like
it'll be great for
you to meet him,
with your pretty face,
and he's having a party.
I think we should all get
cute and go to the party.
Keep drinking.
What y'all feeling like?
Y'all wanna go?
And you gon' meet more
models and everything.
- Let's toast, then,
before you leave.
- He gon' wanna have anal
sex with you and he's not gay.
- Huh?
- He gon wanna have anal sex.
- Who?
- Your man.
- I will do anal
sex! He can fuck me
in my ass, but I'm not
fucking him in his!
- It's strictly gon
be that or that,
like I told him, I'm a tri-sexual,
I will try anything once.
So, if nigga wanna
get fucked, I will
put the strap on and
handle that.
I'm going to handle it like
the dick is attached to me.
Period, but, that is
as far as that goes.
- That is far!
That is not as far as it goes!
Bitch, that is far,
that is all the way far!
- We are VIP all day, all
night, everywhere we go.
Very Important Person coming
through, step aside, people!
- Derek's party was amazing.
I just felt that it
was a little rushed
and I really couldn't
hear him when
I was introducing myself to him.
I really wish I could sit
down with him one on one.
- Oh my gosh, he's
one of the most
amazing photographers
in Atlanta.
I'm so excited that
we're just in the
mix with all these great people.
- This season
on "Beyond The Pole."
- Sex sells.
It's a billion dollar industry.
- I live by two things:
I say, don't touch me
and don't touch my money.
- You get addicted
to the fast money
and then, you don't
ever wanna stop.
- So, are you planning on
stopping any time soon?
- I gave myself,
maybe, another year?
But I gotta stack them chips
up, first, before I leave out.
- There has
to be an exit strategy
because, where do you get to
speak to these girls and say,
"hey, you gotta leave out."
But you're still in there?
- The only one thing,
or maybe two things,
that I would say that
you should take with you
from the life of
being an exotic dancer
is your hustle and your heart.
- Every one of us have
some underlying issues.
- For me, I do have to,
drink, to find my alter ego.
- Any anger, any bitterness,
I want you to call it out.
- This is for my
dad passing away.
This is for cancer.
My struggle.
- I was actually
diagnosed with Melanoma.
I have stage two skin cancer.
- Does your son
know you're here?
- He sees me count my money,
he sees my big ol' shoes.
You know, I don't wanna hide it.
- My daughter, she's
16 now and I don't,
I'm gonna eventually tell her.
- You don't think
she knows, though?
- No, 'cause girl, when
I leave out the house,
I have on my scrubs.
- I don't have a permit,
I can't go dance.
I'm not about to go escort,
I'm not about to go sell drugs.
At this point, if I
can't find somewhere
to lay my head at
night, it's just,
I'm trying.
- I think I got a
solution to your problem.
- I want an open marriage!
Sus, let me hold your hair
back while you suck the dick!
You know what I'm saying?
- You gotta keep
putting out your tongue
every time you gotta
think about it?
- That's how I suck on my straw.
- I bet you do.
- What do you guys think
about speed dating?
- You wear gray sweatpants
or basketball shorts?
- You're out of control.
- I've made millions of dollars
and coached over 12 people
to millionaire-status,
I'm not about to debate
with you, you or nobody.
- I'm 'bout to get
my bag, for real.
Y'all can take this mic
off me, I'm finna go.
- And from there, it just.
- See, you don't wanna listen.
- Girl, listen, I'm not
'bout to do this with you.
- Or she didn't have
the right answer
and from there, it just.
- I'll have you
not being able to
go to the strip club
and get no coins!
'Cause I'll have a
motherfucker fuck you up
every goddamn day you go
to the motherfuckin' club!
- Let her go!
- Believe that!
- They was just, oh,
my God, I don't know.
- Listen, reality show people,
I will fuck me a motherfucker
up, believe that!
- I want y'all to
know that, for real.
I'm a coach, I love the
Lord with all my heart,
but I will kick me a
motherfucker ass, okay?
And ask God to forgive me when
I'm motherfucking finished!
- First of all, I put
myself in this environment,
I can take myself out
of this environment.
- Okay, babe, get your friends
out my house, goodnight.
- I don't need to
be rescued and I
definitely don't need
her to rescue me.
- What's the average income
per day, like for real?
- At least $1000.
- Okay, so when we
getting together again,
so I can show y'all
how to make more
than that and keep
your clothes on?
- In or out,
baby. It's your choice.
- What made you want
to do this show?
- Rhonda Cowen and Ed
Woods, rest in peace,
- Yes.
- Said, "we have a
guy, Mark, who has this
concept about doing a
show about strippers."
- I had my vision of
what I wanted to do
to give the dancers a platform,
talk about their
struggles and Woods said,
"I got the right
person for the job!"
And, he brought Shante in.
- I knew Shante from
the music business.
At first, we bumped heads.
- What!?
- I was just about to
question that, go ahead.
- With this show,
I said to Mark,
"It really has to have a
redemption factor for me.
'Cause I'm at a point
of my life where,
I just can't do just anything.
- So, when Shante
told you that she
wanted to have a redemption
factor in the show,
how did you feel about that?
- First of all, I
believe in redemption,
but I was concerned how it
would affect the eyeballs.
Everybody don't wanna
hear a ghetto story.
Or what your ghetto story is
that got you to this point.
So, that was my worry.
- I'm the type of girl that
would go to a club and be like,
"why do you strip? What
makes you do this?"
I'm that girl!
Then they'll be like, "can
you stop talking to them!?
They're dancing for us!"
I really wanna know.
- Of everything
that you could do,
what made you wanna do
a show about strippers?
- What could make a girl,
take all her clothes
off in front of someone,
that she don't even know?
What happened in
her life, you know?
Where was the void?
And I was intrigued by that.
- I really want
to let young girls
know that there's
a price, you know?
It's not the glitz
and the glamour.
Sometimes, they
don't make anything.
And I don't think
young girls know that.
- Okay.
- Okay, so we're good?
- Yup!
- Okay.