A LOCAL businessman is boldly going where no Cork strip club owner has gone before as he prepares to audition male dancers.

Sean Walsh announced that interviews for a dancer role are taking place at his establishment, Fallen Angels, on Leitrim Street. He said the female dancers will put the male auditionees through their paces.

“The girls will be checking out their dance moves as they have more of an idea about timing and rhythm. I’ll then be sitting down with them for an interview,” he explained.

“For us, it’s not just about the body. The guy will need to have personality too. Personality always wins out.”

Seán decided to make some changes after taking over a gentleman’s club in the city’s Leitrim Street almost six months ago.

The owner of the club, now known as Fallen Angels, confessed that security measures were tightened as a result of the new male performer.

“If a male customer comes in and is told to sit on his hands he will literally do just that. The women that come here tend to be a lot less restrained,” he said.

“That’s why we needed someone with experience. We didn’t want a novice. I think every guy secretly has a wild fantasy of stripping but when you are faced with a room full of screaming women the reality is a lot different,” he added.

He said his clientele is evolving all the time: “We are getting a more diverse range of people now. In the last few weeks, I’ve seen a good few couples and women too.”

This won’t be the first male dancer to have graced the stage of Fallen Angels.

“We didn’t get much of a response when we advertised for our first male dancer. I approached a friend of a friend through Facebook. He was from Cork and handsome. It wasn’t long before his modelling career took off and we were left looking for someone else.”

Sean listed his reasons for hiring a male dancer.

“We are equal. We have the same rights so I thought why not give the ladies the opportunity to enjoy adult entertainment too,” he said.

While Seán is taking steps to cater for the female market, he predicts most of his customers will always be male.

“Women are definitely less visual than men. I don’t think the balance of genders to visit the club will ever be 50/50. Our previous male dancer was really for hen nights or other celebrations so he performs in a private room,” he said.

“I’m not sure how the male punters would react to seeing another man stripping when they walk through the door.”

The Corkman said he wants to remove the seediness associated with gentleman’s clubs.

“I’ve seen the awful way clubs can be mismanaged. If you come into the club any night of the week you will see that the girls have a natural smile on their face,” he said.

“Knowing that my staff are happy is so important to me. You hear of things going on behind closed doors. I want to take away those doors so there is nothing to look behind.

“There is nothing wrong with having an attraction for the opposite sex or even the same sex, depending on your sexual orientation.”