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A fitness fanatic who lives a “double life" – working as an engineer by day and stripping off to entertain crowds by night – has told how he was inspired to take on his saucy second job by the film Magic Mike.
Influenced by Channing Tatum's handyman character, who also headlines an all-male strip group in the 2012 movie, Alex Hoskins, 26, of Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, set his sights on taking his clothes off for a living.
Then “skinny as hell" and with no dance experience, Alex spent hours bulking up in the gym and practicing his moves in the mirror to make his dream a reality.
Father to a six-year-old boy from a previous relationship, he said:
“I remember watching the 2012 film 'Magic Mike' for the first time and just falling in love with stripping."
“I really admired Channing Tatum's character. For me, it wasn't about the female attention he got, it was more about his performance and how he made sure to put on a good show for the crowds."
"I'd spend hours and hours in front of the mirror perfecting my moves."
Devoting equal time to honing his muscles, he has since won Mr. Inkings and M.r International Model titles at the Miami Pro Fitness Championships, in St. Albans, Hertfordshire, saying:
“As a teenager, I was skinny as hell and didn't have much confidence."
“When I started working out in the gym, my confidence grew and obviously my muscles did too."
“Now I work out at least six times a week and make sure I eat right – I'm a bit of a fitness fanatic."
He continued:
“But all the hard work is worth it, because I have my dream job and I get to perform in front of hundreds of people – which is just amazing."
As well as securing a starring role in 2015 as a stripper in Adonis Cabaret – a lively show offering everything from stripping to comedians and drag queens – Alex performs at private bachelorette and divorce parties and works as a “butler in the buff."
Dressing up at parties as characters ranging from Christian Grey from Fifty Shades of Grey to a police officer and a bull fighter, before stripping off, he said:
“Hen dos (bachelorette parties) can be difficult because you never know how the hen will react."
He added:
“Sometimes they've been too embarrassed to take part, so their friends volunteer to be the woman I seduce instead."
“But at divorce parties, where someone is celebrating being newly single, they tend to love a private strip show, so that is always a good laugh."
Alex does admit to being nervous before his first buff butler job at a charity event at a local nightclub when he was 21.
He said:
“At my first buff butler job I was so nervous, but I walked into the room with all the confidence I could muster—wearing nothing but a bowtie and an apron."
“I'd fake tanned and shaved everywhere so I felt confident that I looked good. And after the initial nerves wore off. I just loved it and knew it was the career for me."
Even though he loved his first experience, Alex, who was in college at the time, quickly realized he could not just rely on just taking his clothes off to make a living.
“As a buff butler I was earning less than minimum wage and I quickly realized I needed a fall back, because this line of work doesn't last forever," he said.
“So, I got myself a welding apprenticeship where I did industry qualifications before becoming a welding engineer."
“Now I work on helping to create medical vessels for vaccines and am actually working on one that may be used for the [virus] vaccine."
And Alex continues to take working two jobs in stride, despite it leaving little time to spend with his girlfriend, who he will not name, or his son.
“It can be hard to fit in enough quality time with my girlfriend and my son – but I manage," he said. “It's like I have a double life. During the week I do my day job and on Friday nights and at weekends I become Alex Gold, which is my stripping name."
“Luckily, the shows usually start a little later in the evening, so I get the chance to see my son before he goes to bed."
Earning a fair amount for each performance as a stripper did help him to save for a deposit for his dream home.
“I saved £10,000 (~$12,550) from stripping and butler in the buff work that I used to pay for a deposit for an amazing flat," he said. “So it's great to have the extra income – and now I can save more to put towards mine and my little boy's future."
And Alex admits that he laps up the attention when he performs with Adonis in front of crowds of up to 400 people.
He said:
“Every time you perform it can be a little bit daunting because you don't know how the crowd is going to react."
“You get some people who can't wait and others who aren't prepared for what's about to happen, so are mortified by what they see."
“But, don't get me wrong, I love the attention and I love putting on a show. Sometimes, though, when you're getting that much attention all at once it can be borderline scary."
To ensure he looks his best before every show, Alex has a grooming ritual he swears by.
“About 20 minutes before we go on stage, I start getting ready," he explained. “I have a shower, get changed and then I straighten my hair and then add VO5 powder clay to make sure it stays in place."
“I then use a bit of BB cream and bronzer on my face to finish my look. At the end of the day, I am an exhibitionist, and looking good is just as important as the routine. If I looked like a slob it would defeat the point, because we're supposed to be selling a fantasy."
And he still takes his lead from his favorite movie.
He said:
“With Adonis, we enter the stage in a similar way to 'Magic Mike' and the crowd can go a little crazy."
“From there, the show takes a 'Fifty Shades of Grey'-style turn. I have all sorts of props – like baby lotion that members of the crowd can rub into me or chocolate sauce for them to lick off my abs."
But Alex admits it can be quite hard to select the right person from the crowd to join him on stage.
“You really have to gauge it, you don't want to pick anyone who's a bit too tipsy or anyone who's too shy. You need someone in the middle and that can be quite hard to try and work out quickly," he said.
Meanwhile, any nerves he had about nudity disappeared a long time ago.
“I'm actually used to stripping completely nude now, it doesn't faze me," he said. “When I'm up on the stage I go into autopilot and just enjoy it. If I looked awkward it wouldn't really work."
He only feels embarrassed if he knows someone in the audience.
“When I first started stripping, I was also working as a kids' football coach," he said. “One Saturday night I'd performed at a local ladies' night and I didn't realize that loads of the mums of the kids I was teaching were at my show."
He added:
“That was a little awkward on Sunday morning at football training!"
And even though his current career comes with hordes of female admirers, Alex is strictly “off the market."
“I actually met my girlfriend at a ladies' night," he said. “So, she already knew what my job was and how it worked. We didn't really have to have much of a conversation about it. She doesn't mind at all. She understands it's just a job."
He added:
“I think the hardest thing for her is the awkward hours I have to work."
But now, with the pandemic preventing Alex from performing live, he is entertaining his fans using the video calling app Zoom.
He said:
“Adonis Cabaret put the show on their website and it's been great. People can pay a small fee to watch me and other strippers, as well as drag queens perform."
He continued:
“At first it was weird performing in my own front room, I was like 'How on earth am I going to do this?' But I've practiced to make sure I get the right angles and my girlfriend has set up a ring of lights for me so the lighting is good."
“Sometimes we do individual shows and then we do fortnightly ladies' nights, called 'Girls Night In', a drag queen will usually introduce us and asks us questions and then we take it in turns to perform."
Alex is also in demand to strip at Zoom hen dos.
He said:
“The girl's will just be chatting and I'll appear out of nowhere and start performing, which can get quite a funny reactions."
“Lots of screams and shouts of 'Oh my god.' I'm getting more used to performing virtually now, but it doesn't have the same atmosphere."
“I enjoy the thrill of performing for a crowd and can't wait to get back to taking my clothes off in real life again."
For information visit www.adoniscabaret.co.uk or @alex.hoskins on Instagram.