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LONDON’S SMALLEST STRIPPER ︎





Not letting men overstep their boundaries, earning doing what you love and having the whole day free sounds like an unachievable dream. Except when you’re a young stripper that can actually have all that and define herself successful with the fiercest confidence.





WHAT’S YOUR NAME AND WHAT DO YOU DO?


My name is Asia and I’m a stripper, but at work everyone calls me Victoria.

WHAT’S YOUR TYPICAL DAY?


A typical day starts at 11am for me. I usually wake up, force myself to eat and then plan my day. I’m quite lucky because my job offers a lot of flexibility, so every day is different. I usually go food shopping, to the nail shop or see my friends. At around 6pm I start getting ready for work, I shower, shave and pack my bag. I do most of my makeup at work in a crowded changing room like most of my colleagues and pray I can find a chair where the good lighting is. At 9pm the club doors open and I start work. It’s usually very quiet and boring at first, so I just sit on Instagram until customers walk in.


WHAT DO YOU GET ASKED ABOUT THE MOST?


Unfortunately it’s usually boring questions about how much I make. I find it insensitive because people usually respect other people’s privacy, but when it comes to stripping a lot of the questions become impersonal. I get asked a lot about how far I go with customers and whether or not I have sex with them. My response usually involves a lecture about minding their own business.

WORST CUSTOMER YOU HAVE CAME ACROSS?


A well respected investment banker. He seemed like the least likely person to disrespect you and yet he was one of the worst people I’ve met in the club. Most horrible customers only show their face in your club once. However, every so often you get a customer who wants to be your regular, but has every intention to make the process difficult for some reason. This man was an investment banker in Canary Wharf so he wasn’t short on money, and yet felt the need to try to haggle my prices down at every opportunity. He quickly learnt I had no patience for him and would always eventually pay, especially if I started ignoring him. Anyways, the worst thing he did, which a lot of men do and deny, is overstepping my physical boundaries. Sadly this happens to a lot of sex workers.





BEST CUSTOMER YOU HAVE COME ACROSS?


A loud American who bought me drinks within the first 30 seconds of knowing him. He was a scientist of some sort and we spoke for hours about how the universe is one big simulation and that there are aliens out there playing us like sims. He even tipped me at the end without me having to ask. I wish all my customers were more like him.

HOW HAS BEING IN YOUR INDUSTRY CHANGED YOUR VIEW OF THE WORLD?


My view of the world is a lot more realistic now, let’s put it that way. I understand people a lot more. Having to communicate with business men and strippers from across the world has made me realise how quickly someone is willing to fuck you over for money. It has also taught me that anyone who puts money before people is usually miserable.


HOW DO YOU DEFINE SUCCESS?


Success is balance. In life you constantly have to balance between two extremes. Having humility, but not letting people take advantage; trying to balance between having charisma and not being an asshole. It can be hard to figure out how much of everything you need. When you learn how to balance these things with a level head is what success looks like to me.

ARE YOU SUCCESSFUL?


Yes. I still struggle with balancing certain concepts, I tend to be very harsh with myself, but I’m learning.





IF YOU COULD GIVE ONE PIECE OF ADVICE WHAT WOULD IT BE?


Try. Trying is the hardest part. Actually getting up and putting effort into something that will most likely fail before it succeeds is really difficult. But it’s necessary. Just remember people are a lot more insecure than you think, and everyone is busy thinking of themselves. No one cares if you fail because they’re preoccupied with their own thoughts. Just try again.





WORDS BY CHIARA IMAGES BY ANNA