Just hours before their show at a Best Western in Hagerstown, Maryland, where would you think the Chippendales' East Coast touring team is? In their rooms? Enjoying dinner in a private dining room of a fine restaurant?
Actually, they're standing in the middle of the lobby and talking on their cell phones. And if the tight black leather pants with the silver Armani Exchange belt buckles and muscular, toned bodies don't tip off the rest of the guests as to who they are, the t-shirts emblazoned with the Chippendale logo and the posters in the lobby area are a dead give-away that they are in the presence of the Ultimate Girls Night Out.
Such a public presence is rare for celebrities and entertainers. Imagine going to a New York Yankees game and seeing Derek Jeter in full uniform enjoying a hot dog at the concession stands. Or going to a Rolling Stones concert and seeing Mick Jagger standing outside the arena in his trademark baggy white shirt. Yet oddly, though these men get the wide-eyed stares and awe of every woman who walks by, none come up to them, as if intimidated by their legend and mystique. It's not that these ladies haven't seen beefcake, and likely other male strippers before, but there is a difference between even the best minor league hockey teams and the NHL for both the fans and the men.
"Being a Chippendale means you have the honor of wearing the name itself," says Bobby Kerecz, who not only dances, but sings as part of the Chippendales East Coast traveling show. "To represent the company means that you're the celebrity or a movie star in this industry. There are other dance groups out there, and some of them are good, but no one can top the name Chippendale,' the elite name in male entertainment. It's an honor to wear the name, because it shows that you've made it to the top."
That the Chippendales are still the champions will be obvious come showtime, the same time that the women's shyness wears off. That's when those who have paid up to $40 to see them will have dollar bills in hand for the opportunity to see them up close and personal. After the show, they'll pay $10 for a Polaroid photo of themselves with the dancers. Maybe another $20 or so for a calendar, a DVD, or a teddy bear. Maybe some of them will pay $35 for an official replica set of the team's trademark cuffs-and-collar set for fantasy night with their boyfriend or husband.
But for these few minutes, which sometimes appear to be what passes for a Chippendale's leisure time, the dancers can walk through the lobby to get ready for their show. Physically getting from Cleveland , where they preformed the night before, to Hagerstown took approximately three hours. How Kerecz and his teammates actually got there, and how they hope they'll eventually end up at 36 degrees north latitude and 115 degrees west longitude, is the real story.
*
"I actually wanted to be a fireman when I was a child."
Ironically, 18-year veteran Michael Hammond got his wish, as he's the lead dancer in a fireman-themed segment of the show, as well as the team's road choreographer, helping dancers keep their routines crisp and tight.
Hammond's draws from a lifetime of experience that started when he was 11 years old after he became part of a growing break dancing scene, which set the stage for his future.
"I started with a (break dancing) crew and I'd put together routines for them," he said. "As I got older, I would enter dance contests and that's what really got me into it. It just spun from there."
Hammond would go on to win these contests as a youth, which helped him in a new hobby: girls. He knew he'd be dancing, but it wasn't until he was a teenager that he saw the Holy Grail and the perfect opportunity to fuse his two favorite teenage pastimes.
"I used to go into Spencer's Gifts and see the posters of the girls that we'd flip through," he said. "But I also saw the posters of the Chippendales and they'd sell our merchandise back then. I remember being a kid and thinking Man, it would be so cool to be one of those guys.' They were all buff and all the girls wanted them. When you're young that's all you think about and they just got all the girls. My friends would razz me in a good way, but they would want to do the same thing. Line up 100 guys and ask them if they'd want to be a Chippendale, 99 of them would say yes."
One of those 99 is Kevin West, described by show emcees as the "big boy" of the team, and a man whose career path makes him uniquely qualified for the Chippendales. And his time with the Chippendales may make him uniquely qualified for his next career path.
Buff bodies are in West's bloodline, as he's the son of a bodybuilder. Starting at age 14, West dedicated himself to the sport as a means of imitating and bonding with his father. It also foreshadowed his future career as like Hammond, West was attracted to the glamour, the girls and the prestige of the Chippendales.
"I don't know exactly what it was," he said. "I knew that even then, Chippendale was a household name, especially in this country. I first heard of them when I was ten. I'd see them on talk shows and profiles of them on "True Hollywood Story" and I thought about how incredible those guys looked and how they were living the life. I just always knew that was something I wanted to be."
Until he got his chance at the Chippendales, West found another outlet for his outgoing personality and thirst for fun.
"I always wanted to be in the nightclub business," he said. "After high school, I was working in bars and clubs and a bouncer and a bar back. That's what I wanted to do, but I got sidetracked by dancing. So I'm now performing in the clubs rather than managing them."
Hammond says that West's Chippendales time will be good training for him.
"I've been doing this for a long time and I'm constantly in different facilities, different venues and dealing with different owners, managers, agents," he said. "It's good training to work in that type of atmosphere in the future. You can't do this forever, so what do you do after that? Doing what we do can also help you in your future career."
West says that he hopes that future will also include a family, but with the average Chippendale traveling 12 months out of the year, now is not the time.
"I think I'd like a family some day," he said. "But it would be unfair right now, because it would be a difficult thing. You have to find someone who can deal with you being on the road and the business. They're hard to find. It takes a unique person to be able to do that. And a very good cell phone plan."
West started out dancing for smaller male revues in his native Las Vegas , where dancers are always in demand. But though work was easy to find, he wasn't quite satisfied where he was and when he was accepted by the Chippendales, he was eager though nervous.
"I'd been performing for six years prior so I wasn't new to this," he said. "But the Chippendales is at a much higher level, the best of the best. So I was definitely nervous. I didn't want us to mess up the routines that I'd been working on for months prior. So there were butterflies in the stomach.
"When you walk on stage you see these women's eyes on you at all times. It's a great feeling knowing that you're entertaining them. They come to see you and you don't want to disappoint them. That's one thing we pride ourselves on is that we're top-notch."
Hammond has high marks for West and says he will be a star if he remembers one piece of advice.
"Don't get caught up in the business," he said. "Make sure you remember who you are. You do get a lot of attention and you do get to go a lot of places. And since there are only 38 of us in the entire world, that tends to go to some people's heads. The main thing is not to let the business do that to you."
To get to Las Vegas, London or Paris of course, a Chippendale has to get to Hagerstown, Johnstown, and Winchester. And that's not easy, either.
*
Only 38 men wear the bowtie and cuffs for the Chippendales, who have a standing engagement at the Rio in Las Vegas, as well as touring teams on both coasts and in Europe. And while the U.S. Marines are looking for a few good men, the Chippendales are looking for a very few outstanding men. Ironically, the path to Las Vegas begins...in Las Vegas.
The first Tuesday of every month is where a few dreams are made and many, many more are shattered. It's the monthly tryout day at the Chippendale Theater in the Rio Hotel and Casino, a male dancer's Judgement Day. Every year, hundreds of men send their photos and applications to the Chippendales' New York business office to answer their call for new talent as lead dancers, vocalists, announcers, and seat escorts.
The challenge is answered by men of all races, nationalities, sizes, body types, ages and backgrounds. They range from recent high school graduates to men beginning their mid-life crisis, former football players and former medical school students. Men who have served their country on the front lines in Iraq and men who have served their customers behind the counter at the auto parts store.
The variance in personalities, backgrounds, and also race and ethnicity is an important factor in the Chippendales' success.
"It's very important," said tour manager Devin Michaels, a native Hawaiian who also emcees the show and dances. "It shows that the Chippendales is a variety of guys from every race out there. The more variety of guys out there the better. The women want to see a variety of guys, not the same type of guys. When we do shows, a lot of African-American fans say they want to see African-American dancers. It gives anybody the message that if they work hard they can be a Chippendale."
The one common denominator to everyone who applies is that while so many answer the challenge, very few will meet it.
"It starts with a room with about 150 or 200 guys," said West. "Good looking, good physiques. But within the first hour most of those guys were gone because if you can't hold a beat, we can't use you no matter how good looking you are. Only about two spots a year are open because once a guy gets a spot, he holds onto it as long as possible."
In other words, even for a Chippendale, looks aren't everything.
"There is a combination of things," Hammond said. "Looks are obviously a factor, a nice face, a good physique. But dance ability is a definite plus, because everything is choreographed. If you can't dance, you're not going to make it."
At the audition, besides getting a go-over for eye easiness, candidates are interviewed to weed out those with subpar personalities. Then the real work begins, as applicants also have to memorize and then perform a choreographed dance routine, one of untold routines a dancer will have to memorize during his career.
For the lucky few who win a spot on the team, the rewards - adulation, money, fame - come with a price. They're not called "touring" teams because it fits on the business cards.
But while the dancers log the road miles, tour managers like Michaels have it even tougher. Besides serving as the show's announcer and a featured dancer, it's Michaels' job to make sure everything is set for the show.
This begins the week of the show, when Michaels contacts the club's owner and manager for hotel information, set-up time, dressing room specifics, and rehearsal time. Once those details are settled, the men are dismissed to allow themselves time to hit the gym, lie under a tanning bed, whatever they need to do until its time for the team to eat dinner. The Chippendales normally arrive at the club about 90 minutes before showtime, giving them time to set up the music system and allow Michaels to go over the music that they will be using and the routines, which sometimes have to be changed to fit local laws regarding nudity.
"It depends on the region," Hammond said. "Each place is different and has different laws. The South is great for its hospitality, but a lot of the places in the South have old rules that haven't been updated. So they just apply the laws they use for female nudity to us and we have to adjust our shows to those. Sometimes we have to wear boxers or the women can't touch you."
But for those who can survive tours in which the team can go up to a month without a day off, they become part of a band of brothers. A band that supports each other, helps each other, and occasionally break the tension with a prank or two.
"They usually don't give me any problems because I'm the biggest man on the team," laughs West. "But once in a while, we'll do something like pick out a guy who's having a little trouble with his diet and put a bag outside his door with some donuts. You just know he wants to eat them, but he knows he can't. He'll laugh it off and it breaks the tension."
"But we're like brothers, like family. We see each other more than we see our own family, in fact. We have our differences, every team does. But when the day ends, we all respect each other. We all have egos, but you don't want a rift between seven guys that depend on each other."
Especially when the fans depend on them.
*
Since 1979, the team has entertained millions of women with over 2,000 shows in small towns and major cities across the world. For many women, it's a chance to let off some steam from a tough week's work. For others, it's a time to celebrate a wedding, engagement, birthday, divorce, or just time out with their friends. For others who are lonely or feel neglected by their husbands or boyfriends, it's an opportunity to get some attention from a sexy man.
The fanbase of an average college or professional sports team may number into the millions worldwide, likely surpassing that of the Chippendales, but there are some important differences.
There are many Notre Dame football fans who have followed the team for decades without seeing a game. There are an equal number of Penn State fans who have sat in Beaver Stadium for years and never once met Joe Paterno. To them, the connection with their team is one of great fervor, but one practiced at a distance.
The Chippendales do their best to eliminate distance between them and their fans, both during the show when women commonly get up-close with them on-stage and in the audience, and afterwards, when the team makes itself accessible to their fans and try to extend a night out as long as possible and in doing so, create a bond stronger than that of just a performer and a paying customer. To many of their fans, seeing the team in action over and over again makes them more than just a bunch of dancers, but something that takes the best features of a trusted friend and a beloved family member.
"They respect their fans no matter if you're big, small, white, brown, whatever," said Bianca de Ruijter, who once rewarded her favorite men with a gift of a keychain from her home country of Belgium. "I am not only a fan but also a good friend to my favorite men of the Chippendales."
"I could probably do the skits with the guys," said Julie, a Michigan native who has seen them perform in several states and on cruises. "It's always something new at the show and always entertaining no matter how many times you see it. The guys are real special and people don't realize what they go through to perform each show and some think of them as just strippers when they are actually entertainers and doing skits during the show. Their job is a 24/7 job."
The Chippendales may have their biggest shows in Las Vegas and may be based corporately in New York State, but the capital of the Chippendale Nation is at www.chippendales.com. While it isn't unusual these days for teams and performers to use their websites as an access point for fans, the Chippendale fans use the site, especially the forum section, as a daily corner table to discuss the shows, catch up on each other's lives, exchange photos, and talk about their favorite dancers. And it seems like everyone has one.
"Firebrand" has photos of Kaleb Art and Garrett Plante on her forum profile. "Momma" wears her heart on her sleeve with an avatar featuring photos of Hammond, while "heidiwit" uses Kevin Denberg, who is not only a Vegas-show dancer but the team's executive director.
How's that for a hands-on boss?
"The women are what makes us," Art says while texting his family before a show. "Without them, we'd be nothing. I've always said that there's nothing better than making an 80-year old woman laugh and feel like she's 18 again. That's just awesome."
Art is one of the team's most popular members and his image is often used in the team's promotional literature and merchandise, but his demeanor suggests someone who is simply thankful for the opportunity to entertain the fans.
"It's humbling," he said. "Just to be respected by women because they're beautiful creatures. They're our fans as well as our friends. When they come to support us, we're supporting them as well. It's a great relationship."
Three years ago, the Chippendales discovered they may in fact have some very influential fans during a White House Correspondents' Dinner when First Lady Laura Bush joked that one night after President Bush had gone to bed, she took in one of their shows with Vice President Dick Cheney's wife, Lynne Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and White House legal counsel Karen Hughes.
"I wouldn't even mention it, except (Supreme Court justices) Ruth Ginsberg and Sandra Day O'Connor saw us there," she said. "I won't tell you what happened, but Lynne's secret service code name is now Dollar Bill.'"
Though women still make up the overwhelming percentage of the team's fan base, a surprisingly growing number of men have found themselves coming to shows with their wives or girlfriends. But despite the team's best efforts, acceptance from men is still a hard-fought battle. Certainly, it would be wise for them to turn down any invitations to go hunting with Vice President Dick Cheney, and sometimes even fathers need to be won over. Kerecz says that like most parents, his mother was thrilled to learn that he was a Chippendale. His father, not so much.
"I have to admit my dad wasn't too keen on it until he actually came to one of our shows," he said. "But most men don't really know what one of our shows is about. They think of it as just a strip show, but we're there to entertain. When a man sees our show and all that goes into it, they think we're pretty cool."
Those who do attend discover that the show is not the basic bump-and-grind and gratuitous nudity they may have expected, but a tightly-choreographed, well-produced show that rivals anything on Broadway.
"Class, professionalism and entertainment is what we pride ourselves on," Hammond said. "That's why we have choreographers teach us the routines we do. The ones we work with have worked with Michael Jackson, Brittany Spears, most of the major boy bands. They pride themselves on helping us separate ourselves from a typical male revue."
Another surprise that many fans see when attending their first Chippendales show is the musical quality of the show's singers like Kerecz.
Kerecz describes his style as "mostly old rhythm and blues, but I was raised on rock. I try to blend the feeling of R&B with the excitement of rock and roll."
"Our main show is in Las Vegas and since it is Vegas, that show is a lot more of a production," he said. "So when we do shows with a live singer, it makes them more exciting. When you think of Vegas, you think of glitz and glamour and big shows, so we try to bring a little of that on the road with us."
For Kerecz, singing gives him the chance to enjoy all the traditional benefits of being one of the world's sexiest entertainers, with the added joy of fulfilling a dream.
"I've been singing all my life," he said. "In high school, I was in the talent shows and musicals. I got signed to a record contract for a company in my hometown, but they went out of business soon after. I've just always been fascinated with singing and I wanted to do that for a living."
Being a Chippendale means a constant supply of fans and admirers, though Hammond admits they are usually not as interested in the person as they are the image and the name.
"That's a tradeoff when you're in the entertainment business," Hammond said. "They want to know about the Chippendale. They want to know about that person, not the person you are. It's exciting to them to know the person they see on stage, not the one who kicks back on the couch and watches television afterwards."
Once they get to know the man under the collar, they never forget them.
"I was vacationing in Orlando at Universal Studios and a girl from one of our Puerto Rico shows recognized me and came up to me," West said. "She asked for my autograph and to take a picture. It was a good feeling."
But even after over 2,000 shows, there are some fans that are impossible to forget. Or even want to.
One of West's favorite fans is a young woman suffering from cerebral palsy who has become a red hot fan of the Chippendales, and who the team has taken a special liking to.
"She's very tiny, very fragile, yet she's one of our biggest fans," he says. "She comes with her nurse, her mother, to any show she can. And just to see the smile on her face when she sees us is just incredible. It really makes her day. Her family has told our corporate office that we're keeping her alive. Just to have someone say that really touches you."
Besides attending shows for four years, the woman has defied doctor's expectations by enjoying one of the team's cruises with them.
"For her to come on the cruise with us like that was a really major thing for her," Hammond says. "She actually got a little ill from the travel, but when she saw us she was fine. When she first came to one of our shows, she was on the verge of not making it. But after her first show, she just started getting better, and better, and better. You can't put a price on that."
For the Chippendales, the enjoyment they bring to fans like those more than makes up for the problems that come with being a Chippendale. And those problems are legion.
*
Being a Chippendale means touring the world and being the object of hundreds of women's desires and fantasies every night.
But when that desire crosses the line, fans become fanatics and the hazards are very real.
Hammond says that more than once a Chippendale will face being scratched and bruised by overeager women, and often faces having their outfits pulled off. It may sound fun to many men, but when it happens onstage, West says it can be a scary situation.
"Sometimes the women do get a little overaggressive," West said. "I know they're there to have a good time, but there are times we've had to have security to step in, especially when alcohol is involved. We don't take it personally, but sometimes we do have to have someone step in."
And if you think a Chippendale's fans can be a problem, consider a case in Texas in 2007 in which a male stripper was attacked, beaten and stabbed to death outside a bachelorette party in a private home by a boyfriend who felt the dancer took too many liberties with his girlfriend.
Ironically, several Chippendales were arrested during a performance in a club in Lubbock, Texas in February 2007 after police allege that their dancing was intended to cause "sexual gratification," though the county district attorney refused to press charges against them.
Jealousy is a much greater part of the hazards of being a Chippendale than violence is.
"We've had a couple of vandalism situations," Hammond said. "They'd learn what vehicle we drive and they'd damage it. As far as individuals, I've never had a problem. After the shows, the clubs usually let the general population in and usually you get some guys who get beer muscles and they'll call us names, usually saying we're gay or something, because they're jealous or insecure. You're going to have that when a guy walks into the room and sees all the girls hanging out with us. But it never gets violent."
Physical aggression aside, the Chippendales have come under fire not just by religious organizations, but by the growing "men's movement" who say the team benefits from a reverse double standard.
The movement wonders why women who write letters of protest to Sports Illustrated for its annual swimsuit issue for exploiting women sexually or accuse Barbie dolls of perpetuating an unfair body image don't have those kind of concerns over the Chippendales or any other male beefcake.
Hammond acknowledges those feeling of unfairness, but say that those who think the team is getting a free pass are wrong.
"We tour what is called the Bible Belt, so we get a lot more of that than one would think," Hammond said. "There are a lot of groups that don't want us there. We've done shows where they've come with picket signs. But those are extremists. I'm Catholic, but I was taught that thou shalt not judge."
But Hammond wonders if the Chippendales are to blame, or is the public's selective outrage and own double standards over sexuality the real issue?
"The way society is, and it's not right, is that when women pose like they do for the swimsuit issue, they get looked at as easy or immoral," he said. "When a guy does it, it's cool and he's a stud. That's how society looks at it. We don't get it as much as women do, and it really isn't fair."
But for the men who may still feel apprehensive in allowing their significant others to catch a show, Art offers this piece of encouragement.
"We may put the air in a woman's tires and put gas in her tank, but they're the ones who get to drive the car," he says with a wink.
Even in the face of criticism, it might seem that the Chippendales like everyone. That's not quite true. There is one group of people that don't care for the team, and in this case, the team feels double the same way about them.
*
Like the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, the Chippendales are not just a name, but they have come to represent the elite of their kind. When someone says "professional wrestling," the first brand that comes to mind is World Wrestling Entertainment. Say "motorcycles," and thoughts turn to Harley Davidson.
Few brand names carry that kind of impact, but the Chippendales certainly do. Besides being the most widely-known male dancers on Earth, they have transcended that name to become the symbol of the entire industry. Whenever a television show or movie, from "NCIS" to "The Flintstones," wants to portray a male dancer, odds are very good that he'll be wearing the bowtie and black tights.
But while imitation is the highest form of flattery, the Chippendales are not flattered by a growing number of imitators who have tried to use their name and trademark attire to make a less-than-honest dollar by portraying themselves as the Chippendales. Aside from Ben-Gay in their g-strings, there seems to be nothing that irritates a Chippendale personally more than these phonies.
On their website, the team proudly boasts of their victories over such violators, from Internet address squatters to dance teams that use a variation of their name or even portray themselves as members of the Chippendales. One such violator has portrayed himself and his colleagues as Chippendales in an area stretching from Pennsylvania to Virginia and has continued to do so despite court ruling against him.
When such violators are stopped, they leave behind hundreds of disappointed fans and an embarrassed club owner who is sometimes out a great deal of money. When they aren't, they often perform a lackluster show far from worthy of the Chippendale name.
"We'll get this guy again and this time, we want jail time for this guy," Hammond promises. "What these shows do is they bring our product down. These are lousy shows and the women who go to these think this is what a real Chippendales show looks like and the word of mouth runs us down that it was a bad performance. So it screws up our crowd because they think our performances are either not worth seeing or a fake show, so they don't attend."
And the Chippendales have also faced problems with counterfeit merchandise, an issue which indirectly led to the formation of the touring team at a time when discussions were underway to create the team in 2001.
"We were in a meeting in New York City with the owners of Chippendales getting our license," Hammond said. "Just as we're there, a UPS guy comes in with a huge package. Two days before that, I got word that the package was coming stuffed with fraudulent merchandise from a friend of mine who had just quit this bogus group. I told the corporation I knew exactly what was in the package. Sure enough, all that stuff was in there."
Hammond says a fan's best defense against being cheated on either count is to log onto their website, which lists the real team's touring schedule and is the best bet for authentic Chippendales gear.
The website also allows those who learn of bogus Chippendale acts to report these violators. Should the information lead to the stoppage of a false event, the person qualifies for free tickets to a real Chippendales show.
And more than qualifies for their gratitude.
"Anyone who pays for a ticket expecting to see the Chippendales has the right, like someone purchasing a ticket for the Super Bowl or a rock concert, to know that they are getting what they paid for," Hammond said.
No matter what it takes.
*
Even with all the team's hard work and preparation, there are still no guarantees that something won't throw a monkey wrench into the works, because like with any live event, there are a lot of factors out there that can. And some nights, like tonight, they all score a bull's-eye at once.
The show's starting time is 8:30 p.m., though the local newspaper, in its only mention of the event, listed the starting time at 9 p.m. (and gave the wrong location at that.). A torrential rainstorm is soaking the city, causing accidents. The show begins after 9 p.m. and the ballroom is still half-empty. Whole tables of VIP seats are empty and a few fans sit in the rear seats.
But as the show starts, Michaels has even more bad news for the 70 fans who did survive the tribulation.
Remember the local regulations that govern adult entertainment and nudity? Well, under the city of Hagerstown liquor laws, the team can only strip down to their spandex athletic shorts or they face jail time and fines. In addition, the women are not physically allowed to touch the dancers. The announcement is like telling the New England Patriots that for their next game, they will only be allowed to have seven men on the field and Tom Brady must play in handcuffs. The laws also force the team to drastically change their routine, cutting some parts short and eliminating some routines altogether.
The announcement goes over as one might expect, and even worse for the fans, Michaels is forced to make the announcement repeatedly during the show, leading one table of women to begin a chant of "refund" at one point.
Michaels blames part of the problem on a shakeup in the company's administration which led to the woman responsible for promotion being reassigned to a new position and a new person taking over and the communication breakdowns that come with such moves. He said that it wasn't until hours before the show that he received a list of the liquor laws with a large list of "don'ts" that had to be adhered to.
Yet being a champion is always playing to win, even if you have every excuse not to. And if nothing else, the Chippendales want to show that they're champions. Their show, though radically altered, is not lacking in energy and enthusiasm. Though they cannot strip down lower than their boxers (and they do so only once at the end of the show) and the women cannot touch them physically, the men get as close and personal as they can and still remain within the letter of the law. As an added bonus, though they announced the traditional ban on taking pictures before the event, they make no effort to enforce the ban during the event.
The team also engages in fan interaction, hosting "Chipp Shot," a dance contest on-stage for three lucky fans who compete to win a private "date" on-stage with three of the men. Though they remove nothing more than their shirts, it's more than enough for the excited winner, who is still pleased with her once-in-a-lifetime prize, as are the women who do get to tip the dancers three times during the event. Though they must hand the men their money, the appeal of a muscular, bronzed Chippendale almost, but not quite, in their laps is more than worth the investment.
Other parts of the show that were included include a tribute to the movie "Grease," where another lucky fan got to play Sandy to West's Danny, tributes to the New York City Firefighters and the United States Armed Forces, country music dance routines, and songs from Kerecz, classics ranging from Prince to Kool and the Gang's "Celebration," which ends the show.
And there is reason for celebration. Despite the bad promotion, the restrictions, the weather, and the other problems, the Chippendales have completely won over the audience who are screaming for more even as they line up for a once-in-a-lifetime photo with the men.
In appreciation, the team doesn't run for their rooms to rest up for the three-hour drive to West Virginia for the next night's show, instead inviting the audience to join them in the bar upstairs and encouraging them to pay the main team a visit at their home base at the Rio in Las Vegas.
Just six weeks later, the Chippendales return to the area as they're hosted by Gable's Night Club in Bunker Hill, WVa., a spot just over the Virginia border that hosts male dancers the last Friday of every month. This is not good news to Chippendale management. Perhaps still remembering the Hagerstown ordeal, they wonder if the regular male shows will hurt attendance and interest.
They need not have worried. It's one thing to see a good local rock band in your hometown; it's quite another to see Metallica.
This time, ads for the show have run in daily newspapers. The area's laws are much more relaxed. Ninety minutes before the show, the only empty seat in the house is in the men's room. Even before the show starts, the men are mingling with the fans. Chatting with old friends, making new friends, signing autographs, and selling their merchandise. This includes their new calendar, which is selling like ice water in the desert. Fans are even coughing up money to buy the companion DVD that shows how the calendar was put together.
And even Michaels has had a stroke of luck. Recently joining the tour is assistant tour manager, Tammy Cook. Besides taking some of the heat off of him, Michaels also feels that the female perspective she offers can be very important to helping the team retain its edge and its connection with the audience. And considering that the team has no road crew and must unload and set up their wardrobe and equipment themselves, every bit of help is appreciated.
At 9:43 p.m., the acid test comes when Michaels orders the disc jockey, "please start track one," the signal to start the show.
By the time the show starts, the fans are so fired up that Hammond, Art, Michaels and Kerecz, who for tonight are working without West but with veteran Jake Lauren and returning dancers Sergio Thomas and Jason Wilson, could stand up on stage and read from the day's obituaries and get a reaction. But with no fences in front of them, these stallions run free and wild with no changes and no disruptions to the act. This time, the jeans can, and do, come off and at times, even the boxers, leaving nothing between them and the women except a little bit of air and a small thong. Considering that the Bunker Hill show is just hours after the team has completed a nine-hour van trip up from the previous night's show in North Carolina, the energy they muster up is nothing short of supernatural.
In between routines, Hammond feels a little stiffness from the trip and leans backwards over a chair to try to eliminate it.
"Boy that feels good," he says with a sigh of relief and returns to the stage.
Wilson also finds a few minutes to relax during intermission, helping to sell Chippendale merchandise and talking football, praising his hometown Philadelphia Eagles' latest game, a close loss to the undefeated New England Patriots. Michaels is also taking it easy and openly praising the club's choice of 1980s hard rock and heavy metal as background music between sets.
Besides their normal routine, the team has added a new wrinkle called the "hot seat." The hot seat is a row of five chairs placed in the middle of the stage. For a small sum, a member of the audience can get to sit in that seat for several minutes and become the center of attention for the dancers. The seats don't stay empty for long, but even those who don't pay for the hot seat have little trouble getting a Chippendale's attention and the Chippendales themselves have little trouble finding tips.
After the show, the team hangs around, even though they have another nine-hour van trip that night if they want to make it to their next show in South Carolina the night after, followed by a quick swing through Florida. At a time when most people are getting their Christmas shopping done, the Chippendales machine moves on, with visions not of sugar plums but of Las Vegas dancing in their heads.
*
There's that town again.
For every dream, there is a destination that proves you've made it to the pinnacle. For a boxer, the chance of a bout in Madison Square Garden is still what keeps him coming back. A country music artist justifies his or her sacrifice and hard work by stepping into the stage lights of the Ryman Auditorium. But for the Chippendales, the ultimate prize, the final step up that ladder is the opportunity to join the elite Las Vegas roster and entertain thousands every night at the Chippendale Theater.
The Chippendales are an elite unit in that fewer men wear the uniform than do an NFL roster or a typical fast food restaurant. Far fewer earn their way to Sin City, but the prestige isn't all that's waiting for them in that pot of gold. Vegas means less travel, as well as higher-paying customers, which translates to better tips.
Hammond hasn't made it to the Vegas roster, but he's come closer than anyone else on the East Coast team, as he has made it to Vegas for the team's calendar shoot five times, an honor bestowed on Art this year. Besides extra money and um...exposure, the calendar is by itself a reward for the long nights, the restrictive town laws, and the time in the gym.
"The calendar is a legacy that you can look back on for the rest of your life and know that you accomplished that," he said. "You get to go to Las Vegas and you really get the star treatment with wardrobe, makeup, photographers. It's a great experience."
It's an experience that has slaked his thirst for Las Vegas , the ultimate assignment for the Ultimate Girls Night Out.
"I want to work in Vegas, do that show," he said. "It's the same show that we do, but it's Las Vegas and there's no city like that. To be able to go and perform there on a daily basis would be a great thing."
Hammond estimates that he has at least another five years of dancing in him, and until that ends, he'll enjoy the ride that took him from a break dancer ribbed by his friends to a man who got the last laugh.
"Everywhere we go from the time we leave our house, we go into a gas station, a restaurant, we're recognized constantly," he said. "We're asked to sign things, pose for pictures, asked where the show's at, can I come, can I get a calendar. It's pretty flattering. I wouldn't trade this for the world."